Mikel Arteta has called on the Premier League to reschedule Arsenal’s game against Everton, following the decision to play the Crystal Palace quarter-final two days later.
Though three of the four League Cup quarter-finals will be played on Tuesday, December 16th and Wednesday, December 17th, it was confirmed on Monday that Arsenal’s match against Crystal Palace will be postponed to Tuesday, December 23rd.
As well as inconveniencing supporters, who now have to battle likely festive travel disruptions to attend the game, this also means that both Palace and Arsenal will be playing two games in just three days. Indeed, that appears to have been the intention, to be equally unfair to the two teams.
Arsenal and Palace already have Premier League fixtures scheduled for Sunday, December 21st, and it’s now likely they’ll struggle to field their strongest teams in both games.
When asked about the decision on Monday, Mikel Arteta suggested that Arsenal’s game against Everton on the 21st should be rescheduled.
“Hopefully they will move our Premier League match because to play two days later, it doesn’t make any sense obviously,” Arteta pointed out. “We will now decide the date, I’m sure they will change the Premier League date as well.”
If he’s being honest, Arteta is likely aware that there are no plans to reschedule the Everton game. It’s the logical thing to do, and it’s perfectly possible, but it would mean messing with a precious Sky Sports TV slot. Perish the thought.
The suggestion from some is that Arsenal’s game shouldn’t be moved because Palace’s “can’t” be moved. Palace play on the previous Thursday, so moving their Sunday fixture to Saturday would mean playing two games in three days.
But for a start, that’s already what’s happening. It’s either Thursday-Saturday or Sunday-Tuesday, with neither option giving Palace a proper rest.
More importantly, December 20th isn’t the only other day the Premier League fixtures could be played. Both could have been postponed to a later date, with plenty of midweeks available later in the season.
That would have allowed both clubs to get the proper rest before their quarter-final match, which would have been a win for player welfare and for the League Cup itself.
But UEFA and the Premier League have exerted their authority in favour of more money in their bank accounts, as usual.