The details of Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final match against Southampton have been officially confirmed, with the Gunners to play on Saturday, April 4th.
Arsenal qualified for the FA Cup quarter-final with a win over Mansfield Town last weekend, drawing Southampton away from home in the next round.
The FA have now confirmed the details of the tie, with Arsenal to play on the Saturday, April 4th at 20:00 BST. The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max, BBC One, and iPlayer.
The FA add that the winners of each tie will receive £477,000 from the competition prize fund, as well as getting a £175,000 broadcast fee regardless of the result.
It was always likely that Arsenal’s game would end up on the Saturday, as it’s possible the Gunners will be involved in the Champions League quarter-final the following midweek.
If Arsenal do make the European quarter-final and get a game on the Tuesday, that would make it unreasonable to play the FA Cup match on the Sunday.
For the same reason, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea are all playing on the Saturday as well, with West Ham United’s match against Leeds United selected for the Sunday, April 5th at 16:30 BST. Neither West Ham nor Leeds have a midweek fixture to worry about.
The FA Cup quarter-finals immediately follow the international break, so Arsenal won’t have any game in the preceding midweek.
The one frustration will be for the fans attending the game, as an 8pm kick-off is going to make it difficult to get back on the train afterwards, and there’s obviously the risk of extra time and penalties to further complicate the timings.
Full FA Cup quarter-final schedule
Saturday, April 4th
- 12:45 – Manchester City vs Liverpool
- 17:15 – Chelsea vs Port Vale
- 20:00 – Southampton vs Arsenal
Sunday, April 5th
- 16:30 – West Ham United vs Leeds United