MIKEL ARTETA today called on the Premier League to scrap teams playing Saturday lunchtime after a Wednesday night game.
Arsenal face that exact turnaround tomorrow, when they play at Aston Villa after losing against Manchester City and falling behind them in the title race.
Under Premier League rules, Champions League teams do not have to play at 12.30pm on a Saturday if they were in action the previous Wednesday night.
The ruling, however, does not apply to teams competing in other competitions — and Arteta has called for that to be addressed.
“Well, there are certain rules with the Champions League,” he said. “When you are playing on Wednesday night and then you cannot play [on Saturday lunchtime]. So that should apply to any competition.”
Champions League teams previously used to have negotiate the tight turnaround, but at the end of the 2020-21 season the new ruling came in. That came after a furious backlash from managers, in particular Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
“I think that is why one of the changes was made towards the Champions League teams, especially,” said Arteta.
This story is from the February 17, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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This story is from the February 17, 2023 edition of Evening Standard.
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