SportsArteta Says EPL Scheduling Of Arsenal Ties Not Fair On Gunners

Arteta Says EPL Scheduling Of Arsenal Ties Not Fair On Gunners

March 18, (THEWILL) – Mikel Arteta has taken another swipe at the Premier League for the way its games are scheduled ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.

After playing Liverpool on Wednesday, the Gunners face Villa in the early kick-off at the weekend.

When asked about Arsenal’s impending fixture schedule, which includes matches against Chelsea and Manchester United in rapid succession on April 20 and 23 respectively, Arteta was snarky in his reaction after the 2-0 loss to Jurgen Klopp’s side.

Glo

The Spaniard said cheekily: “Thank you so much to the Premier League for doing that. And they’ve done it again when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United. So if they want to give them any advantage, I say to them today: ‘Thank you so much for doing that’.”

Arteta reaffirmed his views at a press conference prior of the Villa game, saying that only his club has been “scheduled like that”

The manager did not back down when asked if he stood by his comments: “I do because I’m talking about the Premier League. I heard some comments about mixing up being away in Europe and how it’s nothing new.

“It’s nothing new to me, but I’m not complaining about Europe, I’m complaining about the Premier League and how you schedule games in the Premier League. When you are in Europe, it’s a different story. What I’m comparing is the Premier League and it’s very difficult.

“We’ve been the only team that has been scheduled like that.”

The 39-year-old manager thought it necessary to clarify his position: “The first thing is to protect the players. We have mentioned many times ‘can we please avoid doing Wednesday night and Saturday morning’ and travelling and all those kind of things. I understand that they have the commitments and the TV, we all understand that.

“If you do it once, okay, but don’t do it twice because we still have to [play] Spurs, what are we going to do? Are we going to do it for a third time? Are we going to be the only ones to do it? You can accept that but you don’t want to be silly either.”

Steven Gerrard, whose side Arsenal will meet in the early kick-off, also came up as Arteta heaped praise on the opposing manager. Earlier this season, the former Liverpool midfielder moved to Villa from Scottish side Glasgow Rangers, where he had been successful and where Arteta had previously played.

“I think he’s done very, very well [as a manager],” Arteta said. “What he did at Rangers is remarkable and I don’t know if he gets the credit that he should because I played there and I know how that club works.

“How he turned it around and what he’s doing at Villa. I think so far he’s done really well.”

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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