Arsenal’s league match against Manchester City, which was initially scheduled for October 19, has been moved to make room for the Gunners’ Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven.
The high-flying Arsenal team under Mikel Arteta was scheduled to play against Manchester City on October 19, but this match has been postponed to allow the Gunners to meet their European obligations.
On October 20, Arsenal will play PSV Eindhoven in a rescheduled Europa League match, postponing their match against reigning champion Manchester City.
This week, UEFA said that the scheduled match between Arsenal and PSV on Thursday had been postponed because of scheduling conflicts with the Queen Elizabeth II burial.
The match between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven, which was initially scheduled to be played on Thursday, September 15, will instead be played on Thursday, October 20, at 19:00, according to a UEFA announcement on Wednesday.
The Dutch team will now face Arsenal on October 20.
The ruling panel noted that “serious constraints on police resources and organizational challenges due to the ongoing activities surrounding the national mourning for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” would affect the schedule of football fixtures.
The Premier League stated that a new date would be determined “in due course.”
Last weekend, the whole Premier League schedule was postponed as a show of respect in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s passing.
The Arsenal vs PSV Eindhoven Europa League fixture which was originally scheduled for September 15 will now take place on October 20 the day after the Gunners were scheduled to meet Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
“The Premier League’s decision to postpone the domestic match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC that was initially scheduled to take place on October 19 made it possible for this match to be rescheduled.
“UEFA stated that they would like to thank the Premier League and the teams in question for their cooperation and flexibility in rescheduling the UEFA Europa League match, which had been postponed because local security services were unable to ensure its secure staging.
In preparation for the Queen’s burial on Monday, three further top-flight matches scheduled to be played this weekend have been postponed too.
The match between Liverpool and Chelsea at home, and Leeds United’s trip to Manchester United, have been postponed as well.
The match between Brighton and Crystal Palace was previously postponed due to rail disruptions.
This season, strain is placed on the Premier League schedule due to the World Cup, which will be played between 20 November and 18 December.
Before it was official that the match against Arsenal had been postponed, City boss Guardiola expressed his confidence in his ability to find a solution to a potential scheduling conflict.
He stated on Tuesday that “the Premier League can find [space for] the fixtures.”
“We’ll find a solution. Every season, the schedules were quite constrained,” Pep Guardiola explained.
