Arsenal have seen their Premier League home match with Chelsea rescheduled. Due to a policing request with the King’s Coronation preparations taking place in the days leading up to the following weekend, Arsenal have seen their London derby with the Blues moved from Saturday, April 29 to Tuesday, May 2.
Arsenal have already had a number of their games moved this season due to the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The World Cup taking place in the winter months of 2022 has further stacked up the fixture schedule.
In light of the latest reschedule, football.london has taken a look at three certain implications of the switch. The impacts range from social issues to further effects on fixtures around the Chelsea match.
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Fan disruption
With the game being moved just 18 days, less than three weeks, before it was supposed to be played, hundreds, potentially thousands, of supporters who had made travel and accommodation arrangements will be affected. Those travelling from abroad face particularly significant financial outlays to attend games and these late changes are sure to have left many of these fans without the possibility of attending.
In a statement on the Arsenal website, the club said: “We are very disappointed with the impact and disruption this fixture change will cause to our supporters, particularly after this match had been initially approved for a Saturday evening kick-off."
Recovery period after Man City clash
Despite the off-field negativity, there is a positive from an on-field perspective. Arsenal would have played Chelsea just three days after their title-defining trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City.
The three-day delay means that Arsenal will have significantly more recovery time. Chelsea are also due to play on Wednesday as they host West London rivals Brentford.
Although it doesn’t affect the recovery differences of the two teams involved in the changed fixture’s game, having an additional period to rest and train will be welcomed. Injured star William Saliba, should he not be ready for the trip to Manchester, could also benefit and be ready for Chelsea if the timeline fits the club.
Less recovery time for Newcastle
However, where the fixture change giveth, it also taketh away. Arsenal now have fewer days between the Chelsea match and their next fixture, a trip to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United. The game is seen as one of the most challenging remaining on the calendar.
Newcastle were to have fewer days to recover from their Sunday, April 30 clash with Southampton with Arsenal initially playing the day before. However, now Newcastle’s six-day break gives them a two-day edge over the Gunners who also need to make the long trip to the northeast.
The table is sure to give a far greater indication of who has a hold of the title race after these games against Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle and only after them will we know if the switch fell in the Gunners' favour. Before them, the matches against West Ham and Southampton though must be the focus.
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