In a parallel universe, Arsenal are playing a vengeful Manchester City side looking to defend their four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table somewhere this week. In this one though, they have PSV at home to contend with instead.
It may have come later than expected, but this is probably the hardest game Mikel Arteta's side will face in the group stages of their Europa League campaign this season. When asked if he was fortuitous at the nature of the scheduling, the Gunners boss was keen instead to focus on the here and now.
"It's what it is, obviously," he said, doing his best Love Island impersonation at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. "The fixtures and the amount of games that we have, we're going to have to play everybody. We had to change the schedule, and we've adapted to that." Despite the arguable fortune of when Arsenal will meet Ruud Van Nistelrooy's men, Arteta might well argue that the fates have been against him when it comes to the amount of players he has to pick a team.
