Arsenal are set to face Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, May 2 after both teams suffered defeats in the Premier League earlier this week
Why Arsenal and Chelsea are not playing in the Premier League this weekend (Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images))
Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium has been moved to Tuesday, May 2 after being rescheduled from it’s original date of Saturday, April 29. The Gunners will be hoping to pick up their first win in four games whilst Frank Lampard is yet to win after returning to Stamford Bridge.
Mikel Arteta’s side have dropped points in their last four fixtures which has allowed Manchester City to close the gap at the top of the table to just two points. Pep Guardiola’s side have two games in hand on the Gunners and could move four points clear of Arsenal if they win those fixtures.
Chelsea are languishing much further down the table and are winless in their last eight games across all competitions. The Blues are set to miss out on European football next term and still need to appoint a permanent successor after sacking Graham Potter earlier this month.
So, why was Arsenal’s clash against Chelsea moved from Saturday to Tuesday? football.london takes a look.
The Gunners’ were set to host their London rivals on Saturday, April 29 at 5.30pm, but the game was postponed due to policing issues. The match against Chelsea will now take place on Tuesday, May 2, with the game kicking off at 8pm.
Following the postponement of the fixture, Arsenal released a statement expressing their disappointment as the club attempted to find a solution with the Met Police. The statement read: “The Premier League has announced that our home league match against Chelsea will now take place on Tuesday, May 2, kicking off at 8pm (UK time).
“This change has been made as a result of the Metropolitan Police revising its position on policing the match. After working to try to find a solution with the Met Police, 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.”
With the game originally selected to be shown live on TV, the Premier League have confirmed that the showdown between the two sides will remain on Sky Sports. A statement from the Premier League read: “The Premier League fixture between Arsenal FC and Chelsea FC at Emirates Stadium, scheduled to take place on Saturday 29 April at 5.30pm, will now take place on Tuesday 2 May at 8.00pm.
“The initial scheduling of this match was approved at a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting in February. However, the Metropolitan Police has now revised its position regarding the kick-off time and requested a further SAG meeting which determined the match had to be re-scheduled.
“We regret the need to move this fixture at late notice and the impact this will have on supporters. The game will remain live on Sky Sports.”
Source: football.london
