Arsenal’s Premier League match with Manchester City has been postponed in order for the Gunners’ Europa League tie with PSV Eindhoven to be played, it has been confirmed.
The tie had been due to be played on Thursday evening but was postponed due to police resourcing issues related to the Queen’s death.
There were concerns Arsenal may have had to forfeit the match if an alternative date could not be found, but the Premier League has agreed to postpone the Gunners’ match against City, which had been scheduled for Wednesday 19 October.
Instead Mikel Arteta’s side will be in European action on Thursday 20 October, with kick-off at 6pm.
“Uefa would like to thank the Premier League and the clubs concerned for their flexibility and co-operation in the rescheduling of the Uefa Europa League match which had been postponed due to the impossibility for local police forces to guarantee its secure staging,” a statement read.
A new date for the domestic fixture is yet to be decided.
The league already faces a challenge to rearrange all of last weekend’s matches, which were postponed as a mark of respect to the Queen, plus three games due to be played this weekend - Brighton vs Crystal Palace, Manchester United vs Leeds and Chelsea vs Liverpool.
Those games have been postponed due to police resourcing issues, as the authorities prepare for the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. Brighton v Palace had already been postponed prior to the Queen’s death due to a planned rail strike. Even though the industrial action has now been called off, the game remains postponed for policing reasons.
Finding available slots in the calendar for all these matches is especially challenging this season because of the staging of the World Cup in Qatar in November and December.
One option which may have to be looked at is to scrap FA Cup third and fourth-round replays for the third season in a row to free up two midweek slots in January and February to alleviate the congestion, but it is recognised that these matches can be of enormous financial and sporting benefit, particularly to lower-league clubs.
