Having reclaimed their place at the top of the Premier League table Arsenal now face a crucial run of fixtures against Leicester, Everton and Bournemouth. The games should make for compelling viewing, unless you're in the UK that is.
While the clash with Everton is unavailable to watch on TV due to the fact that it was not originally scheduled for broadcast, the 3pm blackout rule, which prohibits the broadcast of live matches in Britain between the hours of 14:45 and 17:15 on a Saturday, means that the matches against Leicester and Bournemouth will also be unavailable for domestic viewing.
It's a rule that's been in place for over half a century, but surely now is the time for it to be updated.
There are few things that would make you yearn for a return to the days of lockdown, but this is one of them. During the COVID-19 enforced behind behind closed doors period, broadcasters broke from tradition in order to broadcast every Premier League game live. Although things have gone back to normal since then, it's proved particularly difficult to get this genie back into the bottle.
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For fans in the UK who are paying for three services in order to watch some, but not all of the Premier League, it's hard to escape the feeling that they're being short changed, especially while others abroad are able to watch each match under the umbrella of just one subscription fee. Many are furious. Those in favour of the current system might argue this is fair because it is much harder for foreign fans to attend games, but in the UK following a team home and away is a big commitment too.
Fans must fork out for train tickets or petrol fares, and due to the lack of consideration put into fixture scheduling they're often forced to stump up for costly accommodation too. That's before we even get to the massive costs of the actual tickets themselves.
In the midst of a cost of living crisis this is simply too much for many to bear. One of the arguments in favour of a 3pm blackout is that stadiums will be left empty because fans won't want to go to games. If something is not done soon, stadiums may be empty anyway because fans can't afford to go.
Of course there are legitimate concerns over the lifting of the blackout. If all Arsenal's games were on TV, the current record demand for tickets at the Emirates Stadium, means that their matchday revenues would probably be fine, however, for a club lower down the pyramid the impact could be more severe.
Inequality in football is already growing beyond control and with the recent threat of a reformed European Super League, we're reminded of how things could go if the self-interest of big clubs is allowed to ride roughshod.
But those who have concerns may be soothed by evidence from German football, where the live broadcast of matches hasn't necessarily translated into lower attendances at smaller clubs. Bayern Munich are the Bundesliga behemoth with the largest support, but despite all their games being broadcast domestically, attendances across the division remain above the 90% mark.
Whether it would be the same in the UK is very difficult to say. We can argue till we're blue in the face about the merits of both sides, but with any concrete decision on the matter there will be a leap of faith to some degree.
Perhaps then it's time for a pilot system to enable the live broadcast of matches domestically for a controlled period of time in order to see the impact it has on attendances down the leagues. With this evidence a decision can be made, or some kind of compromise can be found. If things continue as they are though, it will once again be the fans who are made to suffer.
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