Wenger protests Arsenal’s fixture pile-up

Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, has blamed television for their “cruel” fixture schedule.


He said Brighton vs Newcastle should have been Monday night’s live game.

Wenger was speaking after the Gunners beat West Brom 2-0, to maintain their 100 per cent home record.

Arsenal has now played their last seven games on seven different days of the week.

And the Frenchman then admitted he will take a weakened squad for their Europa League game in Belarus on Thursday, with his team playing three matches in an exhausting week.

“I have a decision to make about the squad and at the moment I would say that the schedule is a bit cruel.

“We played tonight, we play in Borisov on Thursday night, we play Sunday at 12 o’clock here. When you look at the schedule of the weekend I think there was some room for us to be different. We have accept it and we want to go to Borisov with a team of senior players and a young bench.

“There is no need to talk to the Premier League about that because it’s the television who decides. For example Brighton – Newcastle on television, they could’ve played on Monday night and we could’ve played on Sunday.

“For us the time is very short. But television decides and I don’t complain about that. What I want to say for the selection it has an impact for me for the Thursday and Sunday game because we have another home game and it’s very important we have strong record at home,” Wenger said.