Arsenal ‘very disappointed’ after Chelsea fixture rescheduled

Arsenal say they are ‘very disappointed’ after their Premier League match with Chelsea was rescheduled at the request of the Metropolitan police. 

The Gunners were originally to play Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on April 29. But it was later moved to May 2, causing anger among the supporters of both clubs. 

Arsenal released a statement that read (as per the Guardian): “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.”  

A Premier League statement said: “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 rescheduled.

“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.” 

Arsenal have been impressive this season and remain on track to lift the Premier League title after playing out a 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday.

Despite the result, they still have a six-point cushion at the top of the table, albeit Manchester City have a game over them. 

The Gunners will face City on April 26, with the fixture likely to decide the fate of the league title. 

Both teams cannot afford to lose the game, but Pep Guardiola’s side will be the favourites to win the Etihad Stadium encounter. 

The Cityzens were at the top of their game yesterday when they eased past Bayern Munich 3-0 in the home leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.