Arsenal vs. Manchester City match rescheduled

The highly anticipated Premier League clash between Arsenal and Manchester City at the the Emirates has been rescheduled. The two (current) top of the table clubs will meet on Wednesday, February 15th. Neither club will have a schedule / rest advantage coming into the match, both will play the same number of games in the weeks leading up to the showdown.

The match was originally scheduled for October 19th but was postponed because of a cascade effect from the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in mid-September. Arsenal’s Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven at the Emirates had to be postponed due to concerns about police availability. That created a problem: there were no available dates to reschedule that match before the early November date by which all group stage matches had to be played.

Fortunately, Manchester City were receptive to Arsenal’s request that the Premier League fixture be rearranged. Otherwise, the Gunners would have had to forfeit the Europa League match. That three point swing to PSV would have made the difference between finishing first and second in the group, which would have forced Arsenal to play an extra two-legged tie against one of the teams dropping down from the Champions League.