Arsenal’s Europa League group game against PSV has been rescheduled for Thursday October 20 (kick-off 6pm), meaning the Gunners’ Premier League clash with Manchester City has been postponed.
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 Manchester City, which had been scheduled for October 19.
Arsenal’s original game against PSV Eindhoven, which was due to be played at the Emirates on Thursday, was postponed due to a lack of available police in London while the UK mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
A UEFA statement said: “UEFA today announced that the UEFA Europa League tie between Arsenal FC and PSV Eindhoven, originally scheduled to be played on Thursday 15 September, will now be played on Thursday 20 October at 19:00 CEST (18:00 local time).
“The rescheduling of this match was possible after the decision of the Premier League to postpone the domestic match between Arsenal FC and Manchester City FC originally due to be played on 19 October.
“UEFA would like to thank the Premier League and the clubs concerned for their flexibility and cooperation 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 Premier League statement added: “The Premier League has agreed with UEFA to postpone Arsenal FC’s Premier League match with Manchester City FC, originally due to be played on 19 October, to allow for Arsenal FC’s re-arranged UEFA Europa League game with PSV Eindhoven.
“Arsenal FC v PSV Eindhoven, originally scheduled to be played on Thursday 15 September, will now be played on Thursday 20 October, 18:00.
“A new date for the Arsenal FC v Manchester City FC fixture will be announced in due course.”
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 v Crystal Palace, Manchester United v Leeds and Chelsea v 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.
List of midweek football fixtures
Champions League
Wednesday September 14
- Chelsea vs Red Bull Salzburg
- Shakhtar Donetsk vs Celtic
- Manchester City vs Borussia Dortmund
- Rangers vs Napoli
Europa League
Thursday September 15
- Arsenal vs PSV (postponed due to lack of police numbers)
- Sherriff Tiraspol vs Manchester United
Europa Conference League
Thursday September 15
- FK RFS vs Hearts
- Silkeborg vs West Ham
Sky Bet Championship
Wednesday September 14
- Luton vs Coventry
- Millwall vs QPR
- Norwich vs Bristol City
- Rotherham vs Blackpool
- Reading vs Sunderland
- West Brom vs Birmingham
National League South
Wednesday September 14
- Havant & Waterlooville vs Hungerford
Weekend Premier League schedule
Friday September 16
- Aston Villa vs Southampton – 8pm, live on Sky Sports
- Nottingham Forest vs Fulham – 8pm
Saturday September 17
- Wolves vs Man City – 12.30pm
- Brighton vs Crystal Palace – Postponed
- Newcastle vs Bournemouth – 3pm
- Tottenham vs Leicester – 5,30pm, live on Sky Sports
Sunday September 18
- Brentford vs Arsenal – 12pm, live on Sky Sports
- Manchester United vs Leeds – Postponed
- Everton vs West Ham – 2.15pm, live on Sky Sports
- Chelsea vs Liverpool – Postponed
