Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta joined his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola in blasting English football chiefs for congested fixtures, MySportDab reports.
Arsenal returned to the summit of the Premier League table with a point gap after victory over Wolves.
Goals from Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard catapulted the North London outfit to the top as they returned to winning ways after the Champions League deadlock.
The Gunners went into the game three days after a trip to Allianz Arena, Germany, for the Champions League quarterfinal second leg against Bayern Munich, and Mikel Arteta was not happy his team had to play another fixture barely 48 hours after the Champions League match.
Speaking after the game, the Spaniard said it is not about the managers glamouring for a change but about the wellbeing of the players.
“It’s not about us, Pep or myself, it’s about the wellbeing of the players,’ he said.
“When you compete in European competition, every team has to compete in the same way.
‘‘You cannot have a team that hasn’t played for seven days, or three days before, and has more recovery time and then you have to play in the Premier League and the FA Cup.
‘’It is not right. If you look from any angle, it’s not right. If you want to protect, let’s talk about the players and the protagonists.
‘’Let’s protect the players and do everything we can to give them the maximum time to help them recover and perform and do the show that they do every week.’
Mikel Arteta is not the only manager to have raised his voice against congested football fixtures. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has addressed the issue twice in April, asking English football chiefs to revisit their domestic schedules, especially as it affects teams playing in European club competitions.
Manchester City, have juggled mid-week Champions League knockout fixtures with domestic fixtures since their rise to the summit of English and European football.
Guardiola particularly frowned on the scheduling of the FA Cup on Saturdays not on Sundays for teams that were involved in mid-week UEFA club competitions.
According to him, domestic clubs on continental engagements in mid-week should be allowed at least a 60-hour timeline before a domestic fixture.
