TV schedulers punish Arsenal again after Europa League

Arsenal fans and Arsene Wenger suspected it was not going to be easy for the Gunners this season, playing on Thursday nights or evenings in the Europa League and then again a couple of days later, but there was always a chance that those nice people who work out the schedules for televised games would be nice to us right? Wrong.

I get the feeling that these TV people are all Tottenham fans after the way the schedules have worked out. It was bad enough for Arsenal when we saw the Premier League fixture list at the start of the season, when we saw that five of the six EPL games coming after our Europa Leage ties were away from home, two of those being at Chelsea and Man City.

Then we got handed nice early Sunday kick-offs to add to the problem and when the new TV picks came out this week, they have done it again for our trip to Southampton after the final European game which is against BATE Borisov. At least that Europa League tie is in London, but to give us a 12 o’clock kick off on the Sunday after is just ridiculous.

Not once have Arsenal got the Monday night game after these European nights and then they complain about Wenger not picking strong enough teams in midweek. So far we have done okay and winning the opening three group games should allow Wenger to rest key players but will this scheduling end up hurting Arsenal?

Bob.

12 Comments

    1. Wenger always wanted a greyhound .but the missus wouldn’t allow it.
      He got next best thing….

      This is a weird season . Fans just meh about it all .
      An indifference about games

    2. He had one good season
      Then he got the HUGE salary increase and went down hill from there. If Wenger had played Alexis up front instead of Walcott and Giroud (who went 12 games without scoring) in 2015-2016 we would have come closer to beating Leicester for the title. Theo was terrible up front. Probably part of his contract extension

      Anyway, I would play Welbeck over Theo. Theo isn’t even the fastest player anymore

      1. Theo has been good for us over the years. He did score quite a few for us last season but now seems to run round like a headless chicken. I don’t think he’s been the same since he was injured and out for nearly a year….. was that the 2-1 against the spuds?!!!! Maybe he’s trying too hard to get back into the first team

        1. Yes that’s true actually. He has been a loyal player
          He has scored quite a few goals for us
          I’ve always liked him as a person too but he is simply not good enough to start. We need a better player to play with Alexis and Ozil than Danny or Theo

          I more upset with Wenger than Theo
          If I were offered a huge salary increase I would definitely take it. I can’t blame him for that. Wenger should have not have put so much faith in him

  1. The scheduling was the same for the llikes of Spuds for years and Man U last year so we should just get on with it rather thean bitching and giving players excuses.

    1. If true, and if Man Utd really think he can add value over what they already have (of which I am rather skeptical) then please let this happen in January! …and maybe even we get a little something of use in return, even though he’s a freebie just months later? With questionable commitment/intensity levels in general, any additional half-heartedness and uncertainty is going to become very tedious and maddening to match.

  2. Theo seems a good guy and has a lot of talent and raw speed and occasional flashes of brilliance and for quite some time I’ve been hoping for him to develop a consistent killer instinct and consistently quality finishing technique, but it just hasn’t happened for the most part. At this point I’m skeptical it ever will.

    Way too many instances of an awkward first touch at a promising point that could have been a solid shooting opportunity otherwise, or a half-hearted or flubbed shot.

    So that probably leaves him as a good squad player for rotation and injury cover but not someone I would want to place a lot of weight on, and I really don’t understand his salary– but then I don’t run the club and good for him if he or his agent can negotiate effectively.

  3. This hate for Walcott is not justifiable. He does not miss in front of goals like your favourite players (Giroud, Ozil, and Ramsey). He scores more goals from the wing more than your darling striker (Giroud). Walcott is better than the three players that I mentioned earlier on.
    All players who play Europa and Champions league are doing it, that is playing twice per week. Why the exception for Arsenal. Do you want to pay these guys more than 100k/week to play for 90 minutes. Let them do it in 180 minutes atleast. In Africa I work as an Artisan for 12 hours in a day, but cant make $500, but I dont complaint of getting tired. They should work for their money, if not then they should leave

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