Arsenal and Hull City have finally been given the date for the replay in the 5th round of the FA cup, after both clubs were involved in the discussion about when to fit this match into our busy schedules. I am a little surprised as I thought that we would end up having to move a league game to fit it in but instead we will play on the Tuesday before the 6th round games are set to take place.
So of the Gunners go through there will be very little time to arrange tickets and travel for the visit of Watford but that is not the biggest concern. That is actually getting into the next round and with a massive north London derby against Tottenham to play on the Saturday, I think that Arsene Wenger will have to do some judicious rotating of the Arsenal squad.
It could have been worse according to The Guardian who are reporting that the game would have been set for the Monday if UEFA had not given special permission for it to be on the same night as two Champions League matches. Maybe that is why the kick off will be at 7 p.m. and at least the derby on Saturday kicks off early.
But Hull are at home of course and they also have the advantage of two extra days to rest and prepare as their game prior to the cup replay is on the Thursday. It is at least a big match against another promotion rival Sheffield Wednesday and that is their big priority but so is the Premier League for Arsenal.
So we have three EPL games against Man United, Swansea and the spuds before the cup replay and hopefully we will go to Hull in a great position and with confidence flowing. The question is, will the timing of this match cause Arsenal a big problem?