ARSENAL are optimistic they won’t have to forfeit their postponed Europa League clash against PSV Eindhoven.
The Gunners’ group stage match with PSV had to be rearranged due to lack of police resources as forces have been redeployed to work on The Queen’s state funeral on Monday.
The North Londoners were scheduled to take on the Dutch side at the Emirates on Thursday but had to be called off just like other London fixtures.
That has created quite the headache for Arsenal as there there is no available date to play the game before the group stage is due to end on November 3 before the World Cup.
UEFA regulations dictate that Mikel Arteta’s side must find a new date to stage the fixture or forfeit the game.
According to the Evening Standard, however, Arsenal are confident they can find a solution to the matter as they continue negotiating with the relevant authorities.
Read More on Arsenal
The Gunners only seem to have two realistic options to fix this conundrum.
The first is to rearrange their Premier League game with Manchester City on October 19.
The other is to move their Carabao Cup third-round tie against Brighton, which takes place on November 8.
The responsibility to find a new date solely falls on Arsenal as they are the home team.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS – BEST NEW CUSTOMER OFFERS
But UEFA will also do everything they can to accommodate a potential solution for the Europa League fixture.
Premier League clubs already faced a packed fixture schedule this season due to the winter’s World Cup in Qatar.
But last weekend’s unexpected break and subsequent postponements have made things even more complex.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
