Arsenal’s Europa League clash with PSV Eindhoven rescheduled for October 20th

By Jamie Gardner, PA Chief Sports Reporter

Arsenal’s Europa League tie against PSV Eindhoven has been rescheduled for October 20th.

The tie had been due to be played on Thursday evening but was postponed due to police resourcing issues related to Queen Elizabeth's death.

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 19th.

The Premier League has released the following statement regarding our game away at Arsenal ⤵️

— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 14, 2022

The match will now kick off at 6pm on October 20th, UEFA said in a statement.

“UEFA would like to thank the Premier League and the clubs concerned for their flexibility and co-operation 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,” the statement concluded.

The Premier League said that a new date for the Arsenal v Manchester City match would 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.

The #PL will resume this weekend after a pause to the season as a mark of respect following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Seven of the 10 Matchweek 8 fixtures will be played, with three postponed due to events surrounding The Queen’s funeral.

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 12, 2022

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.

Senior sources within the game have told the PA news agency that one option which may have to be looked at is to scrap FA Cup third and fourth-round replays for the third season in a row to free up two midweek slots in January and February to alleviate the congestion, but it is recognised that these matches can be of enormous financial and sporting benefit, particularly to lower-league clubs.