The Premier League is approaching its final run, and many of the crucial fixtures remain unplayed. Rescheduling of fixtures during the season took place due to rising covid cases. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had launched a staunching attack against the Premier League for congesting the club’s schedule. The Spaniard was referring to Arsenal’s back-to-back games against Chelsea and Manchester United within a space of four days. Thomas Tuchel has now offered his views in relation to the Arsenal manager’s comments.
Last month, Arteta accused Premier League of favouring the teams such as Chelsea and United when it came to fixture scheduling. Arteta said, “Thank you so much to the Premier League for doing that. And they’ve done it again when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United.”
He further continued, “So if they want to give them any advantage, I say to them today: ‘Thank you so much for doing that. It is always, it’s BT [Sport], it’s Sky [Sports], it is this, it is that. But the one that is affected is Arsenal, and the only thing that I care [about], and we care [about] is Arsenal. And for Arsenal, it is not fair.”
Tuchel responds to Arteta’s comments ahead of Chelsea’s showdown against Arsenal
Thomas Tuchel was speaking to the media ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Arsenal. In reply to Arteta’s rant, Tuchel said, “You can use the situation however you want to use it. You can use it to feel very tired – and we feel the challenge actually at the moment mentally and physically. You can use that for whatever, a half-excuse if things go wrong, or you can just accept the challenge and go from there. This is what we try to do.”
Tuchel further pressed on how clubs like Arsenal and Tottenham benefited from early exits from cup competitions. “Personally, I was not happy when Tottenham went out of the Conference League because I thought: ‘Wow, I know what Antonio Conte can do with teams when they are focused, he can train them physically. This will be a huge uplift for them in domestic competition.’
Tuchel continued, “It was the same for Arsenal when they went out the FA Cup. I thought it would be a huge boost for them because they are a young and talented team, and to be able to train them and focus on one competition can be an advantage. But, it can also be a disadvantage.”
“Maybe – and you mention Manchester United – if you underperform, out of cups and European competitions too early for what you demand of yourself, it can limit your spirit, can have an effect on the atmosphere. So it’s very, very different. If you build a team that is built for playing 65 games and suddenly you only have 40 and have whole weeks to prepare for games, it can also be heavy on your shoulders.
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