Arteta hits out at compressed Arsenal schedule ahead of quick turnaround against Aston Villa

It
will
be
just
63
hours
between
matches
when
Arsenal
take
on
Aston
Villa
away
from
home,
which
has
been
outlawed
when
the
mid-week
meeting
is
of
the
Champions
League
variety,
but
there
are
no
restrictions
for
domestic
games.

Arsenal,
with
a
game
in-hand,
need
a
win
to
reclaim
top
spot
on
the
table,
but
they
will
be
playing
a
Villa
side
benefitting
from
an
extra
three
days
of
rest.

Speaking
to
the
media,
Arteta
said
it
does
not
make
sense
to
have
one
rule
for
the
Champions
League
but
to
disregard
the
same
logic
for
other
schedule
congestion.

“There
are
certain
rules
with
the
Champions
League,”
he
said.
“When
you
are
playing
on
Wednesday
night
and
then
you
cannot
play
[Saturday
lunchtime],
so
that
should
apply
to
any
competition.

“If
think
you
are
talking
physiologically,
it
is
very
difficult
to
turn
around
in
that
period
to
get
the
best
outcome
and
reduce
the
injury
risk
for
players.

“They
put
the
schedule
the
way
they
did.
It’s
a
bit
unusual,
but
it’s
not
about
being
worried
or
not
worried.
We
have
to
play.
I
want
the
players
to
be
in
the
best
possible
mindset
and
physically
ready
to
get
that
challenge
going.”

While
he
acknowledges
it
is
not
an
ideal
situation,
Arteta
said
it
is
no
excuse
for
a
poor
performance.

“We
knew
we
were
going
to
play
at
that
time,”
he
said.
“The
players
are
young
–
they
have
a
lot
of
energy.”

One
of
those
young
players
Arsenal
are
relying
on
is
23-year-old
Eddie
Nketiah,
who
has
now
gone
four
games
without
a
goal
after
a
run
of
six
goals
in
six
matches.

“The
most
difficult
thing
is
to
score
goals,
but
Eddie
produced
a
penalty
that
could
have
been
a
goal,”
he
said.
“He
could
have
scored
a
hat-trick
and
then
we’re
talking
about
something
else.

“Unfortunately
he
didn’t,
and
so
we
have
these
debates.
But
we
have
full
confidence
in
these
kids.”