September 18th 2024.
Arsenal, under the leadership of Mikel Arteta, have begun their journey in the Champions League on an unusual day - Thursday. While the rest of the teams in the competition kicked off their campaigns on Tuesday and Wednesday, Arsenal's first match will take place against Europa League champions Atalanta on Thursday.
This shift in schedule may seem surprising, considering that traditionally the Champions League matches are played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while the Europa League and Conference League matches are reserved for Thursdays. However, the reason behind this change is not due to the increase in fixtures resulting from the revamped format of the competition.
In fact, UEFA has decided to give each of their three competitions - Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League - an exclusive matchweek this season. This means that there will be no fixtures from the other two competitions during the week of September 17-19, which has been allocated to the Champions League. Similarly, the Europa League will have its own exclusive week on September 25-26, and the Conference League will have its matches solely on Thursdays on December 19.
It is unclear why UEFA has chosen to spread out the Champions League fixtures over three days while not doing the same for the other competitions. However, this is the only instance this season where the Champions League matches will be played on a Thursday.
For Arsenal, this change comes at a crucial time, as they have a busy schedule ahead with four big games in just 11 days. This includes a north London derby win against Tottenham, a match against Atalanta on Thursday, a trip to face title rivals Manchester City on Sunday, and the start of their Carabao Cup campaign against Bolton next Wednesday.
When asked about his thoughts on the congested schedule, Arteta expressed resignation, stating that regardless of his concerns, Arsenal will have to adapt to playing on Thursday, Sunday, and then Wednesday. He emphasized the importance of being a top and challenging team, which means being able to handle such demanding schedules.
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