North London Derby Postponed Following Arsenal’s Request

The North London derby scheduled to take place on Sunday has been postponed after the league accepted the Gunners’ request to postpone the fixture.

The club were scheduled to face North London rivals Tottenham away from home in the Premier League but have revealed they may not be able to field a squad.

Arsenal have several players either suspended, injured, ill with Covid or representing their country in the Africa Cup of Nations.

It is as a result of their depleted squad that they requested to have the North London derby postponed.

The Premier League have now confirmed the postponement of the fixture as per Arsenal’s request.

A statement from the Premier League confirming the postponement read: “Following a request from Arsenal FC, the Premier League Board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur, due to be played at 4:30pm on Sunday 16 January.

“With Arsenal having fewer than the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper), the Board accepted the club’s application. The decision is a result of a combination of Covid-19, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. All clubs are able to apply for a postponement if Covid-19 infections are a factor in their request.

“The League apologises for the inconvenience and disruption caused to supporters who would have attended or watched the game – we are fully aware that postponements disappoint clubs and fans. The League aims to provide as much clarity as possible, but unfortunately postponements sometimes have to be made at short notice, as safety is our priority. Where possible, the League will endeavour to keep supporters updated if games become at risk.

“The Premier League’s postponement rules are designed to protect the wellbeing of players and staff, while maintaining the sporting integrity of the competition. Club requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis, based on existing rules and adapted Covid-19 postponement guidance, implemented in light of the Omicron variant. The Board examines a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of Covid-19; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match. The detail within all applications is scrutinised by the League’s specialist staff before the Board makes its decision.”

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Tottenham on the other hand were not pleased with the Premier League’s decision to postpone the fixture.

The North London club highlighted how they were forced out of Europe because they couldn’t play their remaining Europa Conference League fixture and how the Premier League board had turned down a request they had made when the club was battling with Covid outbreak.

“We regret to announce that Sunday’s north London derby against Arsenal has been postponed,” the statement read.

“This follows an application from Arsenal to the Premier League on the basis of a combination of COVID, existing and recent injuries and players on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

“We are extremely surprised that this application has been approved.

“We ourselves were disqualified from the European Conference League after a significant number of COVID cases meant we needed to reschedule a fixture and our application to move our Leicester fixture was not approved – only for it to be subsequently postponed when Leicester applied.

“The original intention of the guidance was to deal with player availability directly affected by COVID cases, resulting in depleted squads that when taken together with injuries would result in the club being unable to field a team.

“We do not believe it was the intent to deal with player availability unrelated to COVID.

“We may now be seeing the unintended consequences of this rule.”

The Spurs statement went on to call for consistency and clarity of the rules that surround postponement of fixtures.

“It is important to have clarity and consistency on the application of the rule.

“Yet again fans have seen their plans disrupted at unacceptably short notice.

“We shall once again send food deliveries to the local food banks to avoid unacceptable waste.

“We are sincerely sorry for our fans – some of whom will have travelled great distances.”

It is unclear when the match will be rescheduled to. However, Arsenal are expected to play the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi final tie against Liverpool on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Spurs also have a mid-week Premier League fixture against Leicester City scheduled for Wednesday.

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