Arsenal ‘very disappointed’ over change in date for fixture against Chelsea

Arsenal have said they are “very disappointed” that their Premier League match at home against Chelsea has been pushed back three days at the request of the Metropolitan Police.

The north London club were due to host the game at 5.30pm on Saturday 29 April, three days after playing at Manchester City. But the Premier League has announced the fixture is being switched to the evening of Tuesday 2 May.

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Arsenal said: “This change has been made as a result of the Metropolitan Police revising its position on policing the match. After working to try to find a solution with the Met Police, we are very disappointed with the impact and disruption this fixture change will cause to our supporters, particularly after this match had been initially approved for a Saturday evening kick-off.”

A Premier League statement said: “The initial scheduling of this match was approved at a Safety Advisory Group (SAG) meeting in February. However, the Metropolitan Police has now revised its position regarding the kick-off time and requested a further SAG meeting which determined the match had to be rescheduled. We regret the need to move this fixture at late notice and the impact this will have on supporters. The game will remain live on Sky Sports.”

The Football Supporters’ Association criticised the late change with just over two weeks’ notice. It tweeted: “More disruption for fans and not the first time this season the authorities have shown such little regard for match-going supporters.”