The footballing calendar has been ripped up after the death of The Queen, and it looks as though we won’t be seeing any Premier League action until October, with next weekend’s games likely to be cancelled due to the former monarch’s funeral.
Fans and pundits up and down the country questioned the decision to cancel the football, especially as cricket, rugby and horse racing are all set to go ahead, and while the postponements are frustrating, there may be some positives for certain teams to take from this rescheduling.
Indeed, Arsenal may have just had one of their biggest issues solved for them with this schedule rewrite.
The Gunners are in great form at the moment, but there is a severe element of concern around their midfield depth with both Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny currently sidelined with injury.
However, with no Premier League games likely to be played until early October, Arsenal’s midfield problem should have subsided by the next round of fixtures.
Elneny may not be back, but after being called up by Ghana for the next round of international fixtures, Partey should be fighting fit by the time the north London derby comes around.
Arsenal could seriously have struggled over the next fortnight if they picked up another injury or Granit Xhaka got his bi-annual suspension, but now, with Partey set to be back for Arsenal’s next game, the Gunners can go forward feeling much more confident.
Even beyond that game, with no space in the calendar for the two postponed fixtures until the new year, Elneny should be back in time for those, meaning that Arsenal will be stronger than they likely would have been for the two rescheduled fixtures.
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