Mikel Arteta contradictory claims debunked after Everton vs Arsenal fixture change request

Mikel Arteta has been scrutinised by some Arsenal supporters after requests to move the Everton fixture were granted, but analysis of the manager’s comments reveal no contradiction

Mikel Arteta has got his wish, Arsenal will play Everton a day earlier than initially scheduled on December 20 after the Premier League granted a request for the game to be pushed back. Had the Gunners played at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on the Sunday, as initially planned, they would have had just one day before their League Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace.

While this has come as good news to Arteta, the players, and the club, some individuals have lost out as a result. Supporters who had booked travel and accommodation plans to Liverpool on the original game date could, in some cases, lose out financially if their bookings were not refundable.

Arsenal are putting on coaches for travelling supporters at a cost of £10 return. However, it has still left many disappointed, and they are not shy about expressing such views on social media.

A non-official Arsenal Fixture News account (@AFCFixtureNews) wrote: “Everton away moved to Saturday 20th December 8pm, thanks to @Arsenal, Mikel Arteta and @SkySportsPL. The last train from Liverpool to London departs at 8:12pm. Football ‘for the fans.”

In the replies were a mix of responses to the account with more than 40,000 followers. Some even suggested that Arteta had reneged on claims that fans should be prioritised.

So is this true? Did Arteta say such a thing?

Being in attendance at the press conferences where questions were levelled at Arteta for his response both before and after the clash with Crystal Palace, scheduled for December 23, we have all of the Spaniard’s quotes on the matter.

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First, when asked ahead of the trip to Burnley following the fourth-round win over Brighton, Arteta said on the topic: “Hopefully not.

“If we look after the players’ welfare and our supporters, I think we’re never going to get to that point, and that’s it. We have to close the window there. We cannot open that window. It has to be closed. It’s our most precious value.

“We have the best league in the world, and we cannot just open any window for anything just to lose that because we don’t respect that, and we forget what we are made of and what makes this game and this league so, so special and if we respect that, I’m sure we’re going to be totally fine.”

This was the first mention of both player and supporter welfare in this particular context. Not that players were mentioned first, this is important for later, but both were said in the same sentence.

As the team were in the air to Prague ahead of the 3-0 victory over Slavia Praha, the December 23 fixture date was announced. Arteta, who it would be fair to assess was of a stern demeanour during the press conference moments after landing and questioned on the topic, said: “Yeah, well, hopefully they will move out of the Premier League match because to play to this date doesn’t make any sense, obviously.

“So we will now decide the date. I’m sure they will change the Premier League date as well.”

However, it would be his answer to a question angled around the potential long-term impacts on his squad if he has to play two games in three days, which provided the differentiation for Arteta between the two sides.

“I think as I said earlier, I’m sure we will apply the principles of first of all the players, then the supporters, and then the times that we need to have equality and the same chances for every club. So hopefully it will be fair,” he said.

The players, then the supporters. Here, a clear distinction of where the priority is and from the manager of the club, the question then should be asked, is this right?

From a personal point of view, I think, and I am willing to be convinced otherwise, it is. Ultimately, Arteta wants to win football matches beyond anything else in his role as the club’s manager.

Playing two games in three days means Arsenal might be less likely to win, and furthermore, increase the chance of player injury caused by fatigue, which again could hamper the club’s chances of winning future matches. It’s a lot of ifs and buts; that said, it is no less a fair hypothesis.

Fans will be out of pocket for this game, and the club has taken steps to help mitigate the impact by offering affordable coach travel. This is not simply a reaction, either, because efforts were made earlier this season to assist with travel.

For the trip to Manchester United, Arsenal helped to organise a chartered train service. In what at the time was a pilot initiative, however, the plan did not succeed with the service having to be cancelled due to a lack of uptake by supporters.

Fans were refunded, and even then, the club provided coach travel so that those initially planning to travel by train could still attend the game at a price point less than half the cost of the return train service. Some sighted the fact that alcohol was not allowed on the service however as part of the reason it fell short.

As someone who initially had travel organised and is now travelling on the Saturday, while also staying overnight in Liverpool for the match, as we cover the game for football.london I can understand the frustration, to a point. However, from a position of wanting Arsenal to win, this is a sacrifice certainly worth it to improve the club’s chances across multiple competitions.

Lastly, returning to the claim that Arteta supposedly said that fans should be prioritised, it is evident from the press conference quotes that this is not the case. Clearly, a differentiation was made between players and fans, and while there is a strong feeling both should be considered above all else, from the manager’s point of view, the players’ welfare and Arsenal’s capacity to win games is a slightly greater priority, it appears, than the travel implications of the hundreds of supporters who make such a trip.