ARTETA RIGHT ON UEFA’S MEDDLING

THE idea that all teams should get exactly the same time to prepare for a match has always seemed ludicrous given everchanging schedules. Some teams play Tuesday, others Wednesday, then they meet Saturday. Yes, one has had an extra 24 hours — but it may work in reverse the following week. It would be impossible to contrive fixtures that were always manageable, precise and fair unless clubs wanted to give all the television money back. And we know they don’t. So Mikel Arteta’s moan that Tottenham have an advantage over Arsenal when the teams meet on March 14 is one we’ve heard before. Yet this time his reasoning has logic. Tottenham and Arsenal were both due to play the second legs of their Europa League last-16 ties at home on March 18. Yet UEFA rules do not allow matches to be played same city, same day. So Tottenham’s tie was reversed, meaning that while Arsenal will be flying back from Greece in the small hours of Friday morning three days prior to the derby, Tottenham will have enjoyed a home fixture against Dinamo Zagreb. Under normal circumstances, that would be fine. UEFA cannot send 120,000 fans into north London on the same night, so one fixture must be rearranged. Yet there are no fans in stadiums right now. The usual rules do not apply. It would be perfectly possible for Arsenal and Tottenham to play at home on the same night, with minimum local disruption and risk. Equally, it is ridiculous that away goals are still counting double, in ties with both legs at neutral venues. This is not a normal year. Why pretend?