London (dpa)
Spanish Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's coach, said it is time to cancel the FA Cup replay matches.
The British news agency, PA Media, reported that the Spanish coach was speaking before the expected confrontation with Liverpool, the leaders of the English Premier League, in the Cup Championship tomorrow, Sunday, at the Emirates Stadium.
After Sunday's match, Arsenal, which is five points behind leaders Liverpool in the race to win the English Premier League title, will be away from playing matches for 13 days, but the draw at the Emirates Stadium forces the two teams to play another match at Anfield, during a break. It may be rare for Arsenal, which has many challenges at the local and continental levels.
When asked about whether the English Association should cancel the replay matches, Arteta, whose team will play in the Champions League next season, if it finishes in one of the top four places, said: “I think so.”
He added: “We see what is happening. When the new format of the Champions League is implemented, there will be many matches to play, so I do not know what is the appropriate way to deal with this.”
Arteta said: “The mini-break period will be short, but we are ready for all scenarios. We want to win the match, and we are trying to win it, but canceling the replay must be taken into consideration.”
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