- Posted On: March 7, 2019
- Posted By: Bolu
- Comments: 0
Unai Emery insists Arsenal will not use fatigue as an excuse if they suffer a shock Europa League in Rennes defeat on Thursday night.
In a week where Mauricio Pochettino scolded the Premier League by insisting their busy domestic schedule has hampered Tottenham’s Champions League hopes – his opposite number in north London has refused to point the finger at English football chiefs. Thursday’s match has been billed as the biggest in Rennes history – and the Ligue de Football Professionnel postponed their scheduled game against Nimes last weekend to allow Julien Stephan’s team eight days to prepare for the Europa League last 16 tie against the Gunners.
In contrast, Arsenal come off the back of a physically and mentally draining north London derby against Tottenham on Saturday. They face Manchester United at the Emirates on Sunday. However, Emery insists his team will not use their hectic schedule as justification if they lose in France.
The Arsenal manager said: ‘Fatigue is not an excuse for us. We have the habit of playing a lot of matches week by week. We played Saturday (against Spurs), rested Sunday and worked Monday, so tomorrow everyone will be okay for everyone to play. This is a very important match for us. My opinion is to respect the Premier League, they decided the schedules for our matches and we prepare for the days we can have.
‘Above all the habit is to play a lot of matches. If you ask if I prefer more time to prepare? Then maybe yes. But for this match we don’t have an excuse because we have had time to prepare well. We have the habit of playing Sunday and we have the players to share and find the combinations. We can rest and play some players on Sunday (against Manchester United) and some fresh players to give the best performance in two matches.’