"It is not an excuse for us"- Arsenal boss delivers admirable verdict

Unai Emery insists he will not follow in the footsteps of Mauricio Pochettino and call for governing bodies to help clubs with the scheduling of matches, per ITV. The Tottenham Hotspur boss, per Goal, was furious that Borussia Dortmund were given an extra day to prepare for their Champions League last-16 second leg tie on Tuesday, which Spurs won 1-0 to seal a 4-0 aggregate triumph.

What’s the word?

Pochettino’s words ultimately rang a little hollow after Spurs turned in a superb performance at Signal Iduna Park to seal their progress to the quarter-finals.

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But he is not the only manager to call for a change; Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri also appealed for more help from the Premier League in October.

Per the Daily Mail, he said: “In Italy, if you are playing in the Champions League you can ask to play the match before on a Friday or Saturday.

“If you play in the Europa League away, not at home, you can ask to play on the Monday night. I think this is right.”

Arsenal have been victims too, with Rennes given a free weekend to prepare for their Europa League tie while the Gunners played Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

But Emery insists he is not interested in debating the merits of scheduling and has told his players they have no excuse for not performing in the coming weeks.

“It is not an excuse for us, we have the habit to play a lot of matches week by week,” he said, per ITV.

He added: “I respect them, the Premier League they decide the schedules for our matches and we adapted.

“Our adaptation is to prepare for the matches on the days we can have but, above all, our habit is to play a lot of matches during the week, so it is no excuse.”

A risk

It is admirable that Emery is so insistent that he will not lean on easy excuses and he is absolutely right to remind his players that he expects a minimum level of performance.

With Arsenal looking to qualify for the top four and overhaul Manchester United, who they play this weekend, while also looking to triumph in the Europa League, Emery will have to rotate his squad between now and May.

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But he can have no complaints after backing the way the Premier League and the FA work.

It is certainly a risky strategy, to be so public in his insistence that his players should not be affected.

Emery, of all people, will surely be aware that his words could well come back to haunt him if the Gunners fall short both at home and in Europe.