Mikel Arteta sarcastically thanks Premier League ‘so much’ over Arsenal fixtures and suggests top-four rivals have ‘advantage’ due to Gunners’ quick turnarounds

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has sarcastically thanked the Premier League for giving his side a congested fixture list over the coming weeks.

The Gunners saw their top-four hopes dented on Wednesday night, losing 2-0 at home to Liverpool.

A run of five consecutive wins prior to the defeat means Arteta’s men remain in control of Champions League qualification – they currently sit in fourth place with more points and games in hand than rivals Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham.

However, to complete the fixtures, Arsenal face a couple of quick turnarounds this month and next.

The Gunners will travel to Aston Villa in the early kick-off on Saturday, while their April 20 fixture against Chelsea is followed by a lunchtime clash with Manchester United three days later.

“Thank you so much to the Premier League to do that,” said Arteta, who confirmed the club had raised the issue with the top-flight.

“And they’ve done it again when we have to play Chelsea and Manchester United. So if they want to give them any advantage, I say to them today: ‘Thank you so much for doing that’.

“Don’t worry, the players on Saturday they will be there, with energy. They will eat, sleep well, but thank you so much to the Premier League for putting the fixtures like this. Very, very helpful.”

Although sarcastic, it was quite clear the Arsenal manager is fuming with league chiefs over his team’s upcoming run of games.

“It is not fair,” added the Spaniard. “It is not fair what they have done.

“It is always, ‘it’s BT, it’s Sky, it is this, it’s that’, but the one that is affected is Arsenal and the only thing that I care [about] and we care [about] is Arsenal.

“And for Arsenal it is not fair.”