Why are there six Champions League games on Thursday including Atalanta vs Arsenal?

The caller Champions League play is underway but Arsenal’s travel successful the contention volition statesman successful an unprecedented manner.

Aston Villa and Liverpool kicked disconnected their UCL campaigns successful benignant connected Tuesday nighttime with away wins astatine Young Boys and AC Milan.

Manchester City volition big Inter Milan connected Wednesday night, successful a repetition of the 2023 final, but the Gunners’ travel to Europa League champions Atalanta volition instrumentality spot connected Thursday.

This is particularly antithetic arsenic traditionally Tuesday and Wednesday are designated for the Champions League, with Europa League and Conference League matches taking spot connected Thursday.

You mightiness fishy that the summation successful fixtures acknowledgment to the revamped format of the competition has brought astir this change. But that’s not really the case.

Why are six Champions League games connected Thursday?

As mentioned, the power from the 32-team radical signifier to the 36-team league signifier means that the fig of Champions League matches has risen from 125 to a whopping 189.

But the Thursday fixtures person thing to bash with the congested scheldule.

Rather, UEFA person decided that each of their 3 competitions volition person an exclusive matchweek this play with nary fixtures from the different two, with the week of September 17-19 allocated to the UCL.

This has been done arsenic UEFA privation to gully much absorption to their little premium competitions with the Europa League’s exclusive week connected September 25-26 and the Conference League’s taking spot solely connected Thursday, December 19.

As for wherefore they chose to dispersed the UCL fixtures implicit 3 days but not bash the aforesaid with the different competitions remains a mystery.

Will determination beryllium much Champions League games connected Thursday?

No. Unless a past infinitesimal alteration needs to beryllium made, this is the lone clip this play the Champions League volition beryllium connected Thursday.

Aside from the exclusive weeks, the format for European games is the aforesaid arsenic anterior years with the UCL connected Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Europa League and Conference League connected Thursday.

Which Champions League games are connected Thursday?

What has Mikel Arteta said astir the change?

This unprecedented alteration has occurred successful a pivotal week for Arsenal who person to navigate 4 large games successful conscionable 11 days.

That tally started past Sunday with the northbound London derby triumph astatine Tottenham, followed by Atalanta distant connected Thursday, a travel to title rivals Manchester City connected Sunday and past the opening of their Carabao Cup run against Bolton connected Wednesday.

Mikel Arteta, 1 of galore managers to talk retired against the congested schedule, seemed resigned erstwhile discussing the substance successful his post-Spurs property conference.

‘Whether I person [concerns implicit the fixture list] oregon not, I’m definite we’re going to play Thursday and Sunday and past Wednesday,’ the Arsenal brag said.

‘It’s what it is. We person to accommodate to that if we privation to beryllium a apical team, a challenging squad that is up there.’

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