Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has warned that events could escalate if fixture planning is not addressed ahead of a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace on 16 December 2025. Palace, under Oliver Glasner, are hopeful the Emirates tie could be moved to 23 December, but Arsenal prefer to keep it on the 16th. Palace would then face three matches in five days, with Manchester City visiting in the league on 14 December and KuPS at home on 18 December.

Arteta spoke before their league match at Burnley, saying fixture decisions must rest on two priorities: players’ welfare and supporters. He said: “Every decision that we make in terms of a fixture has to be guided on two main things; players’ welfare, and then supporters, and that is it, and the rest has to come very, very far away from that.” He stressed that the industry should keep that principle front and centre: “If we have that big piece of paper with those two principles there in front before we make any decision, all of us in our industry, we won’t get there.”

Arsenal reached the Carabao Cup quarter-finals by beating Brighton 2-0 at the Emirates, extending their winning run to eight in a row. They head to Burnley with a four-point lead at the top and a defence that has not conceded in six matches. William Saliba was absent for the midweek win but could travel to Burnley, while Gabriel Martinelli, Noni Madueke, Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz remain sidelined.