Overview
- Crystal Palace face a crunch run that would place matches on Dec. 14, 16 and 18, with another on Dec. 21, squeezing up to four fixtures into eight days.
- Arsenal prefer to keep the tie at the Emirates on Dec. 16, with Mikel Arteta calling a Dec. 23 switch unfair because it would leave both teams playing twice in little more than 48 hours.
- A Christmas Eve option was ruled out after discussions with the Metropolitan Police and Transport for London over reduced services, and Arsenal were against hosting that day.
- Oliver Glasner and Arteta both criticized the calendar and urged prioritizing player welfare, with Glasner citing FIFA’s 72-hour guidance and noting UEFA fixtures cannot be moved.
- The EFL is involved in the scheduling talks and a formal decision on the quarter-final date is expected next week.