The latest installment of the North London Derby was supposed to occur this past weekend, but the matchup was postponed after Arsenal put in a request to the Premier League to have the fixture rescheduled.
Arsenal cited that they’d be under the ’13 player’ threshold, given they have registered a positive Covid-19 case within their squad, are without Granit Xhaka through suspension, have several injuries, and players away at the African Cup of Nations.
The Premier League granted the request, which was controversial in many people’s eyes. Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso stated his thoughts, which were relayed by Metro.
“We had some games with a lot of players out, some games with only four defenders, but we still had to play,” Alonso said. “It has to be fair for everyone to have the same treatment from the Premier League, not just some games yes, some games no.”
Alonso joins the likes of Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who also had harsh words for the Premier League’s decision to grant Arsenal’s request. Neville stated that The Gunners used this as a loophole since they didn’t have their best squad.
Furthermore, with Tottenham and Arsenal neck and neck fighting for a top-four spot, the three points on the table are valuable.