Why Arsenal vs Chelsea isn't being played on Saturday night

London derbies are traditionally full of drama, and Chelsea's visit to the Emirates should be no different.

Arsenal are enjoying an excellent campaign under Mikel Arteta, having led the Premier League title race since the opening weekend.

However, they have suffered a recent drop in form which has seen them lose valuable points.

Three consecutive draws against Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton, followed by a painful 4-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City has left Arsenal with an uphill battle if they are to clinch the title.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are at the opposite end of the spectrum, having endured a torrid campaign which has witnessed three managers take charge of the club.

The big-money arrivals of Enzo Fernandez and Mykhailo Mudryk in January were expected to provide a much needed boost.

Although the Blues have since slipped into the bottom half of the table, with relegation not beyond the realms of possibility.

However, form tends to go out of the window on derby day, with bragging rights up for grabs in the capital.

Why has Arsenal vs Chelsea been rearranged?

Arsenal were originally scheduled to play Chelsea on Saturday April 29 in the 17:30 afternoon slot.

But the Premier League chose to rearrange the game for next Tuesday instead, with the players due to kick-off at 20:00.

The Sun have claimed that the reason behind their decision was due to a lack of police resources.

The coronation of King Charles takes place at Westminster Abbey the following Saturday and it has been suggested that a number of officers were requested to take a day’s leave on the final weekend in April to ensure they were available for duty on May 6.

The Metropolitan Police have since revealed that they only wanted to push kick-off forward by an hour to 'help mitigate antisocial behaviour and crime associated with later weekend kick-offs'.

However, the Premier League allegedly rejected their proposal and decided to move the date entirely.

A police statement read: “The Met engaged with the Premier League, Arsenal Football Club and Islington Council, through a Safety Advisory Group since February, to negotiate an earlier week-end kick-off for the Arsenal vs Chelsea football match, when notified of the proposed television scheduling of 17:30hrs, on 29 April.

“This was as a preventive and proactive measure to help mitigate Antisocial Behaviour and crime associated with later weekend kick-offs.

“The Met suggested an earlier kick-off time on 29 April to minimise crime and disorder and the impact on fans, which was declined by football partners who instead chose to play the fixture on an alternative date.

“A new date of Tuesday 2 May at 20:00hrs has now been agreed.

Topics: Arsenal, Chelsea, Premier League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno