Wenger: Put Premier League ahead of cup

Sarah Winterburn

Arsene Wenger has bucked the trend of demanding more respect for the FA Cup by suggesting that the Premier League should take precedence over all competitions.

The issue has come to the fore as the Premier League have been forced to squeeze in a round of fixture this midweek, just days after the FA Cup.

Despite the power of the Premier League, they are currently last on the list when it comes to claiming fixture dates.

National team games are scheduled first and then UEFA club matches, before FA and Capital One Cup dates; the Premier League has to find spaces in between.

Talk of a winter break is often mooted but Wenger would be a fan of a new hierarchy.

“Before you shrink the calendar, you can make it less chaotic by saying maybe that priority is to the Premier League on fixtures,” said Wenger.

“When you start to cancel Premier League game as you have a replay of the FA Cup, why not play the replay on a different date in midweek and keep the Premier League?

“As sometimes you finish the season and this team has two games less as they played in a replay of the cup and you have a lot of problems to reschedule the games.

“If you at least fix and keep the Premier League games and don’t change them, and adapt the FA Cup to the dates to midweek, that would be a step forward.”