The fear has settled in amid the first Premier League postponement of the season. Arsenal have the guarantee that a win over Fulham on Sunday means they will close the gap to Liverpool to just four points after the Reds’ trip to Everton needs to be rescheduled due to the disruption and risk related to Storm Darragh.
The apprehension that exists surrounds the potential for one of Arsenal’s future games to face the same fate. The benefit that the Gunners have is all their games over Christmas are taking place in London.
The storm is at its strongest on the west coast, as a former Geography teacher, I will not bore you with the meteorological reasons behind why the winds dissipate toward the capital, but hopefully, it continues to be enough to keep the games going. Arsenal have a midweek game with Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting a very well-rested Everton on December 14.
The weather is hoped to have died down by then but any future stormy weather threatening the schedule both in London or further afield would indeed cause difficulties for the Gunners. The hope is they will progress past Crystal Palace in the League Cup quarter-final which will incur a two-legged semi-final in the new year.
A third-round FA Cup victory against Manchester United would mean the second weekend of February is locked in. Should Arsenal not make the top eight of the UEFA Champions League they will have a midweek play-off game of the week commencing February 17.
Of course, should they succeed in a top-eight finish – which based on their current position and remaining three fixtures looks likely – then that week will remain free and could be primed for any potential rescheduling that is needed. The schedule itself has been under considerable scrutiny, especially from players.
Any hit to Arsenal would be of benefit to Liverpool and Manchester City. Despite the latter's poor form and the Reds dropping points at Newcastle, the Gunners do not need anything extra going against them after the injuries they've had to deal with - especially anything as disruptive as a fixture change.
The FIFA Club World Cup expansion will see Chelsea and Man City’s seasons extend as far as June and even July should they progress far enough. Arsenal have not qualified but with the threat of any games needing to be moved, the pressure has never been as high as it stands today.
The Champions League expansion added two guaranteed fixtures in the league phase, taking games from six to eight. Imaging the upheaval the pandemic caused and what that would have done to games in 2024 is too scary to even think about.