Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has made clear the club will resist moving its Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace to Dec. 23, after Palace asked for an alternative date amid a severe fixture pile-up.

The quarter-final is currently scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 16. Arsenal and Palace reached this stage by overcoming Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool in the fourth round respectively. Palace say the proposed date leaves them with three matches in five days: Manchester City are due to visit Selhurst Park two days prior in the Premier League and Palace then face KuPS in the Conference League two days after the scheduled cup tie.

Palace sought options after playing on Christmas Eve was ruled out following consultation with the Metropolitan police and Transport for London, and the Eagles proposed Dec. 23 as a possible alternative. Arsenal, who face Wolves a day before City travel to south London, have not agreed to that change.

“I don’t think that’s fair, because we have other competitions as well we have to try to accommodate,” Arteta said at his news conference. “We knew at the start of the season the competitions that each club is playing in … On balance we have to try to accommodate the best possible way for everybody.”

Asked specifically about the Dec. 23 option he added: “No, there are others. There are others, believe me, there are other options much better than this one. We already suggested that.”

The EFL, which governs the Carabao Cup, has yet to make an official ruling and both clubs expect a decision in the coming week.

Concerns about fixture congestion and player workload are not new. This summer’s Club World Cup provided little respite for players from Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and other leading clubs, and there have been suggestions that strike action might be needed to force governing bodies to listen.

On that point Arteta was clear about his hopes and priorities: “Hopefully not. If we look after the players’ welfare and our supporters, I think we’re never going to get to that point. And that’s it. We have to close the window there. We cannot open that window. It has to be closed. It’s our most precious value.

“We have the best league in the world and we cannot just open any window for anything just to lose that because we don’t respect that, and we forget what we are made of and what makes this game and this league so, so special. And if we respect that, I’m sure we’re going to be totally fine.”

Arsenal recorded a run of six straight shutouts in October, a sequence that began with a 2–0 Champions League win over Olympiacos on Oct. 1 and concluded with Wednesday night’s 2–0 Carabao Cup victory against Brighton. Per Opta, no top-flight side in the 137-year history of the division has played, won and not conceded across six games in the same month.

The sequence of results reads: Oct. 1 Champions League Olympiacos (H) 2–0 W; Oct. 4 Premier League West Ham (H) 2–0 W; Oct. 18 Premier League Fulham (A) 1–0 W; Oct. 21 Champions League Atlético Madrid (H) 4–0 W; Oct. 26 Premier League Crystal Palace (H) 1–0 W; Oct. 29 Carabao Cup Brighton (H) 2–0 W.

Defensive statistics underline the run: Games 6, Goals conceded 0, xG against 4.15, Shots conceded 59 and Shots on target conceded 11. Kepa Arrizabalaga made six saves in the cup tie with Brighton, while over the previous five matches David Raya faced only five shots on target.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has set a clear defensive objective: “More than control, I want dominance,” he once said. “Dominance in the right area and not allowing the opponent to breathe. This is what we do.” Even so, Arteta was frank about weaknesses in the Brighton match: “It’s some very sloppy giveaways that we did give, in very dangerous areas. We didn’t apply two or three rules that we always have in second phases, for example, and we could have been punished,” he huffed.

Brighton fired off 18 shots at the Emirates, the most any side has produced there since Brighton in August 2024, when Arsenal were reduced to 10 players for almost half of that contest. Few opponents have found the net this season; only three players have scored against Arsenal: Dominik Szoboszlai courtesy of a staggering free kick, Erling Haaland on a quick breakaway for Manchester City and Newcastle United’s Nick Woltemade with a towering header back in September.

After the 4–0 Champions League defeat, Atlético Madrid coach Diego Simeone said: “I would say [they are] the best team we have faced this season,” a visibly defeated Diego Simeone sighed after that 4–0 Champions League reverse. Context remains important: five of the six matches were at the Emirates and opposition varied in attacking threat, but the statistical and historical significance of the run is clear.

Crystal Palace produced a clear 3-0 win at Anfield as Ismaïla Sarr scored twice and left Liverpool facing questions over a remarkably inexperienced starting XI.

Manager Arne Slot faced pointed scrutiny after leaving senior figures such as Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Mohamed Salah out of the matchday squad. The nine substitutes between them had just 19 first-team appearances, and none were older than 21.

In a series of postmatch explanations Slot compared his selection to other Premier League sides. “I saw City’s lineup and I don’t think they had one starter from the weekend,” Slot mistakenly moaned, “but it felt as if you look at their lineup they played with their 11 starters. So maybe it also gives a little bit of insight—everybody has always said how big of a squad we have.” He pointed to Manchester City bringing proven senior players off the bench in their cup game, citing John Stones, Joško Gvardiol and Phil Foden being used against Swansea City.

He also referenced Chelsea as an example of available depth. “When we played Chelsea, I said, ‘They’re missing eight but they can still bring Estêvão in.’ We are only missing four players at the moment and already we needed to start with four players under the age of 19. And after I made two substitutions we were on six [under-19s].”

Slot stressed the demands on a squad still adapting. “I saw some of the struggles that the players have had in preseason and players that came from different leagues,” the Dutch boss sighed. “It is a new challenge for them to play at Premier League and Champions League level, three games in seven days.”

He defended using academy options in the Carabao Cup. “To add to that, this club has always used this competition for their academy players as well,” Slot added in a desperate attempt to save face. “So for the non-starters and the academy players, this felt to me like the right decision.”

On injuries he warned of risks to player fitness: “Last time I played a player that wasn’t fully prepared—we thought he was prepared but it was the first time—[Alexander] Isak, he got injured. Last time we played Southampton [Giovanni] Leoni was injured and it was a red card for Hugo Ekitiké. Those are the things we can’t use with a big week coming up,” he told Sky Sports.

He finished by highlighting squad limitations. “People all of a sudden think we have 25 players available. But we mainly have 20 players then we have four injuries. I only have one right fullback, Conor Bradley, as an example. Every time I had to play him twice in three days or three times in seven days [last season] I had to take him off with a hamstring injury or something else.

“Are you willing to take that risk with such a big week coming up?”