Arsenal face Benfica in the Round of 32 of the Europa League and the second leg of the tie has been shifted out of England.
Due to all the COVID restrictions, UEFA has had to shift the venues of a number of games in the Europa League as well as the Champions League and the Arsenal vs Benfica match happens to be the latest one on the list.
The Gunners released a statement on Tuesday where they clarified that their home game vs Benfica has now been shifted to the Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece.
The official statement read: “Uefa has confirmed that our Europa League last-32 home leg against Benfica will be played at Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Athens.
“The match – at the home of Olympiacos – has been moved from Emirates Stadium due to Covid restrictions. The match will be staged on February 25, kick-off 5.55 (GMT).
“The first leg is being played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on February 18, kick off 8pm (GMT).
“*Uefa has stated that in the event of a draw over two legs, the usual away goals rule will apply.”
This change of venue should not be a major issue since matches are still being played behind closed doors which is why home and away legs look and feel all the same.
But the one cause of concern for Arsenal will be the fact that they will now have to travel almost 4000 miles to and fro just days before they face Leicester City in the Premier League.
A Thursday night fixture is anyways tiring and now the North London side will have to travel all the way to Greece to play their own home match. So, it will not be a total surprise if Mikel Arteta looks to go all out to try and wrap up the tie in the first leg itself.
This would then allow the Arsenal boss to take a relatively younger side to Greece next week.
