Arsenal had to wait 5 hours at the airport

France Mikel Arteta and his team had their schedule postponed, had to wait at the airport for five hours and canceled their press conference before the match against Lens in the second leg of Group B of the Champions League.

This is Arsenal's first away match in the Champions League this season. In the opening match, the "Gunners" crushed PSV 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard.

Arsenal were scheduled to train at London Colney at 11:30 a.m. on October 2, London time, and then depart for France at 4:15 p.m. the same day. However, Arteta and his team had to wait at Luton Airport for about five hours due to the storm.

Coach Arteta talks with defender Gabriel during a training session at Colney on the morning of October 2. Photo: arsenal.com — Coach Arteta talks with defender Gabriel during a training session at Colney on the morning of October 2. Photo: *arsenal.com*

As a result, Arteta and William Saliba's pre-match press conference at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, scheduled for 6pm on the same day, was cancelled. Arsenal will not face any punishment from UEFA due to the weather, and will only be given a warning. Last month, Newcastle arrived late to their pre-match press conference ahead of their Champions League opener against AC Milan and also escaped punishment.

But Arteta still spoke to the media by phone and insisted that the team's plans for the match had not been affected. The Spanish coach praised Lens for finishing second in Ligue 1 last season and gradually finding their rhythm in the last three matches. "First of all, we have to go to France but tomorrow is another day and we will try our best against Lens. It is a really great feeling, my second match in charge of Arsenal in the Champions League," he said.

The most talked about topic of the seventh round of the Premier League was the PGMOL's admission of "serious human error" in Liverpool's 2-1 defeat at Tottenham. Last season, the PGMOL admitted to being wrong twice against Arsenal, including disallowing Gabriel Martinelli's opening goal in the defeat to Man Utd at Old Trafford in September 2022 and VAR forgetting to mark the offside line for Ivan Toney's equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Brentford in February 2023.

Having suffered similar adverse decisions, Arteta sympathizes with Liverpool because everyone wants to get what they deserve. "Everyone tries to maintain integrity and honesty, but at the end of the day, you have to win and play in the conditions that the rules allow. When that doesn't happen, it's frustrating," the Spanish coach said.

Arteta revealed that Bukayo Saka has recovered and is training normally after limping off the pitch in the 4-0 win over Bournemouth in the seventh round of the Premier League last weekend. The 41-year-old coach also said that Thomas Partey is ready to return, and could play a few minutes to warm up, preparing for the big match against Man City at Emirates Stadium on October 8.

Asked about keeping key players for the match against Man City, Arteta replied: "First of all, we have to know who is available and the condition of all the players, because some had problems last week. But it's great to have Partey back, and we will finalise the starting lineup tomorrow."

Hong Duy

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