Arsenal Manager Arsène Wenger had to make changes when he took his club to Bournemouth Tuesday night, but "he is not happy about the 'uneven' fixture list forcing his hand," according to Jack Pitt-Brooke of the IRISH INDEPENDENT. The game at Dean Court kicked off "roughly 50 hours after the final whistle blew at the Emirates on Sunday night," meaning that Arsenal had to "rest and rotate for the game." The "whole Premier League" has noticed that Chelsea, with gaps of four days and three days between games, has a "gentler schedule than the chasing pack." Wenger said, "In 20 years it is the most uneven Christmas period I've seen. ... I don't really know if the Premier League masters the fixtures. It's more that we have sold the rights to TV for a lot of money. So we have to accept TV chooses the games. But some teams have more luck than others" (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 1/3). The BBC reported victory over Crystal Palace took Arsenal to third in the table, but it trailed Chelsea by nine points before Tuesday's match against ninth-placed Bournemouth. Wenger: "Every game is so difficult in this Premier League that we go now into a game in 48 hours' time with a big handicap on the fixtures" (BBC, 1/2).
MOURINHO ECHOES WENGER: REUTERS' Richard Martin reported ManU Manager José Mourinho "repeated his complaints about the Premier League's festive fixture pile-up after his side laboured" to a 2-0 win at 10-man West Ham United on Monday. Mourinho blamed ManU's "mixed performance" on having to play its second game in three days. Mourinho said, "It's very difficult to play football in these circumstances within 48 hours. It's amazing for the fans around the world, everybody has the Premier League, I'm more than happy to do that but it's very hard for the players" (REUTERS, 1/2).
