Arsenal could find themselves at an early disadvantage when the Premier League season resumes as the league makes plans for rearranged fixtures in the schedule.
The Gunners are one of four teams to have played one match fewer than the rest of the division following Manchester City's victory in the Carabao Cup final.
Arsenal's rearranged fixture against City was the first to be postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak and the timeframe for slotting that match into the schedule is tight.
Premier League clubs are returning to training this week after agreeing to the protocols put in place but full team training with contact sessions is not yet in place.
The restart still has a number of hurdles to overcome over the course of the coming weeks ahead of the proposed restart date of mid-June, which could then see matches played until the end of August and the start of the 2020/21 season delayed.
Full plans for the schedule are yet to be approved and confirmed but Arsenal may find themselves at an early disadvantage as Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has suggested that postponed matches should be played from the earliest date, meaning Arsenal's fixture against City could be played sooner rather than later.
"It is a relatively normal occurrence for, at this stage of the season, there to be displaced matches that have to be played," he Said. "But I think it is a good idea to prioritise games that have to be played first relatively early in the schedule."
The Premier League has renewed confidence around their resumption plans following the successful return of Germany's Bundesliga at the weekend, which was the first of Europe's top leagues to return.
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