Arteta lays into schedule

Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta has laid into the fixture scheduling as his team prepare for Saturday’s showdown with Manchester City.Arsene Wenger’s squad have little time for recuperation following their midweek Champions League 2-0 defeat at Napoli as they attempt to cement their place at the Premier League summit with a tricky visit to the Etihad Stadium.“The mood will be fine, but the recovery time is very tight,” said the Spaniard.“I don’t understand why we play Sunday afternoon, then in Naples on Wednesday, getting back to London at four o’clock in the morning (on Thursday) and then we are going to play again on Saturday morning in Manchester.“However, there is not much we can do, so we just have to prepare well and be ready for it because they will be ready for us as they rested several players for their European game on Tuesday night.“However, there can be no excuses, we have to be ready, we want to win there and have to be prepared. We know it can be a big statement if we get a good result there, so that is what we want.”