Arsene Wenger Talks Premier League Schedule After Arsenal's 3-3 with Bournemouth

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hit out at the Premier League's fixture scheduling in the aftermath of his team's 3-3 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday. 

The Gunners were slow out of the traps at the Vitality Stadium and found themselves 3-0 down in the 58th minute, although they recovered to draw 3-3, with Olivier Giroud netting a 92nd-minute equaliser.

Following the contest, Wenger outlined the reasons why he believed his team were so sluggish in the early stages. 

"It was very difficult to start the game," he told Sky Sports (h/t Joe Wright of Goal). "They started quicker, faster. Bournemouth deserve a lot of credit, but the disadvantage is too big to play against a team with three-and-a-half days recovery. We played on Sunday—that’s too big a handicap."

Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

Indeed, the Gunners enjoyed a relatively routine 2-0 win on Sunday at home to Crystal Palace, while Bournemouth played on Saturday, beating Swansea City 3-0.

For the first hour of the match, the visitors looked as though they had been indulging a little too much in the New Year festivities. Bournemouth were more tenacious, sharper off the ball and inventive when in possession. However, they also grew weary in the final third of the game, allowing the Gunners to launch their late recovery.

Per Paul Carr of ESPN, Arsenal have never mounted such a significant comeback in the Premier League before:

The festive scheduling has been a point of contention among managers this term, though.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has expressed his displeasure. "I'm not too happy about this," he said, per Glenn Price of ESPN FC. "We have less than 48 hours between our games against Man City and at Sunderland—interesting idea."

Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has played down the congestion. "The advantage is one more day of rest over Tottenham," he said ahead of his team's clash on Wednesday with Spurs, per Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail. "That's the advantage, if we want to speak about advantage. But for me the advantages are other things."

Clive Rose/Getty Images

As this table illustrates, of all the teams in the Premier League, Chelsea have had the most time to prepare for their fixtures, while both Arsenal and Bournemouth have also had more rest than the majority, per David Prentice of the Liverpool Echo:

#	Teams	Hours
1	Chelsea	223
2	Watford, Crystal Palace	201.5
3	Swansea City	199
4	Arsenal, Bournemouth	198.75
5	Stoke City	172.75
6	West Ham United	172.5
7	Manchester United	172.25
8	Burnley, Everton, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom	170
9	Hull City, Manchester City	167.75
10	Leicester City, Middlesbrough	167.5
11	Liverpool	143.75
12	Southampton	117

For supporters, this time of year is one of the highlights of the sporting calendar, as typically not a day goes by between Christmas and new year without a match to savour. However, for managers and players, it is a huge test of their tactical acumen, concentration and conditioning.

While this year's calendar has left some bosses scratching their heads, next season will be even more crammed:

"

It doesn't get much easier next year, either... pic.twitter.com/yoYDkMBtjf

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) January 3, 2017"

While Wenger knows his players better than anyone, few will have sympathy for the Frenchman, as he has one of the most talented and expensively assembled squads in the division.

Per the table above, Bournemouth have played their three festive matches over the same time period as the Gunners, and manager Eddie Howe was still able to field a team that was superior for a significant spell in the game.

With Arsenal now eight points behind Chelsea and having played a game more, failing to utilise his group effectively could be costly for Wenger.