Arsenal face Bournemouth issue as recovery plan disrupted by Sporting travel curfew

Arsenal host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime following their 1-0 Champions League win at Sporting CP on Tuesday evening

Arsenal had to deviate from their usual travel plan after their 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first-leg victory against Sporting CP in Portugal.

Normally, the Gunners would fly straight back to London following a European away fixture so Mikel Arteta's squad could sleep in their own beds - even if they did not arrive home until the early hours of the morning.

However, that was not possible following Tuesday's triumph due to strict travel restrictions at Lisbon Airport. Due to noise pollution, the law prohibits planes from arriving or taking off from Humberto Delgado Airport between 12am and 5am.

Those regulations meant Arsenal had to stay an additional night in the Portuguese capital before returning to England on Wednesday.

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While the Gunners would not have trained on Wednesday anyway, they were travelling instead of resting up at home or at the training ground, where recovery sessions usually take place.

There have been previous instances during Arteta's reign where the team had to stay an extra night following a European fixture.

Under Arsene Wenger, however, he made a point of flying his squad back directly after a game where possible.

Wenger said in November 2013: “I do that because we play late at night, and there is always an excitement there. If we stay behind in a hotel afterwards, the players won't sleep until three or four o'clock, and some won't sleep until five or six because just after a game it can be difficult to sleep.

"So if we do that, and travel back the next day, you would need to wake them up at about eight o'clock in the morning, just when they are starting to sleep.

"So then you lose the next day as well because you wont arrive home until one, two or three o'clock in the afternoon.

"But if you come home straight away, even if you don't get to bed until 4am that night, you can leave them in bed until midday and so you don't lose sleep, and you don't lose the next day. I always found it better to recover that way.”

Bournemouth have not played since March 20 when they drew 2-2 with Manchester United as they do not participate in European competition and they were eliminated from the FA Cup by Newcastle back in January.

Premier League title rivals Manchester City have also had eight days to prepare for Sunday's trip to Chelsea as they were eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid.

Arsenal are battling a number of fitness issues and with the big games coming thick and fast, Arteta's players need to maximise their rest and recovery in the forthcoming weeks as they target a historic Double.