Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola in agreement over 'unacceptable' Premier League scheduling

Mikel Arteta has joined forces with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola to voice their concerns over the demanding fixture schedule.

Guardiola labelled it «unacceptable» that his team were forced to play an FA Cup semi-final just 72 hours after their Champions League clash with Real Madrid, while Arsenal had an even tighter turnaround following their European exit to Bayern Munich.

Despite the gruelling schedule, the Gunners bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Wolves to reclaim top spot in the Premier League. However, Arteta believes more needs to be done to protect the players' well-being.

«It's not about us, Pep or myself, it's about the well-being of the players,» Arteta stated. «Especially when you are competing in European competition, everything has to be competed in the same way.

»You cannot have a team that hasn't played for seven days or three days before and has more recovery time and you have to play in the Premier League or the FA Cup."

The Spaniard's sentiments were echoed by Guardiola, who believes the current schedule is unsustainable. «It's too much,» he said. «We cannot continue in this way. The players are not machines.»

Every word Mikel Arteta said on title race, Arsenal fatigue, clean sheets and David Raya display

Arsenal player ratings vs Wolves as David Raya and Gabriel Jesus show up for below par Gunners

With both managers calling for change, it remains to be seen whether the Premier League will take action to address their concerns. «It is not right,» Arteta added. «If you look at it any angle it's not right. If you want to protect and you always talk about the players and the protagonists, let's protect them and think about them and do everything we can to give them the maximum time so they can recover