Benfica and Arsenal will play their Europa League clash in Rome, according to the latest reports from the Portuguese media.
Outlet O Jogo is the one coming up with the news saying the clubs have found an agreement regarding the venue, even though it’s still to be made official by UEFA.
Benfica were supposed to host the first leg of the round-of-16 at the Estádio da Luz. That, however, would implicate Arsenal in having to quarantine when getting back to London.
The match in Rome is set to be played on the 18th of February. O Jogo points out that in case there wasn’t an agreement, the home club would suffer a 3-0 defeat. To make things easier, UEFA are allowing these games to be played until the 5th of March.
The clubs must now also find a solution for the second leg, which is played a week later. O Jogo only reports Rome as the city for the first game, so perhaps there’ll be a new plan for the decisive match, which should’ve been hosted by Arsenal.
In the second leg’s case, it’s Benfica who couldn’t simply arrive in the United Kingdom and play a game a few days later. So it’s now the Gunners who are responsible for a solution.
