The Met Police have released a statement explaining why they forced Arsenal's Premier League clash against Chelsea to be rescheduled with only 18 days notice. 

The game had been initally moved to a 530pm kick-off on Saturday, April 29 to be broadcast live by Sky Sports. 

However, the match was then moved to Tuesday, May 2 with fewer than three weeks notice, prompting fury among fan groups and supporters who had already booked their travel from around the world to coincide with the eagerly-awaited London derby. 

Their statement read: "The Met engaged with the Premier League, Arsenal Football Club and Islington Council, through a Safety Advisory Group since February, to negotiate an earlier weekend kick-off for the Arsenal vs Chelsea football match, when notified of the proposed television scheduling of 17:30hrs, on 29 April.

"This was as a preventative and proactive measure to help mitigate Antisocial Behaviour and crime associated with later weekend kick-offs.

"The Met suggested an earlier kick-off time on 29 April to minimise crime and disorder and the impact on fans, which was declined by football partners who instead chose to play the fixture on an alternative date. A new date of Tuesday 2 May at 20:00hrs has now been agreed."

The Met failed to release any crime numbers relating to 'Antisocial Behaviour' in terms of their claim that later kick-offs see a spike in crime around Islington.