Why is Sunderland vs Arsenal at 8pm on Saturday?

Defending Premier League champions Arsenal head to Sunderland on Saturday evening, with their match at the Stadium of Light kicking off at 20:00 BST.The unusual kick-off time has been used on a few occasions by the league in recent seasons.Because Arsenal are playing away at Napoli on Wednesday night in their first Champions League fixture of the season, the late kick-off allows them extra recovery time to prepare for the trip to Sunderland after returning from Italy.Typically, clubs selected to play in the Saturday lunchtime fixture that are also playing a Champions League fixture on the previous Wednesday get the option of kicking off at 12:30 or 20:00 on that Saturday.Arsenal were not given that choice because the match had already been rescheduled before the Champions League fixtures had been announced, with the Premier League having anticipated the possibility of the Gunners playing in Europe before their trip to Sunderland.It was also moved to a later kick-off in the interest of avoiding any late rescheduling for supporters that are attending.Some clubs who are given the choice of kick-off times by the Premier League may opt for the 12:30 Saturday slot instead of 20:00 if they are playing again the following midweek, to increase recovery time before that fixture.Arsenal will play three matches at 20:00 BST in the space of six days. The trip to Sunderland comes in between hosting Napoli in the Champions League and a trip to Ipswich Town in the EFL Cup.As this fixture is this weekend's designated live game on TNT Sport, it means there will be no match at 12:30 on Saturday. The later kick-off on Wearside effectively acts as a replacement for the lunchtime game.Typically, the Premier League's primary fixture slots are 20:00 on Friday, 12:30, 15:00 and 17:30 on Saturday, 14:00 and 16:30 on Sunday and 20:00 on Monday.