Explained: Why Arsenal's Women's Super League clash with Aston Villa was delayed 45 minutes just nine days after Chelsea sock farce

Seventh-placed Villa were set to host the third-positioned Gunners at 6.45pm today (Sunday) at Villa Park but the game has been pushed back to 7.30pm. This delay comes just over a week after Arsenal's encounter to Stamford Bridge was delayed 30 minutes due to a sock colour clash with Emma Hayes' team.

According to the WSL, the decision to push this fixture back was because Arsenal arrived at the stadium later than planned due to traffic on the roads. The league also apologised to supporters travelling to the contest for this late change to the kick-off time.

A tweet from the Barclays Women’s Super League reads: "We can confirm that today’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture between Aston Villa and Arsenal will now kick off at 7.30pm, 45 minutes later than originally scheduled. This decision has been taken due to travel disruption affecting the arrival time of the visiting team."

They added: "We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to supporters by the late change in timings."

Arsenal's WSL clash with Villa will round off this latest round of league fixtures. After that, the Gunners take on Chelsea in the final of the FA Women's League Cup on March 31, before returning to league action on April 14 at home to Bristol City.