Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s season might be defined by three Premier League fixture days.
The Premier League fixtures have been released, giving Arsenal the opportunity to see three of their most significant, yet perhaps understated, dates for the season.
The Premier League fixture announcement will pique the interest of football fans worldwide as the English top-flight games are announced for the first time. From the perspective of Arsenal, they return after an unsuccessful but hard-fought surprise title challenge.
There are plenty of games to look forward to, including the rematch with Manchester City, the North London Derby, and travels to Old Trafford and Anfield. However, outside of the games, there are several important calendar events that may go under the radar at first sight.
Of course, it’s always interesting to see who Arsenal faces at the start and end of the season, but with victories over Crystal Palace and Wolves last season, none of these games were a problem.
The final game of the first round of Premier League fixtures before the season’s first international break. Last season, Arsenal won 3-0 against Brentford to go top of the Premier League standings after seven games with six wins.
This will also be the first game week following the conclusion of the summer transfer window. Whoever is in the squad on this date will, of course, be the only option for Mikel Arteta until the January transfer window opens in 2024.
It would be nice to have a comfortable fixture here to go into the break strong. Alternatively, if Arsenal can deal a morale blow to one of the ‘Big Six’ before the break, this could be a good opportunity to play them, although it is not without risk.
The 16th of December Saturday.
This date represents the weekend of Premier League fixtures following the UEFA Champions League final group stage match. Arsenal returned to the premier European competition after a lengthy absence, finishing second in the league.
Their placement in pot 2 has provided a significant boost, owing to Juventus’ points deduction in Serie A. They’ll seek to advance to the knockout stages and, depending on their pot 1 opponent, even top the group.
If Arsenal does indeed qualify from their group with the last game being a dead rubber, the following Premier League game can take precedence. The same may be true for the week before, so keep an eye out for these sandwiching fixtures.
Saturdays February 10th and March 2nd
Finally, in terms of the Champions League, these are the Premier League weekends preceding the first knockout rounds. Arsenal’s record in the knockout stages of European tournaments is not stellar.
Even in the Europa League, Arsenal has struggled, particularly under Mikel Arteta, reaching the semi-finals once and being knocked out by Olympiacos and Sporting CP in their respective first entry past the group stage in 2020 and 2023. With this in mind, it’s possible that Arteta may try to rest some players in the league games before the midweek tests.
The reality is that every game will almost certainly demand the best from the team. However, this is precisely why Arsenal has to strengthen their roster in order to meet the rigors of many competitions next season.
