The Premier League fixtures announcement will have the attention of football lovers around the world as the English top-flight games are revealed for the first time. From an Arsenal perspective, they return after an unsuccessful but well-fought surprise title challenge.
Plenty of games are of interest such as the rematch with Manchester City, the North London Derby and trips to Old Trafford and Anfield. However, outside of the games themselves are some key dates for the calendar that might go under the radar at first glance.
Of course, there is always interest in who Arsenal are opening and closing the season against but neither of these games last season proved an issue with wins over Crystal Palace and Wolves. However, football.london have highlighted some dates to consider and the hidden reasons why.
Saturday, September 2
The final game of the opening group of Premier League fixtures before the first international break of the season. Last season Arsenal travelled to Brentford to win 3-0 and sit top of the Premier League table after seven matches with six wins.
This will also be the first game week which takes place after the summer transfer window closes. Whoever is in the squad come this date will of course be what Mikel Arteta has to choose from until at least the opening of the January window in 2024.
A comfortable fixture here to go into the break strongly would be preferable. Alternatively, if Arsenal can strike a damaging morale blow to one of the ‘Big Six’ before the break this might also be a good opportunity to play them but that said it contains significant risk of course.
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Saturday, December 16
This date represents the weekend of Premier League fixtures after the final group stage match of the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal returned to the elite European competition having finished second in the league after a significant absence.
Their placing in pot 2, much to do with Juventus’ points deduction in Serie A, has been a big boost. They’ll hope to qualify through to the knockout stages and perhaps even top the group depending on their pot 1 opponent.
If indeed Arsenal can qualify from their group with the final game something of a dead rubber, it means that the following Premier League game can take precedence. The same can be said also for the week prior so these sandwiching fixtures are ones to look out for.
Saturday, February 10 and Saturday, March 2
Finally and staying with the Champions League, these dates are the Premier League weekends before the first knockout rounds. Arsenal’s history in the knockout stages of European tournaments has not been the greatest.
Even in the Europa League Arsenal have struggled, especially under Mikel Arteta where they reached the semi-final once and were knocked out by Olympiacos and Sporting CP in their first entries past the group stage in 2020 and 2023 respectively. With this in mind, perhaps Arteta will be hoping to rest some players in the league games before these midweek tests.
The reality is however that every game is likely to demand the best from the club. That said, this is exactly why Arsenal need to reinforce their squad to tackle the demands of multiple competitions next season.
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