Arsenal's Premier League fixtures: key dates for your diary


Arteta and Saka

Arsenal's Premier League fixtures: key dates for your diary

By Tom Masters

The Premier League season is now just over a month away and during a busy summer of transfer business for Arsenal, it is time to look ahead at the matches that matter next season. 

Perhaps even more so than in the past two years, it is set to be a season like no other, with the World Cup falling in the middle of the Premier League campaign.

Top flight action will stop in early November and resume on Boxing Day - just eight days after the World Cup final. 

And that gap in the season also means more midweek games, with the final day keeping to the normal end of May deadline, making strength in depth absolutely key. 


So, without further ado, let’s have a look at the key dates in Arsenal’s upcoming Premier League season. 

 

First match: 

 

Crystal Palace (A) – August 5 

 

Arsenal once again have the honour of playing in the first game of the Premier League season, with the Gunners opening the campaign against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. 


It was not a happy start for Mikel Arteta last season, as his side visited newly promoted Brentford and slipped to a 2-0 defeat. 


The Gunners will be hoping that this season they can start in a much richer vein of form, having fallen to three consecutive defeats to start last season, also being beaten 5-0 at Manchester City and 2-0 by Chelsea. 


This year, Arsenal follow up their opening weekend clash by hosting Leicester City on August 13 before a visit to newly-promoted Bournemouth on August 20. 

 

North London derbies: 

 

Home – October 1 

Away – January 14 

 

The first games any Arsenal fan will look for every season – Tottenham. 


Last time out, Arsenal won the first game comfortably, with a 3-1 win at the start of the season showing evidence of their return to form after a poor start. 


But the second game against their bitter North London rivals turned out to be decisive in the Gunners missing out on Champions League action next season, as Spurs made it at their expense thanks in large part to a 3-0 win across North London.


This year, the first of the two derbies will again take place at the Emirates, with Tottenham visiting in gameweek nine, while the Gunners head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the new year. 

 

Other ‘Top 6’ clashes: 

 

Manchester United - September 3 (A) & January 21 (H) 

Liverpool - October 8 (H) & April 8 (A) 

Manchester City - October 18 (H) & April 26 (A) 

Chelsea - November 5 (A) & April 29 (H) 

 

There are some difficult months for Arteta and his men this season, with October and April in particular catching the eye as challenging spells. 


Arsenal face Tottenham, Liverpool, and Manchester City in an intense 17-day period in October, with Europa League and Carabao Cup games also taking place in a month that will stretch the squad to its limits. 


April is a similarly tough time, with visits to both Anfield and the Etihad Stadium coming before the visit of Chelsea to the Emirates in a month that also contains fixtures against Leeds, West Ham and Southampton.


They also face host Manchester United just a week after visiting Tottenham in January in another key period in Arsenal’s season. 

 

Last game before World Cup break: 

 

Wolves (A) – November 12  

 

Every team will want to leave for the World Cup break on a high note and Arsenal’s last game before all eyes turn to Qatar is a tough one, as they travel to Molineux. 


The Gunners were victorious at Wolves last year, winning 1-0 despite Gabriel Martinelli’s red card, but Wolves have become a notoriously tricky side to play against in the past few seasons and this is certainly no easy final game before the World Cup. 

 

First game after World Cup break: 

 

West Ham (H) – December 26 

 

The final game before Qatar is tricky and the first game back is much the same, with Arsenal hosting West Ham on Boxing Day. 


It was a festive fixture last season too, with Arteta’s men coming out on top in a 2-0 win thanks to goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe. 


The Hammers have finished seventh and sixth respectively in their past two seasons and will represent a tough return to Premier League action. 

 

Run-in: 

 

Brighton (H) – May 13 

Nottingham Forest (A) – May 20 

Wolves (H) – May 28 

 

Arsenal finished last season poorly and dropped out of the top four as a result.


Defeats at Tottenham and Newcastle saw them miss out on the much-coveted Champions League and this time around they will be desperate to finish the season strongly. 


A home clash with Brighton gets the run-in started for Arsenal and they will be hoping to improve on their 2-1 home defeat against the Seagulls last time out. 


The final away trip of the season is to Nottingham Forest in what is a potential banana skin, with Forest likely to be fighting for their Premier League status. 


Arsenal also lost last time they visited the City Ground, suffering a 1-0 defeat in the third round of last season’s FA Cup. 


And finally, the Gunners finish the season at home to Wolves.


On paper, it is an easier finish to last season for Arsenal, but after the way 2021/22 ended, there will certainly be a few nerves with three games that have the potential to be tough. 

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