Arsenal appear to have rediscovered their swagger since the international break and could be set for a very happy festive period thanks to the fixture list.
The Gunners went into the international break on the back of a four-match winless run in the Premier League. But since returning they have beaten Nottingham Forest 3-0 and thumped previously-unbeaten Sporting Lisbon 5-1.
They head into this weekend of Premier League fixtures in fourth, level on 22 points with Chelsea and Brighton. A trip to West Ham on Saturday evening will be a test, but there is a sense Arsenal have their mojo back – and if that is the case then the upcoming games could help them claw back the nine-point gap to leaders Liverpool.
Having returned from Lisbon in mid-week, Arsenal are now set to stay inside the confines of the M25 for an extended period. In fact, 12 of their next 13 games are in London – and the one that isn't is at Brighton, a short hop to the south coast.
In the coming weeks before Christmas, Arsenal will host Manchester United, Monaco, Everton and Crystal Palace, with away games at West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace. They will then play Ipswich and Brentford before a trip to Brighton on January 4. Their next significant trip comes on January 25, away to Wolves.
Arsenal’s upcoming fixtures look particularly pretty when compared to potential title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City, who face each other on Sunday at Anfield. Over the coming weeks, Liverpool will travel to Newcastle, Girona, Southampton, Tottenham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Brentford. Meanwhile, struggling City have away games against Liverpool, Crystal Palace, Juventus, Aston Villa, Leicester, Brentford, Ipswich and Paris Saint-Germain on the horizon.
In the modern age of player burnout, a lack of travel could give Arsenal an edge over their competitors. Arteta hailed the win over Sporting on Tuesday as the best Champions League win of his tenure as manager and hailed their character ahead of the West Ham game.
Asked if he felt he had his side back, Arteta replied: “I don’t link character to winning. This team showed unbelievable character against Inter and we lost, unbelievable character against Chelsea and we didn’t win despite being the better team. Same players, same intentions. Being more efficient and winning matches. That’s the difference.”
No matter how well they play over the busy festive period, Arsenal have ground to make up on Liverpool, who hold all the cards at present following a red-hot start to the season. Asked if Arsenal needed to be near-perfect to catch Liverpool, Arteta was clear.
“If they continue that way that’s for sure,” he said. “The results they are producing, the amount of games they are winning. But the focus is just on us. If we keep winning games, maintaining the consistency in terms of performances, that’s going to give us a better chance of winning. Keep the availability because this is a long run.”
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