Arsenal's title race have got off to a strong start following victory over Chelsea, but they face a battle against Manchester City, while Manchester United and Liverpool will hope to compete
Mikel Arteta celebrates
Mikel Arteta's side have got off to a perfect start in the Premier League(Image: Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
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Arsenal have got off to a perfect start in the Premier League, making it three wins out of three after their victory over Chelsea. The title defence is well underway for Mikel Arteta's side, with familiar rivals lining up.
Manchester City have also achieved nine points from their opening three matches, while Xabi Alonso's Blues now sit three points behind after the Gunners came from behind at the Emirates to dispatch their rivals. Manchester United and Liverpool already have some work to do if they want to catch up.
Artetea has already been asked about the prospect of Arsenal and Manchester City being the top two teams again. "It will be super hard and the margins as well," the Spaniard said.
"We went to Villa Park and it was a really tough one. We go to Sunderland and it will again be so tough again."
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca is aware of Arsenal's credentials and believes squad depth will play a vital role. "In the end, if you want to be there you need options. Arsenal have options. We have options.
"More teams have options but it’s not just us. I’m very happy with the options we have, that is something important for us if you want to compete."
That will be tested with the schedule heating up. football.london compares the fixtures of some of the contenders for the title.
Next five Premier League Arsenal fixtures
Sunderland (a) - September 12.
Brighton (a) - September 19.
Leeds (h) - October 10.
Nottingham Forest (a) - October 18.
Everton (h) - October 24.
Mikel Arteta will soon see how the Gunners handle the rigours of two matches per week as they face Napoli ahead of their trip to Sunderland. Following that, a Carabao Cup third-round clash against Ipswich awaits. A Champions League visit from Lille ahead of Nottingham Forest will provide another test before a trip to face Bayern Munich.
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Next five Premier League Manchester City fixtures
Manchester United (a) September 13.
Sunderland (h) - September 20.
Liverpool (a) October 11.
Ipswich Town (h) - October 17.
Aston Villa (a) - October 24.
Enzo Maresca's side faces a tough Premier League schedule alongside the addition of midweek matches. A trip to Porto is first up before the Manchester derby and a Carabao Cup clash with Norwich awaits afterwards. The visit of Paris Saint-Germain follows a clash with Liverpool, while they also host AEK before the end of October.
Next five Premier League Chelsea fixtures
Hull City (h) - September 12.
Brentford (a) - September 18.
Bournemouth (h) - October 10.
Everton (a) - October 17.
Tottenham (h) - October 24.
Next five Premier League Liverpool fixtures
Fulham (h) - September 12.
Bournemouth (a) - September 20.
Manchester City (h) October 11.
Brentford (a) - October 17.
Brighton (h) - October 25.
Liverpool face off against Atletico Madrid ahead of their next Premier League fixture, and a Carabao Cup clash with Spurs follows. Champions League clashes with LASK and Villarreal sandwich the match against Brentford.
Next five Premier League Manchester United fixtures
Manchester City (h) - September 13.
Fulham (a) - September 20.
Tottenham (h) - October 10.
Leeds (a) - October 18.
Bournemouth (h) - October 25.
United first have Champions League minnows Sabah ahead of their Manchester derby, with a Carabao Cup match against Brighton to follow. Atletico Madrid await after Spurs, while a trip to Como comes ahead of the clash with Bournemouth.
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