After the last international break of the season, there is, as usual, a real longing for domestic action to return and that will indeed occur this coming weekend. However, for Arsenal supporters, their wait will go on a few days longer.
The Gunners are not in action this weekend like some other of their Premier League counterparts. Mikel Arteta has a whole weekend to welcome back his players from their respective nations and work ahead of the home clash with Fulham.
Their opponents, however, do not have this luxury as they are one of the seven Premier League sides who are in action this weekend. While no league games are taking place, it is the quarter-finals of the FA Cup instead with Championship games also returning.
One second-tier side remain in the cup competition, Preston North End – who Arsenal eliminated from the League Cup – and the northern side are hosting Aston Villa looking to reach Wembley and a FA Cup final. The other ties include: Brighton vs Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth vs Manchester City and Fulham vs Crystal Palace.
Marco Silva’s side play on Saturday at 12:15pm, and travel to the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday evening to play Arsenal. Teams usually have at least one recovery day after games, sometimes two with a light session meaning Silva will have very little time with his players on the training ground.
Arsenal’s record against the Cottagers has been awful lately, losing once and drawing twice in their last three meetings. Before that, they had won eight of the previous nine meetings, drawing the other in 2021 courtesy of a 90th-minute Eddie Nketiah equaliser.
While the Premier League may indeed be bleak for Arsenal in terms of their hopes of winning the title, Liverpool’s exit from the Champions League and their League Cup final defeat to Newcastle before the break have been a significant blow to Arne Slot’s momentum. Arsenal could win every game between now and the end of the league season and probably still not win the title.
The gap stands at 12 points, and even though a trip to Anfield remains for Arteta, they would be reliant on Liverpool dropping at least nine points. But with a superior goal difference of 42 > 29, it likely would need to be ten points dropped in just nine remaining games.
Liverpool host Everton in the final Merseyside derby before the Toffees leave Goodison Park, where they managed to earn a draw against Slot’s team and will hope to repeat that in their bitter rivals’ own ground. It would be a boost to Arsenal and perhaps provide some hope that the title door remains open, if even just ajar.
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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