Mikel Arteta’s nightmare scenario as Arsenal’s match list gives him Liverpool, a Man United test

November can’t come soon enough for Mikel Arteta, whose first full campaign will include a series of grueling matches over the preceding weeks that will somehow help define his team’s success throughout the season.

Two London derbies away to Fulham and at home to West Ham are certainly not the easiest of the new season’s beginnings, but the challenges Arsenal face will increase in the coming weeks as they face four of last season’s top five teams. in the space of just over a month.

The challenge begins with an away match to face Premier League champions Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool unbeaten in 46 top-flight games at home. When they meet over the weekend of 26 September, it will be eight years since an Arsenal team won at Anfield.

Sheffield United’s trip to Emirates Stadium seems like a slight relief in terms of games surrounding it, but the Blades didn’t give Arsenal any shortage of difficulty over three games, beating them and drawing in the Premier League before the Gunners retaliated with a victory at Bramall Lane in the FA Cup.

An international break follows before two trips to Manchester, starting with a match with Pep Guardiola’s team at the Etihad Stadium. Like Anfield, it is a field where Arsenal have not been successful in recent times; they have been winless since January 2015 and lost 3-0 on their last visit in June.

Fifteen days later, on 31 October, Arsenal will return to Manchester to face United, but in the meantime they will host Leicester City at Emirates Stadium with The Foxes six points clear of Arteta’s side last season.

To add to the headache that this streak will represent Arteta, his team is gearing up for a more grueling Europa League campaign, with the group stage starting on 29 October. The six matches, which usually start in mid-September, will take place around half the time as leagues across Europe respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

If Arteta is looking for reasons to be optimistic after the match list is handed to him, he might at least notice that within seven games into the new campaign, Arsenal will have completed their away matches in the first three of last season. He may also note that he has already beaten each of those clubs during his short managerial tenure.

Repeat the same trick this fall and Arsenal could find themselves well on their way to a hugely successful season.