Tricky start sees Arsenal take on Man Utd and Tottenham in opening weeks of new season

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The fixtures for the 2023/24 Premier League season have been released and Arsenal will face a tricky start to the new campaign as we’ll face off against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the opening few weeks.

The Premier League released the fixture list recently and Arsenal will start the new season at home to Nottingham Forest. It will be an opportunity to make up for last seasons dire defeat at the City Ground that gifted the title to Man City and I’m sure the Arsenal players will be desperate to kick-off the new campaign on a positive note. The game has been selected for live broadcast and will be shown on August 12th at 12.30pm.

The following week, Arsenal make a short trip across London to take on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. The game will be live on Sky Sports on Monday August 21st, kick-off 8pm. Palace away is never an easy game as the passionate crowd gets right behind their team, but it will be even more difficult on a Monday night under the lights. Arsenal won this fixture last season and will be hoping for a repeat this time around.

Arsenal are back at home on Saturday 26th August and it’s another London derby as Fulham come to the Emirates Stadium. The Cottagers were one of the surprise packages last season as they finished 10th in the table, so Arteta won’t be underestimating the task when Fulham come to North London next month.

United come to town

Up next is our first match against one of the ‘big 7’ as Manchester United head to the capital to face Arsenal on Sunday September 3rd at 4.30pm live on Sky Sports. Arsenal vs Manchester United tickets are already on sale and it’s sure to be a sell out as two of this years title favourites go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal beat Man Utd at home last season and they’ll want to make a statement this year by claiming all three points against their old foes. It’s never an easy game against United and they’ll no doubt improve their squad this summer, but Arsenal showed last season they are a team to be reckoned with again so Arteta will be confident of getting a vital win in this game.

The Gunners squad then travels to Merseyside to take on Everton on Saturday 16th September at 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports. Goodison Park is becoming a bogey ground for Arsenal as we dropped points their once again last season so the players will want to turn things around this coming campaign. Everton were poor last year as they just escaped relegation but they are a big club who’ll be expected to bounce back so no doubt this will be a tough match for Arsenal.

Arguably the biggest game of the season is up next for the Gunners as arch rivals Tottenham come to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday 24th September, 4pm kick-off on Sky Sports. Arsenal blew Spurs away last season and played one of their best games of the season in this fixture, so Arteta will be hoping for more of the same this time. Tottenham have a new manager but it remains to be seen whether Harry Kane will be playing as he’s being strongly linked with a move to Bayern Munich this summer. No matter who starts for the opposition, Arsenal fans will be desperate for their team to claim all three points to take the early bragging rights in north London.

Opening 6 Premier League games:

• Arsenal vs Forest
• Palace vs Arsenal
• Arsenal vs Fulham
• Arsenal vs Man Utd
• Everton vs Arsenal
• Arsenal vs Tottenham

The opening six matches look tricky for Arsenal as they face-off against two main rivals in Man Utd and Tottenham, they also have touch trips to Crystal Palace and Everton to contend with. Arteta will hope for six points from home games against Forest and Fulham but nothing can be taken for granted in the Premier League.

Optimism

Arsenal fans head into the new campaign full of excitement and expectation following a surprisingly successful 2022/23 season. Most fans would have bitten your hand off for fourth had you offered it to them last summer, and many pundits expected us to miss out on Champions League qualification once again.

However, Mikel Arteta’s men shocked everyone by putting in a sustained title challenge. Arsenal led the Premier League table for a staggering 248 days and pushed Manchester United all the way. Unfortunately, a combination of injuries to key players and a drop of in form saw us collapse in April to hand the initiative to City who took full advantage to clinch their fifth title in the last six years.

Arteta knew he lacked depth last season and he is determined to make up for it this time around. Arsenal have already splashed £60m on Kai Havertz with the German international arriving from Chelsea. His versatility means he’ll be a valuable player in the squad but it looks like Havertz has been signed as a replacement for Granit Xhaka – who’s joined Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal have also agreed a mega £105m deal to sign Declan Rice from West Ham and the England international should prove to be a superb signing for the club. He’s set to replace Thomas Partey in the defensive midfield role with the Ghanaian tipped to leave this summer.

Defender Jurrien Timber is also on the verge of joining Arsenal after a £39m deal was agreed with Ajax. The 22-year-old has completed his medical and we’re just awaiting official confirmation of the move. The Dutchman will provide some much needed depth in defense as Timber can play at right-back of centre-back so he’ll compete with the likes of Ben White, William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu for a place in Arteta’s starting eleven.

Arsenal are expected to remain active over the summer with plenty of incomings and outgoings as Arteta continues to reshape his squad. The likes of Rob Holding, Cedric Soares, Nuno Tavares, Nicolas Pepe and Albert Sambi Lokonga are set to leave over the coming weeks. Thomas Partey, Kieran Tierney and Folarin Balogun could also be sold if suitable offers arrive to generate significant funds for new signings. Arteta is reportedly looking for another central midfielder if Partey is sold, while a right sided attacker to compete with Bukayo Saka is also on the agenda. If the Spaniard can add one or two more quality signings, then Arsenal will be in excellent shape for the new season. Who knows, maybe we can go one better this year and get over the finish line to lift our first Premier League title since 2004.

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