The Arsenal fixtures have thrown up a tough run. They face five of last season’s top nine over the course of 35 days.
Arsenal have a nightmarish October but a forgiving May as Mikel Arteta prepares for his first full season as manager.
Arteta was appointed last December and crowned a promising opening campaign with victory in the FA Cup final over Chelsea.
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They finished eighth in the Premier League after early struggles under Unai Emery, but will hope to make a better start with fixtures against Fulham (a) and West Ham (h) on the first two weekends.
That may provide a necessary head start as Arsenal then face Liverpool (a), Sheffield United (h), Manchester City (a), Leicester (h) and Manchester United (a) from September 26 to October 31 – their Europa League campaign starting somewhere in the middle.
Such a difficult period provides three opportunities for the club to end their 25-game run without a Premier League win away at a fellow Big Six club.
But their last seven games pit them against just one team that finished last season in the top half of the Premier League, with an anomalous visit to Stamford Bridge coming in mid-May.
Chelsea will make the journey to the Emirates on Boxing Day.
There will be a first north London derby of the league campaign at Tottenham on December 5, followed by the return fixture on March 13.
As well as the opening weekend, Arsenal also face the promoted clubs at least once in November, January, February, April and May, a trip to Elland Road scheduled for their ninth match of the season and first against Leeds in the top flight since Thierry Henry scored four goals in a 5-0 win in April 2004.
The Arsenal fixture list is sure to be complicated somewhat by their participation in the Europa League, which they will enter at the group stage in the middle of that tough October run.
Click here for the full list of Arsenal fixtures for the 2020/21 Premier League season