Arsenal claimed their eighth consecutive Premier League win towards Wolverhampton Wanderers final weekend to remain inside hanging distance of pacesetters Liverpool.
Riccardo Calafiori’s second-half winner settled an ill-tempered affair at Molineux, which noticed each side decreased to 10 males, maintaining Mikel Arteta’s aspect six factors adrift of the Reds.
Referee Michael Oliver despatched off 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly on the stroke of half-time. Per the , his controversial choice to present the teen his marching orders left Arteta ‘fuming.’
Unfazed by Lewis-Skelly’s expulsion, the Gunners took residence three treasured factors, sustaining their see-saw league type in the beginning of 2025.
Certainly, they’ve alternated between successful and drawing throughout 5 top-flight outings in January however stored a clear sheet for the primary time in 11 away league video games.
Nonetheless, with Arne Slot’s high-flyers boasting a sport in hand, Arsenal’s bid to go one higher on final season’s runner-up end faces a process that’s nothing in need of Herculean.
Following a closely congested January schedule, received’t be coming as thick and quick as at the beginning of the brand new calendar 12 months.
However that doesn’t imply they’ll relaxation simple.
Manchester Metropolis, Premier League (H) – 02/02/2025
Arsenal are ‘engaged on a deal to signal’ prodigious midfielder Sverre Nypan from Rosenborg by way of . Nonetheless, he’s hardly the transformative signing Arteta must make a quantum leap within the title race.
Latest league encounters towards perennial champions Man Metropolis have uncovered the Gunners’ attacking vulnerabilities amid the membership’s feeble try so as to add a prolific goal-getter.
Earlier than a nail-biting 2-2 attract September’s reverse fixture, Arsenal had failed to attain greater than as soon as in 5 consecutive top-flight matches towards Pep Guardiola’s group.
The Cityzens have put their roughest patch below the Spaniard to mattress and might be out to problem Arsenal’s title credentials on the Emirates, the place they’d received six straight league video games earlier than a 1-0 defeat in October 2023.
Newcastle United, League Cup (A) – 05/02/2025
Arsenal’s top-flight marketing campaign will briefly take a again seat as they head to St James’ Park to satisfy Newcastle within the return leg of their League Cup semi-final tie.
The Gunners’ quest to convey residence the title in England’s second most prestigious cup competitors for the primary time since 1992/93 is in tatters after a 2-0 residence defeat within the first leg.
Eddie Howe’s males have gotten the higher of the North London powerhouse in each aggressive encounters this season with out conceding, highlighting the scale of the duty awaiting Arteta’s fees.
Leicester Metropolis, Premier League (A) – 15/02/2025
Firmly embroiled within the relegation scrap, Leicester discovered a manner out of a dreadful seven-game dropping league run with a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur final weekend.
Nonetheless, beating Spurs’ fiercest rivals is a completely totally different proposition.
Arsenal can’t afford a slip-up on the King Energy Stadium, the place they’ve emerged victorious from their final three Premier League clashes towards the Foxes.
West Ham United, Premier League (H) – 22/02/2025
Graham Potter’s appointment might have come too late to salvage West Ham’s European ambitions, however it gives the downtrodden London outfit a contemporary begin after Julen Lopetegui’s substandard tenure.
Regardless of experiencing a blended begin to life within the capital, Potter has been a thorn in Arsenal’s aspect, beating them 4 occasions in 9 duels whereas in control of Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea (D1, L4).
In the meantime, Arsenal thumped the Irons in each Premier League conferences final 12 months, netting no less than 5 objectives on every event, together with a shocking 5-2 win in November.
However with Potter within the dugout, the Gunners can’t take West Ham with no consideration.
Nottingham Forest, Premier League (A) – 26/02/2025
Arsenal make a journey to the Metropolis Floor to drop the curtain on the February schedule, searching for a second successive league double over shock bundle Nottingham Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s males have defied each expectation this season to determine themselves as real top-four contenders regardless of being tipped for a season-long combat towards the drop.
Nonetheless, considered one of their 5 Premier League losses got here towards none apart from the Gunners in a 3-0 rout on the Emirates in late November.
Replicating that scoreline on the Metropolis Floor might be a tall order, contemplating the Tough Bushes have conceded solely 0.9 objectives per residence sport on common this time period.
