The final week of action before the international break could not have gone better for Arsenal as they equalled their best ever start to a Premier League season.
A 2-1 victory against Slavia Praha kept the Gunners in contention to finish in the top eight, and ensured that the team’s unbeaten record in the competition remained intact, while Martin Odegaard’s late winner against Hull City stretched the team’s lead at the top of the Premier League.
When club football returns, though, Arsenal have a tough trio of fixtures to look forward to. With those games packed into eight days, that run has the potential to generate momentum heading into the Christmas period, or to provide cause for concern.
Newcastle Woes Spell Opportunity for Arsenal
St James’ Park is not typically a place Arsenal have enjoyed visiting recently. A 2-1 victory in September 2025 was only the second time in six attempts the Gunners had left the north-east with a victory. But the Magpies’ struggles under Matthias Jaissle makes this an opportunity for the visitors.
Newcastle have been in mixed form since club football resumed following the September international break, losing to Coventry, Aston Villa, and Everton. With Arsenal yet to taste defeat in the Premier League since their 3-0 loss to Brighton, they will be favourites.
Fitness will be tested against Dortmund and City
For Arteta, the game is all about building momentum for a testing week. His team return to Champions League action just three days after the trip to Newcastle, where they host a Borussia Dortmund team who also harbour aspirations of finishing in the top eight.
The calibre of opposition means resting players isn’t really an option for the Gunners. And that’s problematic considering that they then welcome Manchester City, currently third in the Premier League, to the Emirates on Sunday, 29 November, where three points will be important to increasing Arsenal’s advantage in the title race.
With Dortmund on 24 November and City on 29 November leaving little room to rest anyone, a starter tiring or picking up a knock is a real possibility. On selected pre-match player markets, platforms like bet365 move a bet to the replacement in that case, and new customers can sign up ahead of the game with a bet365 bonus code.
Could City have an edge when they play Arsenal?
What makes matters even more complicated is that Man City might choose to rest players for the weekend fixture in their own Champions League fixture on 24 November. Enzo Maresca’s team will play Napoli the same evening Arsenal face Dortmund, and while the Gunners’ opposition have been in excellent form, the Italians have been out of sorts, losing three of their four matches and facing a very real prospect of elimination from the League Phase.
With that in mind, the likes of Erling Haaland and other key players could be rested for Arsenal, which will mean that they are fresher. Although Arsenal’s recent record against City is strong, with four wins in the last 10 meetings between the two clubs compared to the opposition’s three, picking up three points on Sunday, 29 November will be a real test for the north Londoners.
And all of this is before the concern of picking up an unnecessary injury during the international break, a bane for all football clubs but especially for the top teams featuring the best players in the world who end up playing 60+ games throughout the season.
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