The 2025/26 Premier League season is on the horizon. Once again, all eyes will be on Arsenal, who have their eyes firmly on the biggest prize in English football.
For three years running, Mikel Arteta’s side have finished as runners-up, agonisingly close to ending a title drought that stretches back to 2004.
However, patience is running thin this time. The club, the manager, and the fans know that anything short of lifting the trophy this season could be viewed as failure.
Yet the fixture list has done them few favours. Arsenal’s first six games include trips to Old Trafford, Anfield, and St. James’ Park, as well as a heavyweight showdown against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
The trip to Merseyside is one that is expected to bring a packed stadium, with fans flocking to Seatsnet.com to buy Liverpool tickets at competitive prices.
Arsenal’s opening six games are an unforgiving stretch that will test the Gunners’ new signings, tactical maturity, and psychological resilience from the very first whistle.
Let’s take a closer look at these opening six fixtures and what they might reveal about Arsenal’s chances of finally turning promise into glory.
A blockbuster opening
Arsenal begin their campaign on August 17 with one of the most iconic fixtures in English football as they take on Manchester United away at Old Trafford.
It is the first time since 2022/23 that the Gunners start their season away from home, and they will hope to replicate the success they enjoyed that year when they beat Crystal Palace on opening night.
Despite United’s fall from grace in recent years, the Theatre of Dreams remains a daunting place to visit.
The Red Devils are coming off a disastrous 15th-place finish last season, their worst in Premier League history, but their fans will demand an immediate reaction.
Arsenal can expect a fierce, end-to-end contest, one that should keep fans who bought Man Utd tickets from secondary platforms like Seatsnet on the edge of their seat for the entire 90 minutes.
Before their famous 1-0 win in November 2020, Arsenal had gone 13 visits without victory at Old Trafford. They have improved since then, winning four of their last five league meetings with United.
However, opening day fixtures carry a different kind of intensity, and a win at Old Trafford could be a massive statement that sets the tone for the rest of the campaign.
Leeds United at the Emirates
Six days later, after reigniting one of the league’s oldest rivalries, the Emirates hosts its first Premier League game of the season when newly promoted Leeds United come to town.
For Arsenal supporters, the fixture is steeped in nostalgia, evoking memories of great clashes from decades past. On paper, it looks like the easiest of Arsenal’s first six matches.
Leeds may have momentum from promotion, but the gulf in quality is hard to ignore. Arsenal have not lost to Leeds in the league since 2003, and they enter this game expecting nothing less than victory.
But if recent seasons have taught Arteta’s side anything, it is the importance of dispatching strugglers with ruthless efficiency.
Dropped points against so-called lesser opponents have cost Arsenal dearly in the past. If they are to be champions this time, games like this must be won convincingly.
The Leeds fixture may not carry the glamour of United or Liverpool, but in the context of a title race, it could prove just as important.
Taking on the champions at Anfield
Matchday three brings one of the most daunting challenges in English football as Arsenal take a trip to Anfield to face the reigning champions.
Last season, Liverpool wrestled the title away from both Arsenal and Man City under their new manager, proving that Jurgen Klopp’s departure was not the end of their dominance.
Arsenal know how difficult it is to win at Anfield. Their last league victory there came in 2012, and despite their progress under Arteta, they have struggled to impose themselves on Merseyside.
Yet, last season’s meetings showed progress after two fiercely contested 2-2 draws where Arsenal matched Liverpool blow for blow.
This early encounter could have massive psychological weight.
A win at Anfield would not only prove Arsenal can overcome the toughest away test in the league but also plant seeds of doubt in Liverpool’s title defence.
On the other hand, a defeat could remind the Gunners of just how high the mountain still is.
Nottingham Forest at the Emirates
After the first international break in September, Arsenal return to domestic action with a home tie against Nottingham Forest.
At first glance, it looks like a straightforward game, but Arsenal will know better than to underestimate Nuno Espirito Santo’s overachieving side.
Forest have developed a reputation for troubling bigger clubs, using their defensive organisation and counter-attacking threat to frustrate opponents.
The Emirates crowd will demand nothing less than victory, and Arsenal must deliver.
By this point, depending on results against United and Liverpool, Arteta’s men could either be riding a wave of confidence or desperate to steady the ship.
Matches like these are where title contenders show their consistency.
Old friends collide at the capital
Perhaps the defining fixture of Arsenal’s opening run arrives on September 20, when Pep Guardiola’s Man City visit the Emirates.
Even after an underwhelming 2024/25 season by their standards, City remain the benchmark in English football.
Their ability to recover from slow starts is legendary, but Arsenal will know this is their chance to strike an early psychological blow.
The Gunners famously thrashed City 5-1 at home last season in one of their finest performances under Arteta.
That victory ended years of frustration against Guardiola’s side and proved Arsenal could beat them not only tactically but also emphatically.
However, City will come with vengeance on their minds, determined to reassert dominance.
This clash could be pivotal. Win, and Arsenal will be hailed as serious favourites. Lose, and doubts about whether they can outlast their rivals will resurface.
Either way, the Emirates will witness a match with huge implications for the title race.
A dogged battle in Tyneside
Arsenal wrap up their first six games with a trip to St. James’ Park to face Newcastle United.
Once again, this is no easy outing. Newcastle have emerged as one of Arsenal’s most persistent irritants in recent seasons, beating them three times last year, including two cup encounters.
There is now a simmering rivalry between the clubs, fuelled by Newcastle’s ambitious project and their physical, aggressive style of play.
Arsenal managed to beat them convincingly at the Emirates in May, but doing the same in front of a raucous Tyneside crowd will be another matter entirely.
By the end of September, Arsenal will have faced four of last season’s top seven. It is a gruelling start, and how they emerge from it could define their entire campaign.
