Arsenal will return to Premier League action with their most intense schedule of the season so far. Mikel Arteta addressed the fact that his side have experienced varying levels of gaps between games ranging from mere days to the longest so far in the current March international period with 19 days between the 1-0 win over Porto and the pivotal title clash with Manchester City on the final day of the month.
Arsenal have done well to respond to their midweek clashes so far. The 1-0 loss in Porto saw a 4-1 win over Newcastle United three days later and the 2-1 defeat in RC Lens saw the Gunners topple treble winners Manchester City the following weekend.
However, with their clash with Chelsea needing to be rescheduled, Arsenal will be embarking on a six-week run with potentially little rest and recovery time.
The clash with City at the end of the month is followed by the visit of Luton Town on the Wednesday before driving down to the coast and facing Brighton.
The following Tuesday sees Bayern Munich arrive in London for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals.
Each leg sandwiches the arrival of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa who have already recorded a 1-0 win over Arsenal during a difficult festive period that otherwise would have seen Arteta’s team leading the title race with quite the margin.
After their quarter-final fate is decided Arsenal will travel to Molineux to face Wolves, a game which itself faced the threat of postponement but their shocking FA Cup home defeat to Coventry City saved the fixture from that fate.
The gap between the Wolves game and the North London Derby at Tottenham the next weekend leaves a gap that is the likely placement of the aforementioned postponed Chelsea match.
Should Arsenal have progressed past the German champions, they will then have their semi-final with either Real Madrid or Manchester City at the Emirates. The Bournemouth home clash is the fixture between both European ties.
