Arsenal fixtures: Next six games after Bournemouth win

Arsenal extended their unbeaten start to the season with a convincing 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta had urged his side to “win in any context” pre-game but Bournemouth were generous hosts, giving Arsenal not one but two penalties at the Vitality Stadium.

The Gunners closed the gap up to Manchester City to just one point but face an ominous slate of fixtures in October. With the Champions League and Carabao Cup both underway, Arsenal are scheduled to come up against local rivals and the reigning Premier League champions in the coming weeks.

Here’s what lies ahead for Arteta’s winning side.

Franck Haise couldn’t help but get all misty-eyed when he heard Thierry Henry heap praise upon his Lens side last season. Arsenal’s all-time leading scorer will certainly be rooting for the north Londoners this midweek but knows the dangers posed by their hosts.

After yet another summer sullied by the departure of key players, Lens have recovered from a shaky start to win consecutive matches ahead of Arsenal’s visit on Tuesday night. Henry may not be so forthcoming in his adulation if Lens make it three victories on the spin in midweek.

Arsenal go into the October international break after the biggest game of the Premier League season thus far.

Recent history heavily suggests that Mikel Arteta’s side will be mulling over a defeat during the club hiatus. Arsenal have lost their last 12 Premier League matches against City, taking the lead for just 26 minutes during this bleak stretch.

Mauricio Pochettino took charge of 13 north London derbies during his time as Tottenham Hotspur manager and emerged with a winning record (W4 D6 L3) from these feverish duels.

Arsenal’s rivalry with Chelsea is not as deeply embedded as the enmity with their nearest neighbours but it has taken a toxic edge since the turn of the century. Pochettino’s Spurs past only adds to the theatre of it all.

When Jose Luis Mendilibar was in charge of Eibar he said: “We’re the easiest team to analyse. We don’t do anything extraordinary. We insist upon what we do well: win the second ball, get it to the wing, put the ball in, get a shot in.”

Mendilibar’s Sevilla lead La Liga for crosses by a distance and press feverishly, although the quality of players within the team – such as the likes of Ivan Rakitic or Sergio Ramos – gives them added composure in possession.

Arsenal may know what they are walking into at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, but dealing with the aerial assault is another matter entirely.

The last time Arsenal came up against Sheffield United, Aaron Ramsdale was in goal for the Blades. Whether he will be lining up against his former employers is anyone’s guess.

The full scope of Arteta’s radical insistence on rotating his goalkeepers is yet to entirely reveal itself. After David Raya was selected for the club’s first Champions League game and the north London derby while Ramsdale returned in the Carabao Cup, it seemed as though the former Brentford shot-stopper had simply been promoted to Arsenal’s number one.

Arsenal’s goalkeeper hierarchy should be clearer by the time Sheffield United turn up at the Emirates at the end of October.

For years under Arsene Wenger, November was held up as Arsenal’s ‘bogey month’. Yet, Arteta’s side didn’t put a foot wrong after the clocks went back last year, defeating Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers without conceding a goal.

West Ham United are Arsenal’s first foes of the month this term after being pulled out of the hat in the Carabao Cup fourth-round draw. Both sides are already enjoying improved cup displays after bowing out of the competition at the first hurdle last season.

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