According to a report by Football London on Thursday October 29, 2026, despite their humiliating Carabao Cup elimination at the hands of Fleetwood Town, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal squad is gearing up for a pivotal part of the season, and they may be able to take advantage of a favorable upcoming fixture schedule.

Before their home matches against Liverpool and Slavia Prague, the Gunners had already played 10 of their first fifteen matches in all competitions.

Injuries to important players William Saliba and Bukayo Saka have exacerbated their already tough run. Regardless, Manchester City and Arsenal are still tied for first place in the Premier League with the same number of points.

Arsenal will play eleven straight matches in London after their November 21 trip to Newcastle United, allowing them to avoid long-distance domestic journeys for about six weeks.

Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid, Bournemouth, Manchester United, Ipswich Town, and Brentford are some of their upcoming home opponents. Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, and Fulham are all teams they'll have to cross London to play.

The Emirates Stadium will host seven of those matches, and Arsenal have been absolutely dominant there this season. The remaining four away games are all within the city, so they won't have too far to travel.

Until their match against Hull City on January 16, Arsenal will not leave London, giving them a lot of time to rest and prepare for a tough stretch.

Pep Guardiola's Manchester City is expected to face a far more demanding schedule than his opponents. In the Champions League, they will travel to Barcelona. In domestic competition, they will visit Newcastle, Everton, and Leeds United.

In December, City will face Bradford City in the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup. In the meantime, they have away games against Brentford and Arsenal.

The already demanding schedule would take a major hit if City advanced to the semi-finals, where they would most likely face another Premier League team over the course of two legs starting in January.

The loss to Fleetwood was disappointing for Arsenal, but at least their elimination frees up some schedule space. Arteta could better manage player fatigue, safeguard them from harm, and keep consistency if he played fewer matches and traveled less.

But before that, Arsenal has a tough task at Anfield—a stadium where they haven't tasted Premier League victory since 2012. If they want to win the title, Sunday's match against Liverpool could be deciding.