Arsenal fans woke up to buzzing headlines today, as the Premier League officially unveiled the 2025/26 fixture list, sending ripples across North London. Mikel Arteta’s evolving squad is bracing for a ferocious start, as the Gunners have been handed a brutal lineup of early fixtures that could shape the destiny of their title charge before autumn even fully settles in. The new season kicks off mid-August, and Arsenal’s ambitions will be tested from the jump.
Set to be revealed at 9am sharp, the fixture list will plot out the full season’s journey for all 20 Premier League clubs. Arsenal, runners-up three years running, are desperate to finally climb that last step. But Liverpool, freshly crowned champions, remain the team everyone wants to dethrone. Yet, Manchester City, Chelsea, and a resurgent Aston Villa won’t sit idly by. Newcastle too, hungry and well-backed, are expected to cause serious rumbles at the top.
Joining the fray this season are three promoted sides—Leeds, Burnley, and Sunderland. While some would call for an “easy start” against newly promoted teams, history shows there are no easy days in this league. And since the Premier League doesn’t use a seeding system for fixtures, matchups can be spicy and unpredictable right out the gate.
The opening match of the season lands on a Friday night, with fixtures spread across August 15th to 17th. The final round will be wrapped up on May 24, 2026. But the spotlight now is firmly on the opening rounds—and football.london has dropped a simulated fixture list that gives Arsenal one hell of a climb early on.
According to the simulation, Arsenal start the campaign away at Newcastle—a cauldron of noise and pressure. Then, it’s a home clash with Chelsea, a rivalry that never fails to bring drama. Gameweek three throws in a tricky trip to Crystal Palace, a side that always scraps hard at Selhurst Park, before the mother of all early battles arrives in week four: Arsenal vs Manchester City. Guardiola vs Arteta. Master vs Apprentice.
It doesn’t stop there. A journey down to Brighton awaits in gameweek five, a side known for their slick, possession-heavy football. Then Manchester United come knocking at the Emirates in gameweek six. Talk about a gauntlet. These matches could either rocket Arsenal into title conversations—or leave them playing catch-up early on.
Also worth watching is the season’s first North London Derby, which according to the sim, takes place in gameweek eleven at the Emirates. By gameweek fifteen, Arsenal will be on the road at Anfield—another fixture that never lacks narrative or fire. If this simulator ends up even half-true, Arsenal’s resilience will be put through a furnace in the early months.
Here’s how the simulated fixtures break down: Arsenal face Newcastle away in gameweek 1, Chelsea at home in gameweek 2, Crystal Palace away in gameweek 3, then City at home in gameweek 4. Gameweek 5 sees them travel to Brighton, before hosting Manchester United in gameweek 6. It’s a daunting gauntlet—but one that could define the season’s tone and reveal whether Arteta’s side are built for silverware, or just the chase again.
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