Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are expected to return together at the end of March. From now until then, Arsenal will play 3 Premier League matches against Nottingham, Man United and Chelsea, alternating with a match in the 1/8 round of the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven.
After Liverpool were held to a draw by Everton and Aston Villa, the story was discussed a lot with Arsenal about how Mikel Arteta and his team could win the championship. Now, it has shifted to whether the season has ended for the "Gunners" or not after a humiliating defeat to West Ham right at home.
Arsenal may not have run out of chances, but they are too small at the moment. Liverpool are so strong, more strong than what Arsenal saw at Man City two seasons ago. Just one more stumble, it will be the end for The Gunners.
The match at City Ground against Nottingham is very important because if they lose, everything will officially end for Arsenal in the Premier League. Nottingham is very strong with 3rd place on the rankings. They just lost 3-4 away to Newcastle, but those 4 goals were more than Arsenal have scored in their last 5 away matches at St. Petersburg. James' Park).
City Ground is also considered a dangerous place for Arteta and his team. In their last four away games, Arsenal have won just one and lost three. Arsenal understand everything is against them and the victory over Nottingham at City Ground is the ultimate order.
If they fail in the Premier League, Arsenal will have the Champions League to save them. However, before facing the biggest names in Europe, they need to overcome PSV. In the last 3 seasons, The Gunners have met this representative of the Netherlands. However, they have never won away from home.
The absence of Saka and Martinelli in the first leg (perhaps the second leg) was too big a challenge for Arteta. The "Gunners" attack still has some factors but cannot reach the same level of confidence as the above pair.
As for Man United and Chelsea, these are two opponents that have never been considered easy for Arteta and his team. Man United have been pushed to a wall, so they are determined not to make any sacrifices to Arsenal at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, it is uncertain whether home is a good support for The Gunners in the London Derby against Chelsea. Recently, also at the Emirates, Arsenal lost to West Ham - a team in the bottom half of the rankings.
If Arsenal are left out of the remaining two goals of the season after this series of matches, Mikel Arteta's future will be questioned. Nearly 6 years of investing hundreds of millions of pounds but only being able to exchange the FA Cup in 2020 is too bad. Arteta is very good but perhaps not good enough to help Arsenal solve their thirst for the national championship title for the past 21 years.
