Arsenal led the way in the Premier League title race last season, but saw their challenge collapse brutally in the final weeks of the campaign.
Mikel Arteta’s side embarked on an unexpected challenge to Manchester City’s throne, but a string of poor results following an injury to William Saliba saw their lead slip away, before eventually finishing second.
Arsenal are now aiming to challenge again, and whilst Arteta has emphasised the importance of a fully-fit squad, there are lots of factors which could impact their ability to mentally keep pace with Pep Guardiola’s side.
One such factor is the Premier League’s fixture scheduling, as it is claimed that Arsenal having to play after City in most games during the run-in piled extra pressure on Arteta’s team.
Premier League scheduling had an impact on Arsenal’s title collapse
Journalist Kaya Kaynak has now explained to the Arsenal Beat Podcast that Arsenal’s participation in the Europa League last season meant that they were often scheduled to play after Manchester City, and having to play catch-up may have added more extra mental pressure on the young squad.
“I think it mattered last season when Arsenal obviously were in the Europa League, and Manchester City were in the Champions League. City would play Saturday games and Arsenal would play Sunday games generally, and I think that really put pressure on Arsenal,” he stated.
“You think back to the West Ham game where Arsenal went into it knowing that they needed to not drop points, and they obviously got pegged back to two all and they froze.
“I think those kinds of games where you go into it knowing that you need to win, I think puts pressure on it, and obviously players will say that they just focus on themselves and they take it one game at a time, but we all know that they watch the other games on the coach.
“We all know that is a big factor, so being aware of what other teams are doing is important, but I think for Arsenal right now maybe it’s not as important in that sense, because they’re chasing rather than being chased.
“They already know they need to win games, so I do think it makes an impact and I think towards the end of the season it would be big. When Liverpool are playing Sundays after their Europa League games and Arsenal and City are playing earlier I think that’s going to be important.”
Arsenal played catch-up behind Manchester City
The pressure really got to Arsenal in their draws with Liverpool and Manchester City, and in both games, Arsenal played the day after their title rivals.
Arsenal saw City beat Southampton and Leicester whilst breathing down their necks, and dropped points in crucial fixtures as they felt Guardiola’s side closing in behind them.
Even Arsenal’s victory over Leeds the week prior to the game at Anfield, came immediately after Man City beat Liverpool 4-1, having gone 1-0 down early on, and having to hold a lead against such a relentless force was always going to be difficult.
Now that Arsenal will not have their Premier League fixtures constantly moved as a result of Europa League action, they will hope that they can play ahead of City, and whilst they are behind in points, they may now be able to focus on themselves rather than feeling the pressure of the treble-winners ahead of every game.
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