Arsenal were handed a relatively kind fixture scheduling today with the reveal of the matches for the 2017/18 Premier League season and the Gunners will have hopes of going all the way this campaign- but they’ll need to navigate a tricky start and overcome their demons at crucial stages of the campaign.

Arsene Wenger’s side open the campaign on the 12th August against Leicester City at the Emirates Stadium, before back-to-back matches on the road against Stoke City and Liverpool- which will test Arsenal thoroughly.

Should the Gunners navigate their first three fixtures positively, Wenger’s side will have a big chance of pushing towards the top of the table as the games in September include clashes with Bournemouth, West Brom and Brighton- although there is Chelsea away to contend with.

Fortunately though, Arsenal’s campaign sees the majority of their difficult fixtures spread out nicely- excluding a difficult festive period where the Gunners face four games in eight games, including clashes with Liverpool and Chelsea- but both are at the Emirates Stadium.

February is usually the period where Arsenal slip-up and there’s a big chance that could happen again as the Gunners tackle Everton and Manchester City at home, either side of a North London derby showdown with Tottenham at Wembley.

If the Gunners are pursuing a Premier League title or battling for a top-four finish come the back-end of the campaign though, Arsene Wenger’s side will find things favourable in their last six fixtures of the season as they have Southampton (H), Newcastle (A), West Ham (H), Manchester United (A), Burnley (H) and finish the campaign on the road against Huddersfield.

Arsenal will be expected to get maximum points from those games, excluding their trip to Old Trafford, and it leaves the Gunners with every chance of securing success this season- but they’ll need to overcome their demons of recent years. If you want to bet on any fixtures next season you can check odds for football to find the best prices around.

The full test of Arsenal’s campaign will be revealed when the Europa League scheduling is announced in August but it doesn’t look great on that front so far, as five of the Gunners games after a clash in Europe come away from home. You can look at Europa League prices and check more odds at OddsDigger.

Fortunately the Europa League draw should be favourable to Arsenal in the group stages but it puts out a number of banana skins, showing that the Premier League really doesn’t care about English sides in European competitions.