However, Arsenal are now in a very rare scenario, level on points with the league leaders with just five rounds remaining. It’s like a penalty shootout – and the Gunners get to take the first two in front of their own fans.
In the space of a week, Arsenal will host both Newcastle and Fulham at the Emirates, meaning they don’t just have the chance to put six points between themselves and City before their rivals play next, they can also significantly boost their goal difference.
Newcastle are in total freefall, having won just three of their last 12 league games, and have kept just one clean sheet since January 18. As a result, Magpies manager Eddie Howe is under even more pressure than Arteta going into Saturday’s game in north London.
Howe’s Fulham counterpart, Marco Silva, will be in a much better frame of mind right now, amid rumours that he’s on Chelsea’s shortlist to replace Liam Rosenior as the club’s permanent manager, but it’s not as if his team is on fire at the moment either. The Cottagers are 12th in the table, just two places and three points above Newcastle, and have their own issues at the back, having conceded more goals (46) than even relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest (45) this season.
Of course, whether Arsenal actually have it in them to beat both Newcastle and Fulham, let alone put them to the sword, is very much open to debate.
