The draft premier league draw is out. Arsenal seem to have a fairly easy fixture list to start with. However, the same cannot be said about the end of the season run-in.

I personally am not too happy with the draw from an Arsenal point of view. My worries are these –

16/17 Uefa Champions League Group Stage – Matchday 1
Sat 20 Bolton Wanderers (A)
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4/5 Uefa Champions League Group Stage – Matchday 4
Sat 8 Manchester United (H)
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25/26 UEFA Champions League Group Stage – Matchday 5
Sat 29 Chelsea (A)
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Sat 20 Liverpool (H)
Fri 26 Aston Villa (A)
Sun 28 Portsmouth (H)
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14/15 UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final – 2nd leg
Sat 18 Liverpool (A)
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5/6 UEFA Champions League Semi-Finals – 2nd leg
Sat 9 Chelsea (H)
Sat 16 Manchester United (A)
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The final half-dozen games of the season will read like this: Liverpool (a), Middlesbrough (h), Portsmouth (a), Chelsea (h), Manchester United (a), and Stoke (h).
…………………..

Now the reasons in words –
1. I believe Arsenal are good starters and not good finishers. This draw gives them a fairly easy start, opposed to a very tough run-in apart from the Stoke game.
2. Arsenal’s squad is always on the lighter side; hence the final stages do take their toll. In case Arsenal do reach the quarters of CL, they will be playing Pool right after it. And in the semis the second leg is followed by Chelsea and Man Utd. In case they do manage to keep the fight till there. That’s where it might end.
3. Almost all important EPL matches are preceded by CL matches.
4. We are playing Man Utd and Pool away later (much later) in the season, that’s not something I like. That is the time when ManU is traditionally strong.
5. Pool, Aston Villa and Portsmouth are not the kind of teams I would like to face in the busy December schedule. Why couldn’t they put someone like Stoke or Hull in there? J

Maybe having a fellow CL playing team against you after a CL match is a good idea, but then again based on the respective squad sizes, I am not too keen on it.