Predicting every result from Arsenal's brutal upcoming fixture schedule

In his post-Hull press conference, Mikel Arteta said that Arsenal could “still improve in a lot of areas” and he will use this international break to analyse how they might do so ahead of a busy Christmas period.

One look at the schedule suggests he best get cracking.

Though in a strong position, the Gunners face quite the daunting run once they return to action on Saturday week. It all starts with a trip to Newcastle United as well as games versus Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund before the month is out, while an NLD and Real Madrid await at the start of December.

Can Arsenal get through it all in one piece? Here are my predicted results for the eight matches that make up their brutal upcoming fixture list.

Okay, three wins from ten league games and a mass exodus last summer (oopsie!) means Newcastle might not be the force of old.

But St. James’s Park is never an easy place to go and if any team can make hard work of it, it is this Arsenal team. Their insistence on only winning by a one-goal margin should render this contest an uncomfortable watch.

Tyneside will be bouncing and the prospect of facing Bruno Guimaraes will just crank temperatures up even more. However, a street-smart Gunners outfit oozing class and the sort of calm that comes with winning the title last season should prove well-equipped for putting a fragile Toon Army to the sword.

Prediction: 1-0 win

Once the best of UCL buddies, this will be the first Arsenal vs Borussia Dortmund matchup since they met in November 2014.

And the Bundesliga table indicates it is no easy task.

Dortmund are level on points with Bayern Munich after nine matches to go with their three wins out of four in the UCL League Phase. Also, they have a certain Ethan Nwaneri among their ranks who will be allowed to play in this match.

He will want to get one over Arteta after failing to catch his eye in recent years and being loaned out amidst the great frontline issues at N5.

Unfortunately for Dortmund, they are playing against one of the best teams in world football, a side which is just incapable of losing League Phase matches and has another lofty finish in their sights to match that of last term.

Prediction: 2-0 win

This is a strange one.

It has all the material for a classic: Arsenal and Manchester City have been title rivals for three of the past four campaigns, while this represents a chance for Arteta to stamp his authority in the post-Pep Guardiola era.

But a dreadful run of league form has left City in the dust (six points behind Arsenal) after a blistering start to the campaign. Furthermore, the small matter of their legal case means any points they claim might count for naught once May rolls around.

Even so, the bad blood and rivalry between the two teams should make for a thrilling contest. Surely City will fight back after their recent defeats?

Prediction: 1-1 draw

Ugh, the fixture list was not kind here.

Sandwiched between Man City and the first NLD of 2026/27 lies a delightful Wednesday night trip to Brentford.

There are a few tricky things for the Bees to confront, like their poor form (just one victory in the last five league games) and the absence of Igor Thiago, who will serve the last of his three-match ban for violent conduct in this match.

Nevertheless, it remains a tough midweek proposition during a busy Christmas period. Arsenal have a deep squad and some general knowhow, but you just wonder if the need to rotate his players may trip Arteta up.

Prediction: 2-0 loss

After dropping four points in two games, nothing would help revive the Christmas spirit quite like the annual Sp*rs thrashing.

Arsenal scored eight goals against them last season and there is a decent prospect of more joy as the home team try to find their feet under Roberto De Zerbi. Their defeat at Leeds offered them a timely reality check after three league wins in a row.

You can bet that every Gunner will be up for this one and, if the above predictions ring true, each of them will have extra fire in their bellies to arrest the slump.

Expect them to unleash fury and make it a record-breaking sixth consecutive NLD victory, with Ebere Eze being the star to keep them top of the tree.

Prediction: 3-1 win

That festive theme continues for the next match as a ghost from Christmas past returns to try inflict more misery on Arsenal.

His name is José Mourinho.

Despite the expectation that he would crash and burn (there is still time), “The Special One” is going well since his return to Madrid. They are currently three points off Barcelona after a surprise win at the Nou Camp and rank ahead of the Gunners in Europe in second place thanks to their 100% record to date.

Respectfully, though, Arsenal pose a different test to AEK Athens or Elche and will use their defensive graft to beat Mourinho at his own game; Arteta has already done it once with a much worse version of this team.

Prediction: 2-0 win

Games against ‘the Bermuda Triangle’ rarely end well.

Arsenal have already been thumped 3-0 by Brighton and will follow up their Real Madrid test with a match against another of the ‘Triangle’ members in Bournemouth.

The Cherries are flying with four league wins on the bounce after failing to win any of their first six in the competition. They are also thriving in the Europa League, registering a 100% record that has left them second only to Benfica.

It is easy to imagine Arsenal losing here but they have home advantage, while the visitors must face a European headache of their own as they play against Viktoria Plzen before their Emirates trip. Expect Arteta to sneak a narrow win.

Prediction: 2-1 win

The final game of this brutal run is a gimme against new-look Manchester United, helmed by former Sp*rs boss Mauricio Pochettino.

Relegation fodder should not cause too much concern, but a new manager bounce might just shake things up a bit and remind the visitors how to play football. They also have a tendency to turn up in the bigger games.

One can hardly imagine what the state of play might be by the time this match happens, though it is usually a hard-fought fixture regardless of United woes. Arsenal have a better squad on paper and go into this one with no midweek game (I knew there was a positive to the Fleetwood humiliation!), so it should be another precious win.

Giving United and Sp*rs a dagger just days before Christmas? That will be at the very top of my letter to Santa.

Prediction: 2-0 win