The 7 Premier League games Arsenal have played after a European midweek this season – & how they fared
We’re approaching crunch time in the 2023-24 campaign and Arsenal’s ability to compete on two fronts will be pivotal on whether they’re celebrating come May. But so far this season they boast an exceptional record in their Premier League outings that follow midweek Champions League excursions.
Curiously, all seven of Arsenal’s Premier League matches after a midweek European test this season have been on home soil – a trend that keeps going this Sunday against Aston Villa.
That could potentially continue should Arsenal make it through, with Bournemouth at home scheduled for the weekend after the first leg of the semi-finals, although they are due to go away to Manchester United the weekend after the second leg.
We’ve taken a look at all seven times this season that Arsenal have played a Premier League match the weekend after Champions League football to see how they fared.
Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham (PSV home)
The Gunners made their long-awaited return to the Champions League after seven years away. They kicked off the campaign by thrashing PSV 4-0.
Four days later attention turned back to domestic matters with the first London derby of the season. Last term Arsenal did a first league double over Spurs since 2013-14 but they had to settle for a point – one of only three home games they’ve dropped points in this season.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were in great form and being talked up as potential title challengers at the time, credentials they underlined with a spirited performance at the Emirates, coming from behind in each half to draw 2-2.
QUIZ: Can you name the Arsenal XI that won the title at Spurs, 2004?
Arsenal 1-0 Man City (Lens away)
After the high of thrashing PSV, Arsenal suffered a setback in their second Champions League outing by letting an early lead slip and losing 2-1 in Lens.
But five days later they bounced back with a statement-making 1-0 victory over the champions Manchester City, ending a club-record 12-match losing streak against Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut.
In all honesty, it was a cagey contest of few chances, but Arteta’s men did superbly to shut out City. And their mature, well-balanced display was rewarded with a stroke of luck when Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected effort won it for them late on.
Arsenal 5-0 Sheffield United (Sevilla away)
After getting their Champions League campaign back on track with a 2-1 victory out in Seville, Arsenal followed that up by cruising to a 5-0 mauling of relegation-doomed Sheffield United.
Eddie Nketiah made the most of his opportunity by scoring a first career hat-trick before Fabio Vieira and Takehiro Tomiyasu added the gloss late on.
Arsenal 3-1 Burnley (Sevilla home)
In November, Arsenal completed a double over Sevilla and took a big step towards the knockout stages with a routine 2-0 victory over the La Liga outfit.
They then made similarly short work of Vincent Kompany’s Burnley, winning out 3-1 after briefly being made to sweat with an against-the-run-of-play second-half equaliser from Josh Brownhill.
Fabio Vieira put a minor blemish on the afternoon by getting himself a straight red card as they saw out their two-goal advantage.
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TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player to appear for Arsenal under Mikel Arteta?
Arsenal 2-1 Wolves (Lens home)
Arsenal got revenge on Lens with a 6-0 shellacking that confirmed their place in the round of 16 as group winners with a game to spare.
Five goals to the good by half-time, Arteta had the luxury of withdrawing a number of key men with one eye on their upcoming league outing against Wolves.
That worked a treat, as they raced out of the traps via Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard to lead two-nil after just 13 minutes. From there they didn’t produce a vintage performance, but they were dominant enough and held their nerve after Matheus Cunha got one back for the visitors late on.
Arsenal 2-0 Brighton (PSV away)
An impressive six-match winning streak came to an end with a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa in mid-December.
Arteta responded by ringing in the changes for the dead rubber against PSV, giving rare runouts to Aaron Ramsdale, Cedric Soares, Mohamed Elneny and Reiss Nelson for a 1-1 draw in Eindhoven.
The big guns returned for the visit of Brighton, a fixture that will have conjured painful memories of last season’s morale-sapping 3-0 home defeat. On this occasion Arsenal showed how they’ve progressed by beating Roberto De Zerbi’s Seagulls 2-0, with Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli grabbing the goals in the second half.
Arsenal 4-1 Newcastle (Porto away)
Having kicked off 2024 with truly exceptional Premier League form, Arsenal suffered a setback in Porto, losing the first leg of their Round of 16 clash via an inspired long strike from Galeno in the dying seconds.
They didn’t spend long licking their wounds, returning to action by blitzing Newcastle with a 4-1 victory – a result that kept up their knack of scoring at least two goals in successive Premier League halves.
Arsenal were out of the FA Cup and as such had a weekend off following the penalty shootout victory over Porto at home in the second leg.