Arsenal November 2018 fixtures preview

September: 6-0-0

October: 5-1-0

November: FEED ME SEYMOUR!

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v. Liverpool - Saturday, November 3 (PL)

Current position and record: 3rd, 8-3-0 (27 pts)
Previous meeting: N/A
Current form in all competitions: D-W-W-W-D-L

Look. Are previews supposed to begin after the content they’re previewing? Years ago, the answer was no. But in 2018, I’m not sure anymore. Maybe the right time to put together a 2017-18 preview is in 2019? Are we ripe for a thinkpiece about what Alexander Hleb could contribute to the interplay off the wing? The answer’s not no.

What I’m saying is don’t blame me for a November preview a week into November after the most important tie in November. Why? Because (a) don’t blame me and (b) Alexander Hleb.

Makes sense to me.

Also...we looked good on Saturday.

v. Sporting CP - Thursday, November 8 (EL)

Current group position and points: 2nd, 6
Previous meeting: Arsenal 1, Sporting 0
Current form in all competitions: W-W-L-L-W

An opportunity to put away the group stage here with the lack of pressure of fixture proximity. Much like November as a whole, this is just something to get through.

v. Wolverhampton - Sunday, November 11 (PL)

Current position and record: 11th, 4-3-4 (15 pts)
Previous meeting: N/A
Current form in all competitions: L-L-L-W-W

And this represents the springboard of the 2018 Arsenal revival. Wins from opportunities against lesser sides. Until the draw against Crystal Palace at the end of the October, Arsenal rode the second half showings to a 13-match unbeaten streak (now 14 with the post-month after preview of the Liverpool tie).

Demanding three points isn’t unwarranted. It’s also a fair marker of how well Arsenal Manager Unai Emery has adapted to north London.

@ Bournemouth - Sunday, November 25 (PL)

Current position and record: 6th, 6-2-3 (20 pts)
Previous meeting: N/A
Current form in all competitions: L-W-W-D-W

Bournemouth! Um...Bournemouth!

Look I don’t have many opinions about Bournemouth as a football club. What I do have ideas about is Bournemouth being on the Jurassic Coast and the...WAIT A HOT DANG MINUTE, THE JURASSIC COAST? HOW IS THIS NOT A MOVIE YET? WHY DON’T WE HAVE A DINOSAUR MOVIE WITH PIERCE BROSNAN? WHY IS ELIZABETH HURLEY NOT TELLING US THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM SOME NEW DINOSAUR THAT IS BOTH WELL-MANNERED BUT SOMEHOW COMPELLED BY UNCONTROLLABLE IMPERIAL URGES?

If we don’t get some kind of Jurassic Coast movie by 2021 with an Akésaur tromping through the Vitality, I will consider it a failure of the major studio film complex AND BUDDY DO I HAVE COMPLAINTS (and yes, the intellectual rights of a Brosnan/Hurley Britdino vehicle are entirely covered by law herein).

So about this game...

v. FC Vorskla Poltava - Thursday, November 29 (EL)

Current group position and points: 3rd, 3
Previous meeting: Arsenal 4, Vorskla 2
Current form: ?-?-?-?-?

Чи можливо, щоб ця гра залишилася? Так! Дійсно! Arsenal! Немає причин для страху. Принесіть весь свій інтелект до конкуренції, і ви знайдете успіх. Ось чому надія зберігається! Удачі!

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It doesn’t feel like a monthly preview without Troy Deeney, but alas.

The bottom line here (although clearly benefiting from the postscript of the Liverpool match) is the fact that November includes just five matches. Five. December, a whole day longer than November, is nine matches thick at this point. There are no FA Cup ties forthcoming as they’ll be including Premier League sides in early January. And the Europa League group stage concludes in December and doesn't open up knockout performances until February.

No month is as congested as December. And that’s the real context for November.

It’s the build-in. The build-up. The build-adjective.

December opens with Sp*rs and Manchester United and closes with Liverpool.

If we manage the build-adjective properly, we should be in position to make our first season under Unai Emery as successful as we could have sincerely asked for.