Friday night football and Arsenal, it’s an opening day Premier League fixture that is a marriage made in hell for the London club.
Last season, it was newly-promoted Brentford who were put in front of Arsenal and as Kevin Campbell told Sky Sports News, they got ‘schooled’ during that defeat.
And now, the Gunners will be on their travels once again, this time they face off against Crystal Palace on August 5 on Friday night in the Premier League opener.
Palace away was one of the fixtures, towards the back end of the 2021/22 campaign, that resulted in Arsenal missing out on Champions League football.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the fans are dreading this opening day game, as former striker Campbell shared his thoughts on the match.
“The Crystal Palace game is going to be a tough one because Arsenal went (to Brentford) last season and got schooled really,” said Campbell. “They got sorted out.
“Patrick Vieira has done a really good job. Hopefully, it will be a different Arsenal this season. Friday night football is always exciting to start the season off.
“Hopefully, the form can be a different one this time around because it’s going to be a difficult London derby.”
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That was the aim for Arsenal last season, but they well and truly messed it up, especially towards the back end of the campaign, including losing the north London derby.
The pressure was well and truly on Arteta after three games in 2021/22 because his side had lost every game and didn’t have a goal to their name.
After Arsenal travel to Selhurst Park on the opening day, it’s a home clash against Leicester City before they take on newly-promoted Bournemouth.
If history repeats itself, then Arteta might find that many people will call for his head because the pressure is going to mount up on him.
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