Arsenal will start their 2016-17 Premier League campaign with a home match against Liverpool following the release of the full fixture list for the new season on Wednesday.

Last term, Arsenal had their highest league finish in over a decade as they were second to Leicester City, but it was still a disappointing campaign. The Gunners were some way off the Foxes’ pace and once again failed to mount a genuine title challenge.

It has now been 12 seasons since Arsenal last won the Premier League and 2016-17 could perhaps be manager Arsene Wenger‘s last chance to lift the famous trophy again—his current deal expires in 2017.

Read on for Arsenal’s full fixture list for the upcoming campaign, provided by the club, as well as a closer look at the key clashes the Gunners will face in the season:

 

Away vs. Manchester United (November 19)

Arsenal’s first clash with the Red Devils last season was one of their best performances in recent memory.

The Gunners went 3-0 up inside 20 minutes at the Emirates and then controlled the remainder of the match to earn their first league victory over United since 2011.

In 2016-17 they will first face up to United at Old Trafford on Nov. 19, and Wenger will once again clash with his old foe Jose Mourinho.

The Frenchman has an awful record against the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss, prevailing just once against Mourinho-managed sides in 15 meetings—in August 2015’s Community Shield.

The pressure will be on Wenger to improve that record when Arsenal face Mourinho‘s United in November.

If Arsenal do prevail over United, it could be a huge confidence boost for the Gunners manager and his side, as well as an opportunity for them to kick on and finally maintain a season-long title challenge.

It will not be easy. The Old Trafford clash between Arsenal and United last season saw the hosts prevail 3-2, and the Red Devils could well be a better outfit in 2016-17 after replacing Louis van Gaal with Mourinho.

 

Home vs. Tottenham Hotspur (November 5)

In a delightful turn of events for Arsenal fans, the Gunners still managed to finish above their north London rivals last term despite Tottenham being the side that maintained the better title challenge (until a terrible end to their campaign).

However, there was nothing to choose between the two sides in their pair of Premier League meetings last season as they returned two closely fought draws.

With Spurs likely to be fighting it out at the top of the Premier League again next season, the opening north London derby in November could be crucial in the early pace-setting.

As with their clash against United later in the month, a Gunners victory over Spurs could prove they have the quality to win the title this season and provide them a boost while taking points off potential top-spot rivals.

In the recent past, Arsenal finishing above Tottenham was something of a given. Only a collapse from Spurs last term—which included a final-day 5-1 drubbing to relegated Newcastle United—allowed the Gunners to leapfrog their bitter rivals.

But the White Hart Lane outfit are undoubtedly a different proposition than they once were—no longer simply also-rans, but genuine title contenders—and the north London derby is now a potential title-decider rather than just a battle for bragging rights.

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