Arsenal have put themselves back on the map as a competitive force in English football over the last couple of years. The Gunners have finished runners-up to Manchester City in each of the last two Premier League seasons, taking the title fight right to the final day last term. But this campaign has not started as well as either of the previous two.
Despite having got through four games against big six rivals unbeaten, defeats to Bournemouth and Newcastle have somewhat damaged the Gunners' title hopes already.
But with such a difficult fixture list already navigated, could Arsenal re-ignite what would be their third consecutive title challenge over the next few weeks?
The gap
The scale of the task alone is daunting, with Arne Slot's Liverpool team nine points ahead of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal, albeit having had slightly easier fixtures.
Liverpool are still yet to play Manchester City, Newcastle or Tottenham in the first half of the season; Arsenal have played all three of them away from home.
On top of that, Liverpool's victories over Chelsea and Aston Villa came at Anfield; Arsenal had to play both of these fixtures away and still earned four points.
After Arsenal play high-flying Nottingham Forest on Saturday, only one of their remaining seven matches in the first half of the Premier League season will be against a side currently in the top half.
On top of that, Arteta's side have only played two of the current bottom five, whereas Liverpool, after their trip to Southampton this weekend, would've played four of them.
So hope is not gone for Arsenal, and with key players returning from injury, can they realistically bridge a nine point gap?
Martin Odegaard
In years gone by, Manchester City have come back from several points behind by simply winning every league game they play for months at a time. Arsenal would likely have to repeat this feat in order to beat not only Liverpool, but also the Champions themselves.
The return of Martin Odegaard will be an astronomical boost to the Gunners' hopes of going on such a run; the Norwegian has lost just one of the last 22 league games he's featured in for his club.
Arsenal's captain is absolutely vital for creating chances not only for Kai Havertz, who has slumped in Odegaard's absence, but also for usually dangerous wingers Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Odegaard created more chances than any other player in the Premier League last season and was also crucial in supplying Bukayo Saka on Arsenal's right; Saka created the second most chances in the league last season.
With Odegaard back and key defenders starting to return from injury, the Gunners must now be ruthless. Even though Ben White has undergone surgery on a joint, the full-back pairing of Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori will likely still do a more than adequate job for Arteta.
What about other competitions?
Arsenal do need to factor in their other competitions to their current run too, with each of the next six weeks featuring two games each for the Gunners.
Three of those midweeks will bring Premier League games, one of which is against Ruben Amorim's Manchester United at the start of December, but the other three are significant games in Arsenal's season too.
Having already played what, according to UEFA, are their three toughest fixtures in the League Phase of the Champions League, Arsenal take on Amorim's former side Sporting CP in Portugal before a home game in December against Monaco.
While this can't directly affect Arsenal's points tally in the Premier League, the knock-on effect from dropping points in these games could certainly damage their title hopes.
Defeat in either game would leave Arsenal with a mountain to climb in order to reach the last 16 without the need for a play-off tie. This could not only be demoralising but would add two matches to an already hectic schedule in February.
The remaining midweek game is a Carabao Cup quarter-final against struggling Crystal Palace. A win in this fixture would take Arsenal to the semi-finals of a competition they haven't won since they completed a domestic cup double in 1993.
Of course the Premier League remains the main prize for the Gunners, but another trophyless season with the quality they have in their squad may begin to pose uncomfortable questions to Arteta.
That's not to suggest in the slightest that he needs to win something to remain in the job, but pressure could build for next season if Arsenal don't win something this season, even if it were to be the smallest of the four trophies available to them.
Premier League Run
As previously mentioned, only two of Arsenal's eight remaining games in the first half of the season are against top half sides, with games against three of the current bottom five still to come before 2025.
These are exactly the games Arsenal have to win; so far in their limited matches against sides currently in the bottom half, the Gunners have three wins and a defeat, which while a good return in theory, won't cut it in December with another tough run awaiting them in January.
After travelling to Brentford on New Year's Day, a tough fixture against a side with far better home than away form, Arsenal will face Brighton, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City. Champions League fixtures against Dinamo Zagreb and Girona will also be sprinkled into this already difficult run.
Given how impressive Brentford have been at home, this makes for a tough five-match run. If, however, Arsenal can build momentum in December, they'll be well-placed to win the quick-fire double header against Brentford and Brighton heading into the FA Cup window.
Momentum alone has been enough to win Manchester City multiple Premier League titles, and with the Gunners having a favourable run of fixtures up to Christmas, they must take full advantage.
In all likelihood, Arsenal probably need eight wins from their next nine league games. That's not something they haven't done before; the Gunners won 16 of their final 18 league games last season, a run which took the title battle with Manchester City right up to the final day.
There's also a slightly undermining statistic to Arne Slot's start at Liverpool. In the equivalent fixtures last season, Liverpool scored exactly the same number of points as they have now. This highlights the slightly more straightforward start the Reds have had under their new manager.
Hope then is there for Arsenal, with several key players returning from injury and the fixtures far kinder over the new few weeks than they have been all season. If they can start to build some momentum with a win over an in-form Nottingham Forest side, the Gunners have every chance of getting back in the race.
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