Its fair to say that after a less than brilliant March the Gunners will be looking to take advantage of a relatively easy run of fixtures compared to their Premier League rivals.

Despite arguably having the easiest April run in, I still believe any chance we might have had of winning the title has probably gone.  However, we should certainly look to secure Champions League football for another season.

However, this overlooks our most vital fixture of April, the F.A. Cup semi-final against Wigan.  If ever there was a must win game this season, this is it.  Ending that 9-year trophy weight would be a huge lift to the whole club and we’ve never had an easier chance to do it (excluding the League Cup).

April Fools?

It’s fair to say that March provided some painful moments for the Gunners.  1-0 at stoke and 6-0 at Chelsea were particularly damaging to the club both in terms of title prospects and overall morale.

However, a win against Tottenham and an impressive 45 minutes against Manchester City reminded us of the quality available to us.

As for April our sternest test comes in just four days time against Everton at Goodison Park.  Following this we have the vital Semi-final at Wembley a week later.  After this we have three games in 13 days; West Ham at home, Hull away and Newcastle at home.  9 Points from these games should be considered a must for Arsenal.

The Fixtures

Everton (A)- By far our toughest game in terms of quality, Everton are breathing down our necks in fifth and a loss would pile pressure the pressure on to secure 4^th place.  The home match in December was a difficult result to take as after Ozil struck late on to take the lead, we were instantly hit back by a Deulofeu strike and the game ended 1-1.  Everton have been playing superbly under Martinez and I feel we will need to play as well as we did in the second half against City to secure a result at Goodison.

Wigan (N)- Undoubtedly our ‘biggest’ game of the month come in the F.A. Cup against Wigan.  A championship side and the prospect of either Hull or League 1 Sheffield United in the final, Arsene’s men cant afford to slip up at such a late stage.  Despite the pressure of being 9 year trophy-less favourites the media insists on putting on us, I fully expect a win here.  However, as we have seen two years running against Man City, Wigan can no doubt cause an upset.

West Ham (H)- Given the ease with which we beat West Ham earlier in the season even though we went a goal behind, I fully expect a win against a West Ham side I’ve been unimpressed with this season.  Although it must be said that Big Sam has really turned West Ham’s fortunes in the second half of this season and February and March were extremely fruitful for the Hammers.  However, I believe Arsenal should simply have to much quality for the East London team.

Hull (A)- What should be a relatively simple victory for the Arsenal could be given a pinch of extra spice if both teams win their semi-finals, which they are expected to do.  It will be interesting to see how both teams play in anticipation for the big final.  Also, this fixture could see the return of Mesut Ozil unless he is risked a few days earlier against Wigan.

Newcastle (H)- If recent performances are anything to go by this should be another relatively simple match.  Newcastle are a team that are already on their holidays and have nothing remaining to play for this season.  Heavy defeats at the hands of Southampton and Everton and a loss against strugglers Fulham last month make the game look like a highly one-sided match up.

The Top five?

I’ve said already that I believe Arsenal to have the easiest run at the top of the table.  The Merseyside clubs have the toughest April line-up.  Liverpool face both Man City and Chelsea whilst Everton face Manchester United and Arsenal.  Hopefully this means we can shake Everton of our tales.

As I have said, Man City and Chelsea have Liverpool so they will definitely take some points off of each other.  If we win our remaining games, which is certainly not out of the question, 3^rd place or higher is still within our grasp.  We shouldn’t forget the importance of this as it means we can avoid that irritating Champions League qualifying game.

Predicted Premier League table

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