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29 down. Nine to go. Arsenal's quest for a first Premier League title in 22 years was never going to be easy, but as we enter the run in, the Gunners remain top and with their destiny in their own hands. On Sunday, headers from corners, scored by William Saliba and then Jurriën Timber, were enough to see them pick up three crucial points against Chelsea. Still fighting on all four fronts, Mikel Arteta is going to need every player to contribute and squad depth will be key.
However, following the North London derby demolition the week before, he made no changes to his lineup ahead of the clash with Chelsea. Well, according to Squawka, Arteta's team have now won all eight Premier League matches since the start of 2024 when he has named an unchanged XI from one league fixture to the next.
Last 8 Premier League fixtures Arsenal unchanged XI
- 1 March 2026: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea.
- 1 November 2025: Burnley 0-2 Arsenal.
- 26 October 2025: Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace.
- 28 September 2024: Arsenal 4-2 Leicester.
- 12 May 2024: Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal.
- 4 May 2024: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth.
- 4 March 2024: Sheffield United 0-6 Arsenal.
- 17 February 2024: Burnley 0-5 Arsenal.
Amazingly, Arteta was only able to name an unchanged starting lineup once in the Premier League throughout the entirety of last season. Constant injury issues and red cards meant he regularly had to chop and change, making it no wonder that his team struggled for consistency.
On the flip side, Arteta regularly made minimal alterations to his team during the first half of 2024, making it no coincidence that the Gunners went on a brilliant run, picking up 49 points out of a possible 54, scoring 52 goals and conceding only nine. Well, this season, Sunday was only the third occasion Arsenal have named an identical lineup from one league game to the next. This came after they'd enjoyed an entire seven days without a fixture, doing so for the first time since the week before Christmas.
Well, with the Champions League round of 16 commencing this time next week, having landed on the more gentle side of the bracket, there might not be many more free mid-weeks, or at least that's the hope. Nevertheless, could Arteta have landed upon a winning team going forward?
Well, question marks really remain over two positions. At left-back, Piero Hincapié has started four successive Premier League matches, as well as 16 of the last 18, albeit some of which came at centre-back. Nevertheless, while he is the starter for now, expect to see plenty of Riccardo Calafiori in the coming week, fitness permitting of course, as is always the case with the Italian.
The other spot very much up for grabs in the number ten role. Following his brace at Tottenham, Eberechi Eze kept his place, but we all know how much Arteta loves captain Martin Ødegaard, while fit again Kai Havertz had occupied that place against Kairat, Leeds and Sunderland before a short stint back in the treatment room. So, with potentially 21 fixtures still to play, if all goes well that is, relying on 11 players will be impossible, but consistency of selection does seem to be a useful attribute.