A year that started badly for Arsenal will end with the Gunners visiting Brighton and Hove Albion, with a first Premier League title in nearly 20 years becoming a tantalizing possibility.
As they prepare for their New Year’s Eve duty on the south coast, the difference could not be more stark.
Mikel Arteta’s club started the season with five consecutive defeats in all competitions, dropping out of the League Cup and FA Cup and losing position in the race to finish in the top four of the Premier League.
After a year, Arsenal enters its last game of 2022 with a five-point lead at the top of the table, having won eight of its last nine league games.
Even the six-week break for the Qatar World Cup did not derail Arsenal’s progress, and this week’s 3-1 triumph over West Ham United demonstrated that the club is capable of sustaining its title challenge even without the injured Gabriel Jesus.
The upcoming fixtures will put Arsenal’s determination to the test. Brighton, who are now sixth in the table, will not be taken lightly, as they face high-flying Newcastle United, as well as games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.
Arsenal, on the other hand, has a steely resolve, and its full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, no stranger to title fight with Manchester City, is certain it has what it takes.
“We have a fantastic bunch of folks. “We have this sense of belonging,” he told Arsenal’s website.
Last season, Brighton grabbed four points from Arsenal and knocked them out of the League Cup in November, so Arteta will be well aware of the challenge his table-topper confronts on Saturday.
“It’s going to be a big, major challenge against that team, and we better be ready,” added the Spaniard.
Arsenal’s lead might be cut to two points by the time the game begins, with second-placed Manchester City visiting struggling Everton earlier in the day.
City resumed to action on Wednesday night, defeating Leeds United 3-1, with Erling Haaland scoring twice to give him 20 goals in 14 games since signing from Borussia Dortmund.
Newcastle, who are seven points behind Arsenal, will look for a seventh consecutive league victory when they host Leeds United on Saturday.
With fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur not playing until New Year’s Day at home against Aston Villa, Manchester United can leap into the top four in Saturday’s early kickoff against third-from-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The last round of Premier League matchups of the season begins on Friday evening, with sixth-placed Liverpool visiting Leicester City and West Ham United looking to end a run of four consecutive league defeats by hosting Brentford.
West Ham’s defeat by Arsenal was part of a disappointing return to action for the teams near the bottom of the table, with only Wolves picking up points from the bottom six.
Things don’t get any easier for the relegation candidates, with second-from-bottom Nottingham Forest hosting Chelsea on Sunday and Southampton visiting Fulham.
