Arsenal facing 12 games which could define their season amid Man City and Liverpool title race

It's a well-worn cliche that you can't win a Premier League title before Boxing Day - but you may well lose one. And Arsenal will be up against it in their bid to finally put their name back on the trophy after 21 years without a league title.

With the international break coming to its conclusion and the next one set for March, Mikel Arteta's side are returning to action this weekend and face a frenetic fixture list over the coming weeks.

The Gunners are back in north London with a home clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon - and will only leave the capital once before a trip to Brighton on January 4. That sole trip out of London is the next game, a Champions League clash away at Sporting, who have just lost manager Ruben Amorim to Manchester United.

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The match against Forest is the start of a huge run of games, in which Arteta's side will play every weekend and midweek until their clash against Brighton in the new year - a gruelling run that takes in two Champions League games and the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace.

The Gunners are currently nine points adrift of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table, and face a big task in closing that gap, with Man City currently five points back on Arne Slot's side.

Following this weekend's game against Forest and the Champions League tie against Sporting, Arsenal are back in action in the following Saturday's late kick-off at West Ham. Then it's a midweek clash against Manchester United at home, with Amorim having had around a month in charge at Old Trafford at that stage.

A trip to Craven Cottage to face Fulham follows that before hosting Monaco in the Champions league in midweek on December 11. The following weekend, a home clash against Everton before a double-header against Palace; first up is the Carabao Cup clash at the Emirates Stadium before their last pre-Christmas game: a Premier League game at Selhurst Park on December 21.

The next game takes place on December 27 - the six-day gap being the longest they will go without a game over the next two months. Then it's a New Year's Day clash against Brentford in an evening kick-off, followed by the late clash against Brighton on January 4.

Following that, the Gunners will have 11 days between games - if they lose their Carabao Cup game against Palace. If they progress to the semi-finals, they will be in action again in midweek on January 8 - giving them a week off before the North London Derby against Spurs on January 15.

But before that potential Carabao Cup game, their Premier League title challenge could already have been decided. Now more than ever, the Gunners need their top stars fit and firing, with Arteta knowing rotation will be mandatory at some stage over the next two months.

Some lesser-utilised Gunners will have big parts to play: think Reiss Nelson's last-minute winner against Bournemouth in the 2023/24 season. Arsenal need to be in touching distance of the top of the table by the time that game against Spurs rolls around if they stand any chance of lifting the trophy this year.