Arsenal are one of four teams in action when the 2019-20 Premier League season restarts on Wednesday 17 June 2020.

Players of Arsenal celebrate following the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 07, 2020 in London, United Kingdom.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 07: Players of Arsenal celebrate following the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on March 07, 2020 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)

We are in action in an important game as we start with a trip to Manchester City, where a victory for us could see Liverpool crowned champions as early as the following weekend.

More importantly, three points at the Etihad Stadium would move us above Tottenham Hotspur and level on points with Wolverhampton Wanderers in sixth. Our odds are a staggering 15/2 to win that away game with Pep Guardiola’s side having little to prepare for, and like us, having limited time to get his team in shape. We should not be overlooked at such a promising price. Before signing up to a new bookmaker and taking advantage of their odds, it’s always worth reading an intertops review beforehand to know what you’re getting into.

With Manchester City winning the EFL Cup earlier this season and the likes of themselves, Leicester City, Chelsea and Manchester United all being left in the FA Cup with us, at the quarter-final stage, a top seven finish would likely be enough to qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League.

It’s a very probable target for us, and perhaps one that would have been easier without the disruption. Sports betting expert Mikelevich Vadim remains confident in us making a top seven finish regardless. Prior to the Premier League’s suspension we had been unbeaten in the league in 2020 under Mikel Arteta – beating Manchester United (2-0) and Everton (3-2) as well as a draw at Chelsea, among other results.

The Spanish boss, who was appointed in December, had his tactics working, often only let down by individual mistakes on the field. None was more evident than our elimination at home at the hands of Olympiacos in the Europa League due to a collection of errors at both ends.

Our remaining fixture list won’t be easy – after the trip to Manchester City, we also have trips to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, whilst hosting Leicester City and Liverpool.

Liverpool will almost certainly have the league wrapped up by then so they may not go all out against us, whilst Wolves manager Nuno doesn’t have a huge squad. With the schedule set to be compact and with no pre-season friendlies as such, the West Midlands club could really suffer with fatigue.

On top of these games we also play the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Watford – two sides who have publicly spoken about their dismay of the season restarting. Who knows, that may play in our favour too.

Further positives are that there are several fixtures between teams above us, meaning they will take points from each other.

I am feeling optimistic about the continuation of our season. Mikel Arteta had things going well since the turn of the year and I think we’ll be well-prepared for the restart. The advantage of being one of two games playing on the opening Wednesday means we’ll have had a competitive game under our belt before everyone else – this being our game in hand on the league.

We restart the league eight points behind Chelsea in the final Champions League spot. Three points from that game would certainly get my hopes up of a top four finish but at this stage I’ll wait to see how we restart before I get too excited.