How Did Arsenal Survive the Festival Period Alone?

A unique phenomenon emerged at the beginning of 2026. The "Big Six" teams of the English Premier League, with the exception of Arsenal, stumbled together. From the giant Manchester City to the defending champion Liverpool, all failed to win in their first two matches after the turn of the year. Interestingly, the league leader Arsenal appeared to be doing just fine.

This trend is like a curse. It's no wonder, as City (versus Chelsea) and Liverpool (versus Fulham) came close to taking three points in matchday 20 on Sunday (January 4, 2026). They were within minutes of winning, but instead conceded a goal in injury time. They were forced to settle for a draw.

This was a series of consecutive draws for City and Liverpool. Both also failed to secure victories on the first day of 2026, facing promoted teams. City was held to a 0-0 draw by Sunderland, while Liverpool drew 0-0 with Leeds. As a result, four points slipped from their grasp in just three days.

Does the euphoria of the New Year's celebration have an impact? It might, if the context is the match in the 19th week. This is not the case for last weekend. The players have fully refocused on the field, especially City and Liverpool, who have just lost points. That reason is less relevant.

Interestingly, the three other teams in the "Big Six" have faced the same fate. Chelsea, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur have only garnered two points from their last two matches. Their standards have drastically declined. In fact, on paper, they could have earned more points. For instance, Manchester United faced the bottom-placed team, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Pep Guardiola's unease, the Manager of City, following the match against Chelsea can somewhat explain this phenomenon. When asked about the injuries to the duo Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol during the match, he responded, "Of course I am concerned (about the number of injuries). Did you see our bench today?"

Guardiola referred to three 17-year-old academy players on the bench, namely Ryan McAidoo, Reigan Heskey, and Stephen Mfuni. City is short of players due to several injuries, such as John Stones and Matteo Kovacic. Two other players are currently competing in the Africa Cup of Nations, namely Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri.

The impact of limited options has prevented Guardiola from making optimal rotations. In fact, they need to refresh the squad to face the peak of the league festival period. This period, with the busiest schedule of the entire season, runs from December 20 to January 4, during the Christmas and New Year holidays. There are four matches within a span of 15 days for each team.

Liverpool also faces similar limitations. Forget about bench options, even coach Arne Slot is struggling to choose the best starting lineup. Specifically, in the striker position, Liverpool must field Cody Gakpo, who originally plays as a winger. The team's two center forwards, Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, are injured.

Slot explained that the philosophy has not changed at all compared to when he led Liverpool to the league title last season. "However, we must implement that (philosophy) with the players available. We have 11 very good players on the field even though not all of them are playing in their normal positions," he said.

Teams that do not have the depth of squads like City and Liverpool face even greater difficulties. Manchester United must contend with a busy schedule while missing two key players in the attacking line, Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes. Chelsea faces City without four core players in the defense, including Robert Sanchez and Marc Cucurella.

So, why does Arsenal have a different fate? When it comes to injuries, they have been one of the most affected teams since the beginning of the season. Almost their entire core squad has been sidelined due to injuries. From injuries that have consistently plagued the forwards to the defenders, they have experienced a series of setbacks in the first half of the season.

Fortunately, the injury storm has somewhat eased at the peak of the festival period. Almost all players have returned, except for defender Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera. In fact, Arsenal had temporarily lost two key central defenders, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, in early December. Midfielder Declan Rice was also briefly positioned as a wing-back in the match against Brighton at the end of December.

The rotation of the team managed by Mikel Arteta has been quite significant in the last two matches, against Aston Villa and Bournemouth. The luxury of the Arsenal squad was evident when they won at Bournemouth's home 3-2 last Saturday. Their bench was filled with big names, such as Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus. Saka was brought on in the second half and immediately contributed one assist.

According to Arteta, the availability of players helps Arsenal maintain peak performance amid a series of challenging schedules. "We want performance, the highest performance, every three days or throughout the matches. Therefore, we need the best players who are also in their best condition," he said.

Interestingly, the clean sweep of victories during the festival period is not the most remarkable aspect of Arsenal. The excellence of Saka and his teammates has been evident throughout the season, as they have managed to demonstrate consistency amidst the disruption of injury storms. This is what has placed them at the top of the standings with 48 points, six points ahead of their closest competitors, City and Aston Villa.

The key is a very deep squad. They were precise in bringing in eight players last summer, totaling £257 million (Rp 5.82 trillion). As a result, Arteta has two players for each position with nearly the same quality. On the right wing, for instance, there are Saka and Noni Madueke, both of whom are national team players for England.

"Si Meriam," the nickname for Arsenal, has received a boost with the return of Jesus after being absent for more than a year due to a knee injury. Jesus was not planned to be included in the squad this season and was even considered for release during the January transfer window, but he has proven to be able to contribute. Jesus serves as a backup for Viktor Gyokeres in the striker position, filling the role of Kai Havertz, who is still in the final stages of injury recovery.

No players from Africa have made a difference for Arsenal. They are not like the majority of other "Big Six" teams that have to let players go during the festival period. Meanwhile, Manchester United has contributed the most to the Africa Cup, with three players, followed by Manchester City and Tottenham (2) and Liverpool (1).

The unique phenomenon at the beginning of the English League this year is clearly neither a curse nor mere luck. A better squad composition allows for improved results. This advantage is what Arsenal possesses this season, having learned from mistakes made in previous seasons. (AP/REUTERS)