Where can we finish 2026? part 2 No hugs for Arteta if we finally do it Fixtures: Bournemouth (a) Liverpool (h) Forest (a) Man Utd (h) Leeds (a) 1-1 Sunderland (h) Brentford (a) Spuds (a) Chelsea (h) Brighton (a) And so we finished the halfway point on 45 points. And I can humbly say that is what I predicted last time here. Of course, I didn’t predict the right results but I did reckon that 45 points would be where we are now. I also believed that that would put us at least 4 points in front and we are 5 but City do have a match in hand against Sunderland. If Sunderland produce their magic against them as they did us, they might get a draw and I would get that right as well. Dave Hardy was more optimistic than me and he went for 48 points and did well, getting to within 3 points of the final figure. We made these predictions quite some time ago and had no idea what injuries or problems we would face. We both did well. Football prediction is notoriously tricky and we are both ready now with our next ten. But first let’s take a look at some possible scenarios. Our maximum to the end of the season is 57 points. Add that to 45 and we have 102 points and a record haul. Newsflash – that will not happen. But I did postulate last time that 89 points is the target this year and I will stick by that for now. That means we need 44 from our remaining matches and can drop 13. Is that possible? I think so. We have been sticky with the top teams so far and probably need to improve there. We do have Liverpool, Man Utd, and Chelsea at home over the next ten and the Spuds away so we are well capable of taking maximum or close to that from those. The lower clubs all look beatable but we always seem to come up against banana skins. Truly, we must put them away and pull away from City and the chasing pack. Will 89 points be enough? It wasn't then If City beat Sunderland they can get 100 points and that will be good enough, for sure. To get to my target of 89 points, they can then drop 11 and that is tough but we all know they are capable of that. We could beat them in our match and they could still get more points than us. If they lose against Sunderland they can only afford to drop 8 points in their remaining matches. Villa, at the moment, to reach 89 points can only drop 7. Tougher again. If Liverpool win all they can get to 92. I truly believe they will come nowhere near the 89 target. No other team can make 89 even by winning all. It looks, even at this early stage, that only Arsenal, City and Villa are in the hunt. Of course my target of 89 points could be wrong but I don’t believe it will be out by much. A repeat of 45 points for us gives us 90 points and I am confident that will bag us the title. And probably somewhat less than that. City do not seem the indestructible force of the past but they are on a strong run and could push us really hard. We do need to win and keep winning. Winning is the only currency Arteta can trade in to the end of the season. I have a feeling Villa might fall away a little leaving Arsenal and City to fight it out. History, and maybe even logic, suggests that City should be favourites from this position. Do not fool yourselves Gooners, even if Sunderland produce a miracle, City are going to be dangerous. And so to the fixtures and once again Dave Hardy in blue puts his wisdom on the line as we try to help you make a fortune from our next matches: Bournemouth away and Andoni Iraola, Arteta’s good mate, provides us with a stiff first test for 2026. So far they have only lost one at home with 4 wins and 4 draws. An indifferent start to their season means they will be desperate to come out of the 2026 traps with a win and a good performance. We allow them that good performance but the ghost of George Graham prevails and it is one-nil to the Arsenal. The first game of 2026, sends us to the south coast of England. Last season Bournemouth did the double on us, so I think it’s time for a bit of revenge. Given the fact that they’ll most likely lose their star player Antoine Semenyo before the match, I think that it’ll be a routine away win for the Gunners. 1-3 and 48 points each. No smiles for Iraola if the loses Liverpool at home and we usually struggle against them. They will play everyone at the back, Slot might try and slot himself and his coaching staff in there if nobody notices, and hope for a breakaway. The danger is that we will allow those breakaways as we press forward. I will be happy with 2-1 and revenge. Liverpool is starting to gain momentum and fine form, but the lack of Alex Isak and possibly Mo Salah will be key in this game. Also, we have quite the positive record against them at home in the last couple of years (2 wins and 1 draw) so I think it will be another Arteta masterclass to solidify the lead on top. Dave is a bit more optimistic than me and goes 2-0 leaving us 51 points each. Next, Forest away and their home form has been poor. We must be ruthless in these matches and 3-0 is the least we should give them. The City Ground is one of those places where the fans feel like the 12th player. Historically, Sean Dyche has been a tough opponent for Arteta, so I’ll go for the good old 1 nil to the Arsenal here. We both say 3 wins in a row so 54 points for me and Dave. Manchester United at home is a fixture I love. They seem to raise their game against us and we were lucky enough in the first game at Old Trafford. I see a nervy game in which we come out 2/1. By the time of this fixture, Manchester United will most likely have their players from AFCON back in the squad, which will be a huge boost to them. We’ve won the first derby of the season, even though the game quality was not ideal. Here I expect another tough battle, and bragging rights to Arsenal. As usual Dave is more optimistic than me and goes for 3-1. 4 wins in a row now and 57 points each. Dirty Leeds up next away and they have been much better at home than away. We destoyed them last time and they will remember that. Dominic Calvert Lewin has been on fire recently and this may be where we slip up. 1-1. And they are proud of it As it is very easy to predict only wins, we do have to drop points somewhere during the season. Leeds have hit a bit of form in the recent games, and their front man Calvert-Lewin has been bagging them goals. Since Leeds have been back in the PL, Arsenal has managed to drop points against them only once back in 2020 in a goalless draw. If their relegation struggles continue, I fully expect a tough battle and the points to be shared. Strangely we both pick the exact same for this match as Dave goes 1-1. And now both on 58 points. Sunderland at home next and we will desperately want to teach them a lesson for the last drawn match. I think we will. The Black Cats go home crying after a 3-0 defeat. A Black Cat day for the Arsenal That 94th minute equaliser at the Stadium of Light was such a pain that I’ve been waiting for this game ever since to see a complete domination and a routine win for the culture. Of course, it all depends on if Sunderland are still in the top 10 before this game, but even if they are, I don’t expect any trouble and another 3 points toward the title. He must be reading my mind because he also goes 3-0 and now 61 points each. Brentford away and their home form has been very good. They will fight like crazy for every ball and they could frustrate us. David Raya might be happy with another clean sheet but not anyone else in Arsenal. 0-0 Another tough away game, as Brentford play very good at home. As this will be a midweek match, I expect another hard battle with Keith Andrews’s side who will take the lead through some shenanigans, but the mighty Arsenal will find a way to turn it around and snatch all the points. 1-2 and for the first time Dave and I diverge. 62 points for Gus and 64 for Dave. The Spuds away and their home form has been poor, very poor. I think their players and supporters struggle with Frank’s defensive commands at home and want to try and play football. We take advantage and win 0-2. The NLD is probably the only fixture that is super hard to predict, especially almost two months in advance. While we had the privilege to watch the Ebe Eze show at the Emirates in November, I think that this will be another game where we will drop precious points to a hard-fought draw. Myself and Dave diverge again on this one as he goes for a draw 1-1 but our points total converge once more with 65 points each. Play Eze and the job is done Chelsea at home next and it all depends what Chelsea turn up. I feel we can run this one routinely with 2-0 as they struggle with confidence. If we somehow don’t draw them in the FA Cup (or the later stages of the Champions League), this will be our fourth game against Chelsea for the season, given the two semi-finals in the Carabao. They gave us a tough battle at the Bridge, and I expect nothing less from Maresca once again. To be fair for me this result will depend on the outcome from the semis in the Carabao. I do think that we’ll be able to be victorious on both fronts. 2-1. Now 68 points each. Brighton finally away and we have both been very optimistic. Since I started sharing the predictions I don’t think I have ever been more optimistic than my co-predictor but this time I am as I feel that this is a team that Arteta and the players now desperately want to beat for humiliations in the past and I go 1-2. The AMEX Stadium, like the City Ground is one those stadiums where the fans help a lot. Brighton have a bit of a rollercoaster of a season but given the fact that this is another midweek game, I expect a hard battle from the Seagulls and the points to be shared. 1-1. So finally I have 71 points and Dave 69. If either scenario comes to pass, then I believe we will have opened up a large gap on the chasing pack. Yes, City could still be notching up wins for fun and could even be ahead but I doubt it. Maybe this is our year. I really hope so as I have obviously been infected with the optimism bug.