Key Arsenal games in April including Madrid showdown and London derbies

Arsenal are currently the closest contenders to Liverpool in the race for the Premier League title. At the time of writing, the Gunners are 12 points behind The Reds, who sit at the top of the table. To stand any chance of narrowing the gap, Arsenal must win all of their remaining matches.

Despite the significant points difference, Liverpool are still the clear favourite to win the title. However, Arsenal are determined to keep fighting until it becomes mathematically impossible to catch up with the leaders.

The key question remains: do Arsenal have enough opportunities to close the points gap? Both teams have nine matches left, including a crucial potential title decider at Anfield in May.

On the European front, Arsenal continue to make an impression, having earned a well-deserved spot in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

From back-to-back London derbies to welcoming the 15-time UEFA Champions League winners at the Emirates, this article explores some of Arsenal’s key fixtures in April.

Arsenal vs Fulham — Tuesday, 1st April

Arsenal will aim to keep their slim title hopes alive as they face Fulham at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, April 1st, in the Premier League. The Gunners find themselves 12 points behind league leaders Liverpool, with only nine games remaining in the season.

Historically, Arsenal has never lost a home match to Fulham. Over the last 10 encounters, both teams have scored in seven of those games.

Arsenal head into this match after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea, with Mikel Merino’s header securing all three points in a game that lacked quality in the final third. Despite the win, the team’s struggles in attack are well-known, especially since they lost four key attackers to injury. Losing Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, and Kai Havertz to long-term injuries has been a massive blow to their attacking options.

Historically, Arsenal have dominated this fixture at home, remaining unbeaten against Fulham in their history.

After a strong run of eight wins from nine games against Fulham, Arsenal are now without a victory in their last three meetings with the London side. This includes two draws and a 2-1 defeat on the final matchday of 2023. However, Arsenal’s unbeaten home record against Fulham remain intact.

Although Arsenal’s chances of overtaking Liverpool for the title are slim, they know they must win every remaining fixture to stay in contention. A win against Fulham would reduce the gap to nine points and might give Liverpool more worries.

On the other hand, Fulham boosted their European aspirations with a home win over Tottenham Hotspur, securing their second consecutive victory over them for the first time in 19 years.

Historically, Fulham have never finished higher than seventh in the Premier League, a position they last achieved in the 2008-09 season, but this year, they are firmly in the hunt to better that finish.

With nine games to go, European football in the 2025-26 season is within reach for the West London club, but it’ll be difficult to achieve maximum points against an Arsenal side that can’t afford to drop any points.

Everton vs Arsenal — Saturday, 5th April

David Moyes has sparked a remarkable turnaround at Everton since his return to the club in January. The 61-year-old Scot was named Premier League Manager of the Month after an unbeaten February.

After suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in his first game back in charge, Moyes has overseen a nine-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League (W4 D5), equaling the club’s longest such run since Ronald Koeman’s nine-game unbeaten stretch between December 2016 and February 2017.

Following the Scotsman appointment, the Toffees relegation worries have all but disappeared. They now sit 15th in the Premier League, a comfortable 17 points clear of the relegation zone and just seven points behind Brentford in 11th with nine matches left.

Everton’s attacking improvements have played a key role in their resurgence. Under Moyes, they scored 17 goals in just nine league games — more than they had managed in their last 19 matches under former manager Sean Dyche.

The Toffees have only four more home matches at Goodison Park, including tough fixtures against Liverpool and Arsenal, before moving to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season.

For Arsenal, the international break may have come at the perfect moment. Although they headed into the break after a win, it followed a stretch of three matches without a victory. The Gunners earned just two points from their games against West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United, which hurt their title bid.

While the 12-point gap to Liverpool may be too large to overcome, Arsenal will continue fighting until it’s mathematically impossible. At the time of writing, they are eight points clear of fifth-place Manchester City and will be eager to secure their top-four spot sooner rather than later.

In the first leg of this fixture, Arsenal were held to a frustrating goalless draw by a Toffees side that failed to register a shot on target. Despite dominating possession (76.6%), Arsenal only managed 13 shots and recorded an expected goals (xG) value of 1.4 according to Opta, as Mikel Arteta’s team struggled to break down the Everton defence.

With Moyes now in charge, Arteta will hope to continue his strong record against the Scottish manager, having won six of their last ten encounters.

Arsenal vs Real Madrid — Tuesday, 8th April

Arsenal are still chasing their first-ever UEFA Champions League title. They put themselves in a strong position to achieve this, finishing the group stage with six wins from eight matches. This ensured a third-place finish in their group and a spot in the last 16.

The Gunners only dropped points in two away games in Italy, drawing with Atalanta and losing to Inter Milan. A dominant 9-3 aggregate victory over Dutch side PSV in the last 16 earned them a matchup with Real Madrid.

On the other hand, Real Madrid endured a disappointing group stage, finishing 11th, which forced them to navigate through the knockout phase play-offs. They faced a tricky tie against Manchester City but triumphed with a 6-0 aggregate score to reach the last 16. In a controversial penalty shootout, they narrowly defeated Atletico Madrid to book their spot in the quarter-finals.

For Arsenal fans watching that dramatic Atletico Madrid match, it was a tough choice between two fierce rivals. Madrid, the kings of the Champions League with 15 titles, are considered the most successful club in the competition’s history. Arsenal, meanwhile, will be hoping to overcome their domestic title heartbreak by claiming European glory and Arsenal tickets for the Madrid game will be swapping hands for hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.

Mikel Arteta’s side are not afraid to play a defence-first game, and they’ve boasted a stellar defensive record this season. Arsenal have conceded the lowest expected goals (xG) both in the Premier League (24.6 xG) and the Champions League (8.8 xG) and have allowed fewer goals than any other team in England (24), ranking second in Europe behind Inter Milan (6).

In addition to their solid defence, Arsenal will hope for the return of their star right-winger, Bukayo Saka, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Arteta confirmed that Saka’s recovery is progressing well, and they are optimistic about his return in time for the first leg against Madrid in on April 8.

Arsenal vs Brentford — Saturday, 12th April

It will be back-to-back London derbies at home for the Gunners, as they host a resolute Brentford side shortly after facing Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.

Historically, Arsenal have dominated this fixture, losing only six of the 21 games they’ve played against the West London side.

After a run of one win in nine games from 1902 to 1938, the tides in this fixture completely changed in the 2-0 League Division One win against the Bees, where goals from Ted Drake and Alfren Kitchen secured a win at Highbury in May 1939.

After a challenging period, the tides began to turn in the 1938-39 season, with a 2-0 victory in the League Division One match against the Bees, thanks to goals from Ted Drake and Alfred Kitchen at Highbury.

Since then, the Gunners have been a force to be reckoned with, winning eight of their next eleven meetings, including a memorable 3-1 win in January 2025 in the Premier League, where Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino, and Gabriel Martinelli turned things around after Bryan Mbeumo gave Brentford an early lead.

Since Brentford’s promotion to the Premier League, Arsenal have only dropped points twice. The first was in the opening match of the 2021-22 season when Brentford marked their Premier League debut with a memorable 2-0 win. The second came in February 2023, with a controversial 1-1 draw at the Emirates, but Arsenal won the other six encounters since Brentford’s promotion.

With Brentford recently on a five-game winning streak away from home, Mikel Arteta will aim for his side to secure a fifth consecutive victory against the Bees when the two teams meet at the Emirates.

Brentford have been in excellent form away from home, winning their last five away games, including a 2-1 victory against Bournemouth.

After a rough start to the season with no wins in their first nine away games, the Bees have turned things around, securing five victories in their last five trips away from the Gtech Community Stadium. This is their longest away win streak since December 2010, when they won five consecutive away matches in League One.

Brentford’s forwards have been on fire, with Yoane Wissa contributing to 16 goals (14 goals, two assists), his highest tally in a single Premier League season. He is also the first player in Brentford history to score 40 Premier League goals. Meanwhile, Bryan Mbeumo has been involved in 20 goals (15 goals, five assists) this season, making him the second Brentford player to reach that milestone in a single campaign, following Ivan Toney’s impressive 2022-23 season.

Despite their attacking brilliance, Brentford have been prone to defensive lapses, particularly in the dying moments of matches. Only Aston Villa (8) have conceded more goals after the 90th minute than Brentford (6), highlighting a potential vulnerability that Arsenal will look to exploit.

Other important games

Arsenal also have other big games coming up including another London derby against Crystal Palace on Saturday April 26th. The Gunners will hope to have cut Liverpool’s  lead by the time they welcome the Eagles to the Emirates Stadium, so Arsenal vs Crystal Palace tickets are likely to be in high demand with supporters hoping this fixture has a lot riding on it.

The Gunners also take on Ipswich Town away from home on April 20th and will head to the Bernabeu for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final so Arsenal have some HUGE games to look forward to next month.