Arsenal suffered a week from hell when they lost to both Everton and Manchester City in the Premier League. All the momentum that had been built up since an opening day loss to Liverpool went down in flames with those defeats, and all Arsene Wenger and his team, now nine points behind leaders Chelsea, can do is hope to pick up three points from every single one of their festive fixtures.
The Gunners begin that phase with a Boxing Day match against West Brom at home. Having suffered two consecutive losses away from home, when they allowed both Everton and Manchester City to come back from a goal down, Arsenal will be a little relieved to play a Premier League fixture at home.
Not that they have been superlative at home, but just to get out of their rut, a home game, where, hopefully, the fans will cheer them on, is what Arsenal might need. West Brom, though, will pose quite a few difficult questions, as Tony Pulis' sides always seem to.
Arsenal have been found out against Pulis teams in the past, but they really cannot allow themselves to be bullied by this West Brom side. Making a proactive start and then keeping the foot on the accelerator will be key. Against Everton and City, Arsenal just seemed to go into their shells after scoring the opening goal, something they cannot afford to do against West Brom.
Or Crystal Palace, or Bournemouth – their other two opponents in the festive season.
Palace will be buoyed by the new manager appointment of Sam Allardyce, and depending on how their Boxing Day match against Watford goes, they could be really tricky opposition. They might not have the greatest of defences, but Allardyce should sort something out by the time the Arsenal game comes.
Two home games in a row should really mean six points, but then Arsenal always seem to find a way to hit the "what on earth is going on button". They cannot afford to do that against Bournemouth, either.
In the reverse fixture, Bournemouth gave them a really difficult game, and while Eddie Howe's side will be without on-loan Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere for that matchup again – Wilshere is ineligible to play against his parent club – Wenger will expect a really tough outing.
Bournemouth have been strong at home, and Arsenal will need to beat their away day blues to make sure they take all nine points from the three festive matches.
Arsenal schedule: Monday, December 26, Boxing Day: Arsenal vs West Brom (3pm GMT, 8.30pm IST, 10am ET) at the Emirates Stadium.
Sunday, January 1: Arsenal vs Crystal Palace (4pm GMT, 9.30pm IST, 11am ET) at the Emirates Stadium.
Wednesday, January 3: Bournemouth vs Arsenal (7.45pm GMT, 2.45pm ET, 1.15am IST next day morning) at the Vitality Stadium.
