When can Arsenal fans celebrate St Totteringham's Day?
Challenge after challenge has been thrown at Mikel Arteta's Arsenal this season, but time and time again they've proved they are the real deal.
Victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday afternoon meant the Gunners secured their first Premier League double over their north London rivals since the 2013/14 season. Arsenal's superiority was clear for much of the contest as they prevailed by a 2-0 scoreline thanks to two first-half goals.
The Gunners have bigger fish to fry than Tottenham this season, though, with the Premier League title proving to be be a genuine possibility. Finishing above their noisy neighbours for the first time since 2016 is now an inevitability, but when could Arsenal supporters celebrate St. Totteringham's Day in 2023?
When can Arsenal fans celebrate St Totteringham's Day?
Predicting how the remainder of the Premier League season will pan out is utterly futile. The variance and unpredictability of the most competitive division in Europe mean the second half of the campaign will almost certainly not pan out as the vast majority expect.
Nevertheless, by attempting to predict the remainder of Arsenal and Tottenham's fixtures, we were able to work out when the Gunners could possibly celebrate St. Totteringham's Day.
Tottenham vs Manchester United (25/04/22)
Arsenal are in imperious form, and it's hard to envisage where their next defeat will arrive despite the visit of Erik ten Hag's high-flying Manchester United next Sunday. The Gunners have tough tests on the horizon, but their ability to pick up crucial points on the road will keep their head afloat at the top throughout the winter.
Spurs, meanwhile, play Manchester City twice in the coming weeks: fixtures that could make or break their season. Outside of the thumping victory at Crystal Palace, Antonio Conte's side have struggled as of late, but the returns of Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski, and Richarlison will undoubtedly help the Italian's cause.
Who knows who'll be in charge of Spurs down the stretch? Conte may well walk should their indifference continue and players aren't brought in this month.
Nevertheless, there should be some improvement over the coming weeks to delay Arsenal's celebration of St. Totteringham's Day until late April at least. We predict that a home defeat at the hands of United would seal Arsenal's position over Spurs in the standings as they prepare to take on City in a potential title-decider.
By that point, both teams would've played 32 times with Arsenal boasting a 20-point advantage.
Arsenal vs Chelsea (29/04/22)
However, should Spurs' form improve and Arsenal's drop off, St. Totteringham's Day might be delayed by a further matchday.
Defeats we predicted for Conte's side, for example at Wolves, may well prove erroneous and they could stage a resurgence during the second half of the season. Nevertheless, even if Arsenal drop points as we predict away at Aston Villa, Liverpool, and West Ham, the Gunners should still be able to celebrate St. Totteringham's Day before the start of May.
A game against London rivals Chelsea at the Emirates would be a nice occasion for supporters to celebrate the day.
Arsenal vs Southampton (22/04/22)
More optimistic supporters might expect St. Totteringham's Day to roll around sooner and thus, victory over Southampton just a few days before the trip to the Etihad could secure Arsenal's position over their fiercest rivals in the leadue standings.
Should the Gunners continue at their current rate and Spurs' indifference also persist, then the day might roll around even earlier in April.