Arsenal Schedule 2015-16: Premier League Fixtures Released

Arsenal will begin their 2015-16 Premier League campaign at home to West Ham United as the Gunners go in search of their first top-flight title since 2004.

The full fixture list for the new term was released on Wednesday, and Arsenal's most notable early-season challenge comes against Liverpool on August 22, when the Reds make their way to the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger's side will be hoping to make a fast start to the new season, as they fell off the pace early on last term, dropping 13 points in their first eight matches.

Here is the Gunners' full fixture list for the upcoming Premier League season, provided by the official Arsenal website:

Date	Opponent	Home/Away
August 8	West Ham United	Home
August 15	Crystal Palace	Away
August 22	Liverpool	Home
August 29	Newcastle United	Away
September 12	Stoke City	Home
September 19	Chelsea	Away
September 26	Leicester City	Away
October 3	Manchester United	Home
October 17	Watford	Away
October 24	Everton	Home
October 31	Swansea City	Away
November 7	Tottenham Hotspur	Home
November 21	West Bromwich Albion	Away
November 28	Norwich City	Away
December 5	Sunderland	Home
December 12	Aston Villa	Away
December 19	Manchester City	Home
December 26	Southampton	Away
December 28	A.F.C. Bournemouth	Home
January 2	Newcastle United	Home
January 12	Liverpool*	Away
January 16	Stoke City	Away
January 23	Chelsea	Home
February 2	Southampton*	Home
February 6	A.F.C. Bournemouth	Away
February 13	Leicester City	Home
February 27	Manchester United	Away
March 1	Swansea City*	Home
March 5	Tottenham Hotspur	Away
March 12	West Bromwich Albion	Home
March 19	Everton	Away
April 2	Watford	Home
April 9	West Ham United	Away
April 16	Crystal Palace	Home
April 23	Sunderland	Away
April 30	Norwich City	Home
May 7	Manchester City	Away
May 15	Aston Villa	Home

Fixtures marked with an asterisk (*) indicate evening kick-offs. Fixtures will be subject to change.

While the Gunners made a poor start to the 2014-15 term, they finished well, producing potential title-winning form in the latter stages of the season.

They were so impressive, in fact, that Bleacher Report's Arsenal expert James McNicholas gave them a 50 per cent chance of winning the title in 2015-16:

Arsenal fans may not be upset by a pleasant enough start to the season, although an away trip to Chelsea on Saturday, September 19 may be too early for the taste of some.

As pointed out by writer Samuel Jay C, the Gunners can take comfort in facing just three of last season's top six before the end of October:

That beginning, in theory, gives the Gunners a greater chance of getting settled early on with a view to building morale and momentum, but it equally means a tougher run in the mid-to-late campaign.

FourFourTwo's Huw Davies noted that while the final day of the season may not feature any massive clashes, an encounter against Manchester City on May 7 next year could have a lot on the line:

However, it has often been the case that the Gunners have performed well when the title was already out of reach.

It is essential in the upcoming season that Wenger's men are consistently good from beginning to end.

There were encouraging signs last term as they finally put together some decent performances against the bigger teams. They thrashed Liverpool 4-1 at home in the league, avoided defeat at Old Trafford and beat Manchester City 2-0 at the Etihad.

There are still key weaknesses in the side, though, and a new goalkeeper is surely needed with neither David Ospina nor Wojciech Szczesny wholly reliable.

An additional top-class striker may also be a good addition as the Gunners look to bridge the 12-point gap to 2014-15 league winners Chelsea that saw Arsenal finish third.

Another season without a league win will surely see Wenger come under more pressure in his job, but his side do look like an outfit on the up.

Their challenge begins against West Ham, and they will be hoping to be crowned title winners on the final day against Aston Villa in May next year.