The coming Premier League season represents something of a clean slate for Arsenal. While their regression over the last few years can't be simply pinned on Arsene Wenger alone, the Gunners now enter a completely new era under his successor Unai Emery.

Arsenal fans appear convinced by the Spaniard too, which is perhaps the most important thing after the Emirates Stadium was left half-empty for many of the north London outfit's away games at the end of last season - a symptom of the dissatisfaction that had swelled amongst the supporters.

While there's quiet optimism for now, Emery will need to start his Arsenal tenure with a strong run of results or doubts will start to creep into the collective psyche, especially considering the new Gunners' gaffer has rarely made a success of it when managing outside of Spain.

And the official confirmation of Arsenal's opening fixtures for the 2018/19 Premier League season, as detailed below, gives us an indication of how likely Emery is to begin his tenure with a succession of wins...

11th August - Man City (H)

18th August - Chelsea (A)

25th August - West Ham (H)

1st September - Cardiff (A)

15th September - Newcastle (A)

22nd September - Everton (H)

[brid autoplay="true" video="255898" player="12034" title="Watch Arsenal's opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season"]

Verdict

Talk about a rude awakening to Premier League football; the fixture organisers probably couldn't have picked a worse opening six for Emery - hosting reigning champions Manchester City on the first day of the season and then taking on a key big six rival and London rival in Chelsea, a side Arsenal will need to get a good result against to make it into the top four. That's followed by another London derby with West Ham, and two incredibly difficult away days to Cardiff and Newcastle.

The Gunners battered Everton at the Emirates Stadium last term but they're a different proposition under Marco Silva, so it's hard to gauge whether they'll be far more competitive this time around. Overall though, it's a testing beginning for Emery that could well set the tone for the rest of the campaign. A great start will have Arsenal fans dreaming of glory; a poor one will create doubts over whether the Spaniard was the right choice of successor to Wenger.