2012–13 Arsenal F.C. season
The 2012–13 season was Arsenal Football Club's 21st season in the Premier League and 87th consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[1][2] Arsenal participated in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League, after finishing third in the previous Premier League season. The League Cup however was out of their reach, and despite an entertaining cup run, which included 13 goals scored in two games, Arsenal lost to fourth-division Bradford City in the quarter-finals on penalties. In the FA Cup, Arsenal were knocked out by Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round. The Champions League also proved fruitless, as despite a valiant effort in Bavaria winning 2–0, they were ultimately knocked out on the away goals rule against Bayern Munich, thus extending their trophy drought for an eighth season. The highest scoring game in their season was the famous 7–5 win in the League Cup (after extra time), where they came back from 4 goals down to beat Reading. Arsenal's highest scoring league win was the 7–3 win against Newcastle United in December; this was also their joint highest-scoring Premier League game of all time. This season, Arsenal finished fourth after having to close another large points gap (like last season) between themselves and their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who they beat 5-2 for the second season running.[3]
| 2012–13 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood |
| Manager | Arsène Wenger |
| Stadium | Emirates Stadium |
| Premier League | 4th |
| FA Cup | Fifth round |
| League Cup | Quarter-finals |
| UEFA Champions League | Round of 16 |
| Top goalscorer | League: Theo Walcott (14) All: Theo Walcott (21) |
| Highest home attendance | 60,112 (vs. Manchester United, 28 April 2013, Premier League) |
| Lowest home attendance | 58,351 (vs. Coventry City, 26 September 2012, League Cup) |
| Average home league attendance | 59,927 (in all competitions) |
Review Edit
Pre-season Edit
Arsenal's pre-season transfers started as early as 30 April 2012, when Arsenal announced they were going to sign German international Lukas Podolski from 1. FC Köln for an undisclosed fee,[4] thought to be around £10.9 million.[5] Podolski officially joined Arsenal when the summer transfer window opened on 1 July.[6] Podolski became the second German player to join the club in the space of a year, following the arrival of Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen last summer, whom Podolski himself stated, played a big part in the transfer after talking about life at the Emirates.[7] As well as early transfer news, Arsenal had early staff news, whereby, after 48 years of being associated with Arsenal, assistant manager Pat Rice retired at the end of the previous season. He was replaced on the same day by academy team manager, Steve Bould.[8] Pat Rice played a big role at Arsenal, and was highly praised following his retirement by both the players and by manager Arsène Wenger.[9]
Arsenal's pre-season schedule saw them take part in the second Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup (in memory of the former Southampton owner Markus Liebherr[10]), hosted by Southampton in two 45-minute matches against what was originally Scottish club Rangers, but was later confirmed to be Anderlecht due to the financial troubles faced by Rangers,[11] and the hosts themselves. The competition was held on 14 July 2012 as a round-robin system with Arsenal winning their first match 1–0 thanks to a close-range finish by Henri Lansbury, and despite losing 5–4 on penalties to Southampton (following a Gervinho 35th-minute equaliser to Jay Rodriguez's 31st-minute opener in regulation time), they had still accumulated enough points to win the cup.
Arsenal then travelled to the Far East, in a tour similar to that they embarked upon before their 2011–12 season. Arsenal started their tour by travelling to Malaysia to play a Malaysia League XI in Kuala Lumpur. After an open-training session (which was attended by 30,000 fans in the previous season),[12] Arsenal scored two late goals from German youngster Thomas Eisfeld and fellow reserve team player Chuks Aneke following Azmi Muslim's opener to win the match 2–1.[citation needed] From there, they travelled to China to play fellow Premier League team Manchester City in Beijing in the inaugural China Cup.[13] With extra significance due to the 2012 Summer Olympics, the match was held at the 2008 Olympic Stadium, and similar to the Malaysia tour, Arsenal attempted to get closer to their Chinese fans.[14] Arsenal ultimately lost 0–2, with two goals in the last five minutes of the first half by Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Touré to lose the China Cup.
Arsenal then travelled to Hong Kong to play Kitchee, champions of their national league. The game gave the club's huge fan base in Hong Kong the opportunity to see Arsenal play live in an entertaining encounter that ended 2–2 after 90 minutes after Eisfeld equalised late on (which should have led to a penalty shootout, but it was later scrapped). Arsenal played in Hong Kong for the first time in 17 years, addressing their growing commitment to Asia.[15]
They were then going to travel to Nigeria to play the Nigeria national team[16] in their first visit to Africa since visiting South Africa in 1993,[17] however this was later postponed till summer 2013 based on concerns with the host city.[18] Instead, the club sent three first-team players (Bacary Sagna, Mertesacker and new signing Podolski) on 28 July 2012 to engage with supporters in the region.[19]
The last stop on Arsenal's pre-season schedule saw a repeat of last season's pre-season fixture against 1. FC Köln, resulting in an immediate goal-scoring return for new signing Lukas Podolski to his previous home ground. The fixture, which was scheduled six days before the start of the Premier League season, featured the likes of new signings Podolski, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla in a commanding 4–0 win with an early opener from Thomas Vermaelen, a penalty and a close range strike from Podolski in the first half, and a finish from an acute angle from Gervinho in the second half to complete the rout. As the 2012 Olympics were being held in London, it was announced that Arsenal would not host the Emirates Cup tournament as part of their usual pre-season schedule, citing unnecessary increased pressure on London's infrastructure. However, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis stated that the Emirates Cup would be hosted by Arsenal in 2013, with a host of "top" clubs being lined up already.[20]
As the previous season drew to a close, Arsenal announced the release of seven players on 22 May 2012, five of whom played professionally for Arsenal, including Manuel Almunia, who made 175 first-team appearances for the club (including the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final), and Gavin Hoyte who was the only other released player to receive a first-team cap (against Manchester City on 22 November 2009).[21]
Soon afterwards Arsenal announced their progress on the staffing situation at the Emirates, and despite Steve Bould already being announced as the new assistant manager, the Club officially announced that Bould had indeed been promoted, Neil Banfield would be promoted to being first-team coach, after managing the Arsenal reserve team for the past eight seasons,[22] and that Terry Burton would become the reserve-team manager.[23] On 8 June 2012, Arsenal continued their transfer activity with the sale of Oğuzhan Özyakup to Turkish club Beşiktaş. Although it is undisclosed by Arsenal, Beşiktaş confirmed that a four-year contract had been agreed with Özyakup and a fee of around £405,000 agreed with Arsenal for the 19-year-old midfielder.[24] Arsenal then announced their second "big" transfer of the summer transfer window, with the signing of French striker Olivier Giroud from Montpellier for a reported fee of £12.8 million.[25] Giroud was top scorer in the French league last season and Arsène Wenger stated that he expects him to flourish.[26] He was primarily signed as a backup (rather than a replacement) to golden boot winner Robin van Persie, in a bid to challenge this season's Premier League title and win the club's first trophy for seven years.[27]
On 4 July 2012, however, a transfer saga, similar to the ones of Cesc Fàbregas and Samir Nasri last summer, took a big step as club captain and player-of-the-season[28] Van Persie revealed that he would not renew his Arsenal contract, and would therefore become a free agent at the end of the current season, signalling the end of an eight-year career at the club following his move from Feyenoord in 2004.[29] This eventually led to the confession that Giroud had actually been signed as a replacement for the Dutch talisman.[30] Meanwhile, on 29 June, Arsenal announced that a further seven academy players had signed professional contracts.[31][32]
To signal the intent of reducing surplus players, Arsenal then announced that a £6 million agreement had been reached for the sale of Carlos Vela on 17 July 2012. Vela featured 62 times for Arsenal, scoring 11 goals, and he was the first member of the first-team squad to be sold in the summer transfer window. A week later Arsenal announced that defender Laurent Koscielny had signed a new long-term contract after a series of consistent appearances in the first-team last season. Throughout the summer transfer window, manager Arsène Wenger had promised the club's fans that a headline transfer would be made, so to compete for the title, and this materialised on 7 August, when Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla signed on a four-year contract for a reported transfer fee of £16.5 million, making him the most expensive player in the history of the club.[33] With the sale of Van Persie being confirmed by the club for a fee thought to be around £24 million,[34] on 17 August Arsenal revealed that Thomas Vermaelen had taken over the captaincy from the Dutchman, with Mikel Arteta being given the position of vice-captain.
August Edit
The Premier League fixture list was announced on 18 June 2012 and it gave Arsenal a home game against Sunderland to open the new season. Both matches last season produced a 2–1 win in Arsenal's favour, which promised an entertaining opening match for the club. Although Arsenal had the better of the chances, they played out a 0–0 draw with the north-eastern club. Shortly after, Arsenal announced that an agreement had been reached with Barcelona for the sale of Alex Song, and two days later, on 20 August 2012, Arsenal announced that he had indeed been sold.[35] Meanwhile, in contrast to last season, Arsenal did not have any other commitments in August apart from competing in the Premier League, with no English contingent participating in the play-off round of the Champions League. This therefore allowed Arsenal ample time to prepare for their next test at the Britannia Stadium in their second game against Stoke City,[36] however it ended as a second successive 0–0 draw, and although their previous defensive frailties were not present throughout August, a goalless month was a cause for concern. Arsenal had no disciplinary issues in their opening two games, which epitomised the controlled, albeit unexciting, start to the season.
On a transfer deadline day that was dominated by the club's Premier League rivals, Arsenal only announced departures, as first team players Nicklas Bendtner and Park Chu-young departed on season-long loans, to Italian giants Juventus and La Liga club Celta de Vigo respectively. Despite manager Arsène Wenger stating that he is open to transfers before the window closes,[37] Arsenal did not shadow the events of last season, in buying no players in the final week of the transfer window.
September Edit
Arsenal began a series a tough matches against Liverpool at Anfield, where the Gunners registered both their first goals and cards of the season. New signings Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla paired up for both goals, as Podolski finished low to the goalkeeper's left in the 31st minute, and Cazorla smashed a near post shot past goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 68th minute to give Arsenal a commanding 2–0 win over Liverpool. Arsenal continued their unbeaten start with an emphatic victory over Southampton that rested fears over the Gunner's lack of scoring potential. A brace from Gervinho, goals from Podolski and Theo Walcott, and two own goals capped an almost perfect display, with the only error coming from goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, as his spill gifted the visitors a goal, and dealt Arsenal their first defensive blip of the season, in a 6–1 thrashing.
Away from the Premier League, Arsenal started their Champions League campaign with a group stage match against debutants Montpellier at the Stade de la Mosson. Dubbed as favourites, Arsenal did not begin the match in such commanding fashion, as a penalty, conceded by Thomas Vermaelen, was put away by Younès Belhanda in the ninth minute, but two goals in quick succession from Podolski and Gervinho meant Arsenal turned the game around to come out as 2–1 winners, a scoreline that reflected the quality of the two teams. Arsenal's tough month continued, with arguable the toughest test that awaited them in the entire season – an away tie at champions Manchester City. Despite the constant troubles that have come from zonal marking, Arsenal used this technique from set-pieces all throughout the game, which ultimately led to Joleon Lescott's 40th-minute header giving City the lead until Laurent Koscielny's 82nd-minute equaliser, giving Arsenal a deserved draw at the Etihad. The draw extended Arsenal's unbeaten run to five games and earned the team plaudits around the footballing world.
Continuing with the packed fixture list, came another midweek tie against Coventry City in the League Cup. Arsenal fielded a team mixed with experience and young talent in a convincing 6–1 win over the League One outfit. Olivier Giroud opened his account for the club, with a clever finish over goalkeeper Murphy, and goals from youngsters Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ignasi Miquel, a brace from Walcott, and an instinctive finish by Andrey Arshavin capped a satisfying night for the Arsenal faithful. Arsenal's final game of September came in the form of a visit from table-topping Chelsea side to the Emirates Stadium. Despite Gervinho's strike late in the first half, goals from Fernando Torres and Juan Mata, both from set plays, on either side of the half way mark, highlighted the club's underlying defensive frailties, in an unconvincing display from the Gunners.
October Edit
Arsenal began October with a 3–1 Premier League win against West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground. After conceding an early goal from Mohamed Diamé, Arsenal netted late twice, including Olivier Giroud's first Premier League goal. Following an international break, Arsenal travelled to Carrow Road to face third-bottom Norwich City, and lost 1–0 through a 20-minute Grant Holt goal after a Vito Mannone spill, in an unconvincing display from the Gunners. Their poor form continued in a Champions League clash with Schalke 04, conceding twice in a 2–0 loss (their first at the Emirates in a European group stage match),[38] putting Arsenal second in Group B with three games to play.
Arsenal then produced a respectable performance in their next match against a struggling Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League, thanks to another late goal, this time from Mikel Arteta, following Stéphane Mbia's red card dismissal. Their final game of October was an away League Cup fourth-round tie against Reading, where after having fallen to a four-goal deficit after 37 minutes, goals from Theo Walcott (twice), Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny managed to equalise the match to 4–4 after 90 minutes (despite a controversial 90+6th-minute equaliser, when only four minutes of added time was indicated). Theo Walcott and Marouane Chamakh (twice) then netted in extra time, with Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring an additional goal for Reading, completing one of football's most inspiring comebacks, as well as one of the most remarkable matches in League Cup history (as well as the highest scoring),[39] to a final score of 7–5 to Arsenal, who have never lost to a Reading side in all ten occasions that the teams have met. Arsenal became the first side to have scored over six goals in two consecutive League Cup matches in this record breaking and inspiring display. They were drawn against League Two Bradford City in the quarter-finals and entered November on a high.
November Edit
Arsenal's November started as poorly as September had ended and October had started, and despite a tough test against Manchester United, an unlikely three points for the Gunners did not materialise in a lacklustre performance that only brought about two shots on target, including a late consolation by Santi Cazorla, and a disappointing 2–1 loss at Old Trafford. Arsenal extended their losing streak at Old Trafford to six seasons, in a performance that left Arsenal sixth in the Premier League table, nine points off the top. Arsenal, frustratingly for everyone connected with the club, showed another stuttering performance against table-topping Schalke 04 in the Champions League. They created a 2–0 lead inside 26 minutes with goals against the run of play, from Theo Walcott (following a mix-up in defence) and Giroud, however, Schalke deservedly pegged Arsenal back with goals either side of half time, from Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Peruvian Jefferson Farfán, as the Gunners left Gelsenkirchen with a point. The result, which Walcott said Arsenal would have taken before the game,[40] left Arsenal a point and a place behind Schalke, in a widely open group.
Four days later, Arsenal surrendered another two-goal lead, this time created by Lukas Podolski and Giroud, into a 3–2 deficit following a brace (including a penalty conceded by Arteta) for Dimitar Berbatov and a header from Alexander Kačaniklić for Fulham. Giroud scored in the 69th minute to level the game at 3–3, thus making the game the first time he scored in consecutive games, and two goals in one single game, but the Gunners were denied late on after Mark Schwarzer saved a penalty from Arteta which would have given Arsenal a 4–3 lead in the 90+5th minute. The draw meant Arsenal had won only one of the previous six Premier League and Champions League games (L,L,W,L,D,D), which piled more pressure on Arsène Wenger. With an uncanny resemblance to last season, Arsenal entered their first North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on the back of a poor run of results, while still managing coming out as 5–2 winners against their bitter rivals, who were once again down to ten men. Inside the first 20 minutes, former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor went from "hero to zero" as he gave Spurs an early lead before getting sent off nine minutes later. This allowed the Gunners a route back into the game, which eventually came from the unlikely source of Per Mertesacker with his first goal for the club inside 25 minutes. Arsenal then finished the half strongly with goals from Podolski and Giroud to give them a 3–1 lead. In the second half, Arsenal soaked up some early pressure from Spurs before Cazorla scored when the team were on a magnificent break. Despite Gareth Bale's goal in the 71st minute, Arsenal made their man-advantage count, as Walcott completed the rout three minutes from the end.
In Arsenal's fifth game of the month, they faced a Montpellier side in poor form, and in a far less entertaining game than the last, Arsenal came out as solid 2–0 winners, with a clean sheet. Two sublime finishes from Jack Wilshere, his first in 725 days,[41] and Podolski, a left-foot volley reminiscent of former captain Van Persie, allowed Arsenal to secure qualification to the knockout stage of the competition, with only the top two places to be settled on the last matchday between the Gunners and Schalke.[42]
Arsenal returned to poor form in their next match however, as they played out a dull 0–0 draw with relegation-threatened Aston Villa, meaning the Gunners lost ground yet again on the top four sides. Yet again, Arsenal played out an uninspiring draw against fellow Champions League-chasers Everton. The game started well for the Gunners, as Walcott scored inside 52 seconds at Goodison Park, but Marouane Fellaini equalised just before the half-hour mark to level the score at 1–1, and so it stayed until the end, as Arsenal finished November in seventh place in the Premier League table.
December Edit
Arsenal started December losing 0–2 to aSwansea City side under Michael Laudrup, with two goals scored by Michu for Swansea late on, in what the BBC called "Arsenal's worst start to a season under Arsene Wenger".[43] Next up was a Champions League visit to Olympiacos. Consecutive losses were on the cards for Arsenal, as they named a weakened 18-man squad ahead of vital Premier League games for the club. Despite taking a 38th-minute lead with a low drive from Tomáš Rosický, Arsenal surrendered yet another lead with two goals in under 10 minutes from Ioannis Maniatis and Konstantinos Mitroglou to give Olympiacos a 2–1 win. Had Arsenal won the game, they would have gone top of the table, as Montpellier managed a draw against Schalke 04, but instead they finished second, setting up a tough test against Bayern Munich in the last-16.[44]
Arsenal's fortunes turned however, in their next match against high-flying West Bromwich Albion, where a controversial penalty for a perceived dive from Cazorla gifted Arsenal the lead, when it was put down the centre of the goal by Arteta on 26 minutes. Arsenal then doubled their lead, this time on a blatant foul on Oxlade-Chamberlain, with another penalty from Arteta to finish the game 2–0 in Arsenal's favour. It was the Gunners first win in four Premier League games, and it lifted the team up to seventh in the table. Spirits dropped yet again, however, as a near full-strength Arsenal squad humiliatingly crashed out to League Two side Bradford City in the League Cup, 3–2 on penalties, following an 88th-minute equaliser by Thomas Vermaelen, who incidentally missed the final penalty. This left Arsenal with interests in three competitions.
Arsenal then entered the Christmas period with a Monday night fixture against then-bottom Reading. The match ended in a familiar scoreline that lifted the Arsenal fans; 5–2. Cazorla scored his first hat-trick for the club, and also provided an assist for Walcott's goal, and the fifth of the match; Lukas Podolski opened the scoring inside 15 minutes. Arsenal continued their revival with a solid victory over Wigan Athletic with the Gunners recording three consecutive wins for the first time since March last season. An Arteta penalty in the 60th minute gave Arsenal a 1–0 win and raised the team to fourth in the table. Arsenal have a larger break than other teams in the Premier League however, as the West Ham game was postponed due to a tube strike in the London Underground.[45] Arsenal returned to action in style on 29 December against Newcastle by emphatically beating the Tyneside team 7–3. Arsenal were never behind in the game, but were pegged-back three times by two goals from Demba Ba and one from Sylvain Marveaux following goals from Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Walcott. However, following another two goals from Walcott (to complete his hat-trick), and a brace from substitute Giroud, Arsenal rounded off an impressive display to give confidence to the fans ahead of the crucial month January.
January Edit
Arsenal started 2013 in disappointing fashion with a result that Wenger called "undeserved":[46] a 1–1 draw against Southampton. Arsenal were gifted their goal with an own goal from Guly do Prado (Arsenal's third of the season, with the previous two also coming against Southampton), after Gastón Ramírez opened the scoring for the Saints. The result was the last of a four-game winning streak ahead of a tough couple of matches against Premier League champions Manchester City, and European champions Chelsea. Arsenal completed their first transfer business of the January transfer window, with the loan of Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh to West Ham on 4 January 2013.[47] Another loan was announced a day later as Swiss centre-back Johan Djourou joined Hannover 96.[48] Both players had yet to feature in the Premier League this season for the Gunners, and both deals were for the rest of the season. Arsenal started their FA Cup run against Swansea in the third round, and following an uneventful first half, the second half sprung into life as both teams scored late on (Podolski and Gibbs for the Gunners, and Danny Graham for Swansea) after Michu opened the scoring in the 58th minute. The final score of 2–2 meant both teams would play a replay.
A week later, Arsenal slumped to a controversial yet disappointing loss to the champions Manchester City as Koscielny was sent off in the ninth minute after fouling Edin Džeko in the penalty area. Despite missing the resulting penalty, Džeko and James Milner gave City a comfortable 2–0 victory. Vincent Kompany was sent off late in the game leaving both teams with ten players. The stadium rang out in a chorus of jeering at the final whistle, aimed at both the Gunners and the referee. Arsenal turned their fortunes, however, as they progressed 1–0 winners against Swansea City into the FA Cup fourth round. Jack Wilshere buried a shot from outside the penalty area to keep Arsenal's trophy hopes alive. Arsenal fans soon had further encouragement as striker Theo Walcott signed a new contract with the club, for an undisclosed length of time. Arsène Wenger said he was "delighted" to secure the contract of a "strong player and also a great person".[49]
Soon after, Arsenal were subjected to a second consecutive Premier League loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Another poor start resulted in two goals conceded, which was a similar situation as their previous league defeat. Despite Walcott managing to pull one goal back in the second half, the game eventually ended 2–1, leaving Arsenal's hope of finishing in the top four in serious doubt. Some doubt was erased only three days later, as four goals in ten early second-half minutes meant Arsenal romped to a 5–1 victory over West Ham in the rescheduled match, originally to have been played on Boxing Day. Two goals from Giroud, and one each from Walcott, Podolski and Cazorla left the Gunners just four points off their north London rivals Tottenham in fourth. Arsenal then progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup in another thriller three days later, with a 3–2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Falmer Stadium. Giroud scored yet another brace, and Walcott scored once to increase his goal tally to 17 for the season, as Arsenal set up a tie against Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the next round.
Back in the Premier League, Arsenal continued their increasingly frustrating habit of starting games slowly, going 2–0 behind against Liverpool inside an hour thanks to goals from Luis Suárez and Jordan Henderson. However, two goals in quick succession from in-form strikers Giroud and Walcott battled Arsenal back to a 2–2 draw. Giroud spurned a late chance to collect a hat-trick of braces and win the game for the Gunners. Following an injury picked up by Kieran Gibbs in that game, Arsenal rushed to complete a late signing of Spanish international left-back Nacho Monreal from Málaga on deadline day, for an undisclosed contract length and fee (thought to be around £8.5 million), though disappointed Gunners fans by not making a move for linked Barcelona striker David Villa.[50]
February Edit
Arsenal started February solidly, with a commanding yet disciplined performance against Stoke. A deflected free kick from Lukas Podolski late in the game and a brilliant display from debutant Monreal left the Gunners in a promising position as teams around them dropped points. For the first time in six attempts, Arsenal climbed the table to fifth with a 1–0 win over Sunderland. Arsenal had plenty of chances throughout the first half and parts of the second, and Sunderland had the chance to equalise in the second-half, but it was Cazorla's ninth goal of the season that was the difference of the two teams. Shortly thereafter, Arsenal announced the loan departure of left-back André Santos to Brazilian club Grêmio until the end of the season.[51] This came after the signing of Spanish international Monreal pushed Santos further down the pecking order. With an upcoming fixture in the Champions League, it was believed that Vermaelen or Gibbs would have to return to play left-back.[52]
Despite the strong start to the month, Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup with a disappointing 1–0 loss to Championship club Blackburn Rovers. Although their opponents only had three shots on target,[53] Arsenal rued not putting their chances away throughout the game, and left themselves with little hope of ending their trophy drought this season. Three days later, Arsenal resumed their Champions League campaign with a Round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich. In the first leg of a very challenging tie at the Emirates, they slumped to a 3–1 first-leg defeat, with Podolski scoring against his old club to give Arsenal a slight chance (albeit needing three goals at the Allianz Arena) in the second leg. Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and Mario Mandžukić scored for Bayern. Needing to lift the fans, Arsenal played relegation-threatened Aston Villa in sight of a third-straight win in the Premier League. Arsenal did so with a brace from Santi Cazorla either side of an Andreas Weimann equaliser to stay four points adrift of North-London rivals Tottenham, who they played the following Sunday.
March Edit
However, the North London derby ended in bitter disappointment for the "red side of North London" as Tottenham ran out 2–1 following two goals in quick succession from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon late in the first-half, one of which being eventually cancelled out by Mertesacker's second goal for the club (both were against Tottenham this season). Arsenal then had a 10-day wait before their return leg in the Champions League, due to Everton's participation in the FA Cup. Though many resigned the Gunners to defeat, Arsenal had a valiant attempt to knock out their German opponents by winning 2–0 on the night (with a goal inside the first three minutes from Giroud and a goal in the last three minutes of the game from Laurent Koscielny), crashing out on away goals. However, they were the first team to defeat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena this season and the first team not to concede against Bayern all season, giving huge confidence to the team both defensively and offensively in the final ten "cup-finals" of the Premier League season.[54] Arsenal stepped up once again to Wenger's rallying calls, as Arsenal recorded a second consecutive 2–0 victory in a tough encounter at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea. Goals in the second half from Nacho Monreal – his first for the club – and Gervinho kept Arsenal's top-four hopes alive. Arsenal's next match was after the international break, against a struggling Reading side who Arsenal had already scored 12 goals in two matches against this season (in all competitions). Arsenal made it 12 wins in all 12 games against Reading as goals from Gervinho, Cazorla, Giroud and Arteta ensured the Gunners ran out 4–1 winners (with Hal Robson-Kanu pulling one back for the Royals) and kept up their chase for the top four.
April Edit
Along with news that Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott were to return from injury soon, Arsenal fans were given more to cheer about as a spirited performance following Metersacker's sending off against West Brom lifted the Gunners temporarily up to fourth in the table. Two goals from Tomáš Rosický put Arsenal in a commanding position but a penalty scored by James Morrison on 71 minutes made for a nervy end as Arsenal eventually ran out 2–1 winners at The Hawthorns. Arsenal then started a period of three games in a week against Norwich, as a spirited comeback in the last seven minutes of the match ensured Arsenal went third in the Premier League table. Michael Turner opened the scoring for Norwich from a set piece but a trio of goals (including a controversial penalty) was scored by Arteta, Giroud and Podolski, as the Gunners ran out 3–1 winners.
Their next match was against fellow Champions League-chasers Everton, and after early Everton pressure Arsenal settled into the match, but was ultimately unable to score for the first time in 12 games, in a match that ended 0–0. The Gunners resumed their top four fight in a derby against Fulham that saw two men sent off (Steve Sidwell for Fulham and Giroud for Arsenal, who later lost his appeal for it to be rescinded) and an unlikely scorer in Per Mertesacker, as Arsenal won 1–0. Following a guard of honour to the newly crowned champions, Arsenal faced a Manchester United side with former captain Robin van Persie in tow. Theo Walcott scored early as Arsenal showed early signs of brilliance, but the goal was later cancelled out by a penalty, conceded by Sagna, from Van Persie. The match ended 1–1.
May Edit
Arsenal entered a crucial period of the season with a game against newly relegated Queens Park Rangers, as Tottenham and Chelsea would play their game in hand against each other, leaving a straight battle to the top four Champions League qualification spots. Walcott again got the Gunners off to the perfect start with the fastest goal in the Premier League season so far, as well as the 12th fastest goal in Premier League history, after he put the Gunners ahead after 20 seconds. The game petered out, however, but it increased Arsenal's unbeaten run to 8 games, as the Gunners ran out 1–0 winners. Arsenal had a ten-day before their final home game of the season against newly crowned FA Cup winners Wigan in what proved to be a crucial game at both ends of the Premier League table. The game was won 4–1 by the Gunners, after goals from Podolski (2), Walcott and Aaron Ramsey cancelled out Shaun Maloney's free-kick strike. Wigan were subsequently relegated after an eight-year stay in the Premier League,[55] whilst Arsenal left their top four faith in their own hands by staying one point above rivals Tottenham. Although the result also presented an opportunity for an unprecedented "third place play-off", this was not needed following a Chelsea win over Everton, however Arsenal secured fourth spot as a 1–0 win over Newcastle (scored by Laurent Koscielny) meant Arsenal finished the season on 73 points, three more than the previous season and one more above rivals Tottenham. Arsenal thus qualified for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League.
Following the season's completion, Arsenal revealed their top four players of the season as voted for by Arsenal Football Club members. In fourth place came the Spaniard Mikel Arteta for his consistent performances in the middle of midfield (which included recording the second highest number of passes in the campaign: 2750 at a 92% success rate) with 5% of the votes.[56] In third came Arsenal's top scorer Theo Walcott, whose tally of 21 goals in all competitions bettered that of any of his previous seasons at the club. He also held the feat of most assists of the campaign in an Arsenal shirt, as he deservedly claimed 12.7% of the votes.[57] In second place came Laurent Koscielny after taking over from captain Thomas Vermaelen as a main-stay in the heart of Arsenal's defence. A number of assured performances that included conceded only 5 goals in the final 10 games of the season handed the French defender 13.5% of all the votes.[58] Lastly, Arsenal's Player of Season award went to Spaniard Santi Cazorla, who Arsène Wenger described as "the perfect footballer". With 12 goals and 14 assists, Cazorla announced his arrival in English football with a bang, as he ran away with 55.7% of the votes in the club poll.[59]
Brief Season round-up Edit
Overall, the Gunners had a reasonably successful Premier League campaign, although they failed to end the trophy drought. At season's end, Arsène Wenger promised to make some big signings and spend to get world-class players to help them challenge for trophies in the following seasons.
Key events Edit
- 30 April: German striker Lukas Podolski joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, thought be around £10.9 million,[5] from German club 1. FC Köln[60]
- 22 May: The Club announces that they will be releasing five professional players − Manuel Almunia, George Brislen-Hall, Gavin Hoyte, Sean McDermott and Rhys Murphy, and two scholars − James Campbell and Jeffrey Monakana − at the end of their contracts on 30 June.[61]
- 24 May: Following Pat Rice's retirement, Steve Bould and Neil Banfield become the assistant manager and first-team coach respectively. Boro Primorac remains a first-team coach alongside Banfield.[22]
- 26 June: French striker Olivier Giroud joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £12.8 million,[62] from French club Montpellier[25]
- 5 July: Arsenal announce that Terry Burton will complete the coaching staff list by becoming the reserve-team manager, following the promotion of Neil Banfield.[23]
- 17 July: Arsenal announce that Mexican striker Carlos Vela will join Spanish club Real Sociedad on a four-year contract worth £6 million.[63]
- 24 July: French defender Laurent Koscielny signs a new long-term contract.[64]
- 7 August: Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £11.4 million,[65] from financially troubled Spanish club Málaga[33]
- 16 August: Jack Wilshere is given the squad number 10, previously allocated to Robin van Persie[66]
- 17 August: Following the departure of Robin van Persie for a reported fee of £24 million to Manchester United,[34] Thomas Vermaelen was promoted to club captain and Mikel Arteta was given the vice-captaincy.[67]
- 18 August: Arsenal begin the 2012–13 Premier League season with a goalless draw at home to Sunderland.
- 20 August: Arsenal announce the sale of Cameroonian midfielder Alex Song to Barcelona with the latter confirming that he had signed a five-year contract for a transfer fee of £14.9 million.[35][68]
- 31 August: Arsenal announce the departures of Nicklas Bendtner and Park Chu-young on season-long loans to Juventus and Celta de Vigo respectively.[69][70]
- 30 October: Arsenal recorded victory in the League Cup to a record-breaking 7–5 scoreline at the Madjeski Stadium, having been 4–0 down initially. The game had the most goals ever scored in a single League Cup match (12).[39]
- 19 November: Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong joins Championship side Charlton Athletic on loan until 1 January 2013[71]
- 11 December: Arsenal crashed out of the League Cup after losing 3–2 on penalties to League Two side Bradford City; the first time in the club's history that a lower-league club knocked out the Gunners in the competition.[72]
- 19 December: British players Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere extend their contracts, and pledge their futures for four to six years.[73]
- 29 December: Arsenal participate in the joint highest scoring game in the Premier League – a 7–3 win over Newcastle.
- 4 January: Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh joins West Ham United on loan until the end of the season.[47]
- 5 January: Swiss defender Johan Djourou joins Hannover 96 on loan until the end of the season.[48]
- 18 January: England international striker Theo Walcott signs new long-term contract for an undisclosed length, ending speculation of his departure.[49]
- 25 January: Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong joins fellow Premier League side Fulham on loan until the end of the season.[74]
- 31 January: Spanish left back Nacho Monreal joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £8.5 million, from Spanish club Málaga[75]
- 11 February: After falling down the pecking order, left-back André Santos departs the club on loan until the end of the season, to join Brazilian club Grêmio.[51]
- 16 February: Arsenal are eliminated from the FA Cup in the fifth-round following a 1–0 home loss to Championship side Blackburn Rovers.
- 13 March: Arsenal's UEFA Champions League campaign came to a valiant end after a 2–0 win in Bavaria meant Arsenal lost out on the away goals rule (following a 3–1 first leg loss). It resigned the Gunners to an eight successive trophy-less season.
- 28 March: Arsenal announce that French midfielder Abou Diaby tore his anterior cruciate ligament in training and will subsequently face up to 9 months out as a result.
- 23 April: The FA announce that Arsenal's appeal against Olivier Giroud's red card against Fulham (20 March) is rejected, thus condemning the striker to the usual three-match ban[76]
- 19 May: Arsenal finish the season in the top 4 resigning their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to Europa League football next season.
- 31 May: Arsenal announced, via a club member's poll, that the Player of the Season was Spaniard Santi Cazorla for his performances in both the midfield and front three.[59] He was followed by defender Laurent Koscielny in second,[58] top scorer Theo Walcott in third[57] and fellow Spaniard Mikel Arteta in fourth.[56]
Players Edit
Squad information Edit
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | EU | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | 23 | EU | 2006 | 106 | 0 | 2015[77] | Youth system | ||
| 2 | MF | Abou Diaby | 27 | EU | 2006 (Winter) | 178 | 19 | undisclosed[78] | £2.0M[79] | ||
| 3 | DF | Bacary Sagna | 30 | EU | 2007 | 236 | 4 | 2014[80] | £7.5M[81] | ||
| 4 | DF | Per Mertesacker | 28 | EU | 2011 | 71 | 3 | 2015[82] | £8.0M[83] | ||
| 5 | DF | Thomas Vermaelen (captain) | 27 | EU | 2009 | 129 | 15 | 2015[84] | £10.0M[85] | ||
| 6 | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 27 | EU | 2010 | 119 | 10 | undisclosed[64] | £8.5M[86] | ||
| 7 | MF | Tomáš Rosický | 32 | EU | 2006 | 182 | 22 | 2014[87] | £6.8M[88] | ||
| 8 | MF | Mikel Arteta (vice-captain) | 31 | EU | 2011 | 81 | 12 | 2015[89] | £10.0M[90] | ||
| 9 | FW | Lukas Podolski | 27 | EU | 2012 | 42 | 16 | 2016[5] | £10.9M[91] | ||
| 10 | MF | Jack Wilshere | 21 | EU | 2008 | 97 | 5 | 2018[92] | Youth system | ||
| 11 | DF | André Santos | 30 | Non-EU | 2011 | 33 | 3 | undisclosed[93] | £6.2M[94] | On loan to Grêmio | |
| 12 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 26 | EU | 2012 | 47 | 17 | undisclosed[25] | £12.8M[62] | ||
| 14 | FW | Theo Walcott | 24 | EU | 2006 (Winter) | 263 | 63 | undisclosed[49] | £9.0M[95] | ||
| 15 | FW | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 19 | EU | 2011 | 59 | 6 | undisclosed[96] | £12.0M[97] | ||
| 16 | MF | Aaron Ramsey | 22 | EU | 2008 | 150 | 11 | undisclosed[98] | £4.8M[99] | ||
| 17 | DF | Nacho Monreal | 27 | EU | 2013 (Winter) | 11 | 1 | undisclosed[75] | £8.5M[50] | ||
| 18 | DF | Sébastien Squillaci | 32 | EU | 2010 | 39 | 2 | 2013[100] | £3.3M[100] | ||
| 19 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 28 | EU | 2012 | 49 | 12 | undisclosed[33] | £16.5M[65] | ||
| 20 | DF | Johan Djourou | 26 | EU | 2003 | 144 | 1 | 2015[101] | Youth system | On loan to Hannover 96 | |
| 21 | GK | Łukasz Fabiański | 28 | EU | 2007 | 67 | 0 | undisclosed[102] | £2.0M[103] | ||
| 22 | MF | Francis Coquelin | 22 | EU | 2008 | 43 | 0 | undisclosed[104] | Youth system | ||
| 23 | MF | Andrey Arshavin | 31 | Non-EU | 2009 (Winter) | 144 | 31 | 2013[105] | £15.0M[106] | ||
| 24 | GK | Vito Mannone | 25 | EU | 2005 | 23 | 0 | 2014[107] | £0.35M[108] | ||
| 25 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | 21 | EU | 2011 | 35 | 0 | undisclosed[109] | £1.0M[109] | ||
| 26 | MF | Emmanuel Frimpong | 21 | EU | 2009 | 16 | 0 | undisclosed[110] | Youth system | On loan to Fulham | |
| 27 | FW | Gervinho | 25 | Non-EU | 2011 | 63 | 11 | undisclosed[111] | £10.5M[112] | ||
| 28 | DF | Kieran Gibbs | 23 | EU | 2007 | 106 | 3 | undisclosed[113] | Youth system | ||
| 29 | FW | Marouane Chamakh | 29 | EU | 2010 | 67 | 14 | undisclosed[114] | Free | On loan to West Ham United | |
| 30 | FW | Park Chu-young | 27 | Non-EU | 2011 | 6 | 1 | undisclosed[115] | £1.8M[116] | On loan to Celta Vigo | |
| 31 | MF | Ryo Miyaichi | 20 | Non-EU | 2011 (Winter) | 2 | 0 | undisclosed[117] | Free | ||
| 52 | FW | Nicklas Bendtner | 25 | EU | 2004 | 157 | 45 | undisclosed[118] | Youth system | On loan to Juventus | |
| MF | Denílson | 25 | Non-EU | 2006 | 153 | 10 | undisclosed[119] | £3.5M[120] | On loan to São Paulo | ||
| FW | Joel Campbell | 20 | Non-EU | 2011 | 0 | 0 | undisclosed[121] | £0.9M[122] | On loan to Real Betis |
- Last updated: 19 May 2013
- Source: Arsenal F.C. and footballdatabase.com (for EU passport, country as international player, contract ending and transfer fee)
- Ordered by squad number.
Reserve squad Edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Transfers Edit
In Edit
| # | Position | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | FW | Lukas Podolski | 1. FC Köln | Undisclosed (~ £10,900,000)[5] | 30 April 2012 | First-team | [126] |
| 12 | FW | Olivier Giroud | Montpellier | Undisclosed (~ £12,800,000)[62] | 26 June 2012 | First-team | [25] |
| 19 | MF | Santi Cazorla | Málaga | Undisclosed (~ £15,000,000)[65] | 6 August 2012 | First-team | [33] |
| 17 | DF | Nacho Monreal | Málaga | Undisclosed (~ £8,500,000) | 31 January 2013 | First team | [75] |
Total spending: Undisclosed (~ £47,200,000)
Out Edit
| # | Position | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Jeffrey Monakana | Preston North End | Free transfer (Released) | 29 May 2012 | Academy | [127] | |
| DF | Ben Glasgow | Stoke City | Free transfer | 7 June 2012 | Academy | [128] | |
| 53 | MF | Oğuzhan Özyakup | Beşiktaş | £405,000 | 8 June 2012 | Reserves | [24][129] |
| 50 | FW | Rhys Murphy | Telstar | Free transfer (Released) | 9 June 2012 | Reserves | [21][130] |
| MF | Alban Bunjaku | Sevilla | Free transfer | 28 June 2012 | Academy | [131] | |
| DF | James Campbell | Stoke City | Free transfer (Released) | 28 June 2012 | Academy | [21] | |
| 45 | DF | Gavin Hoyte | Dagenham & Redbridge | Free transfer (Released) | 10 July 2012 | Reserves | [21][132] |
| FW | Carlos Vela | Real Sociedad | £5,000,000 | 17 July 2012 | First-team | [63] | |
| DF | Pedro Botelho | Atlético Paranaense | Free transfer | 25 July 2012 | Reserves | [133] | |
| 1 | GK | Manuel Almunia | Watford | Free transfer (Released) | 31 July 2012 | First-team | [21][134] |
| 47 | GK | Sean McDermott | Sandnes Ulf | Free transfer (Released) | 8 August 2012 | Reserves | [21][135] |
| 35 | DF | Kyle Bartley | Swansea City | £1,000,000 | 16 August 2012 | First-team | [136][137] |
| 10 | FW | Robin van Persie | Manchester United | £25,000,000 | 17 August 2012 | First-team | [34][138] |
| 17 | MF | Alex Song | Barcelona | £15,000,000 | 20 August 2012 | First-team | [35][68] |
| MF | Henri Lansbury | Nottingham Forest | £1,000,000 | 28 August 2012 | Reserves | [139] | |
| 38 | DF | George Brislen-Hall | Inverness C.T. | Free transfer (Released) | 30 August 2012 | Reserves | [21][140] |
Total income: Undisclosed (~ £47,405,000)
Loan out Edit
| # | Position | Player | Loaned to | Date | Loan expires | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MF | Denílson | São Paulo | 6 July 2012 | End of the season | First team | [141] | |
| FW | Joel Campbell | Real Betis | 11 July 2012 | End of the season | First team | [142] | |
| FW | Benik Afobe | Bolton Wanderers | 3 August 2012 | 1 February 2013 | Reserves | [143] | |
| 31 | MF | Ryo Miyaichi | Wigan Athletic | 13 August 2012 | 9 March 2013 (due to injury) | First team | [144][145] |
| FW | Wellington | Ponferradina | 15 August 2012 | End of the season | Reserves | [146] | |
| MF | Samuel Galindo | Lugo | 23 August 2012 | End of the season | Reserves | [147] | |
| DF | Daniel Boateng | Oxford United | 28 August 2012 | 1 January 2013 | Reserves | [148] | |
| FW | Philip Roberts | Inverness C.T. | 30 August 2012 | End of the season | Reserves | [140] | |
| 30 | FW | Park Chu-young | Celta Vigo | 31 August 2012 | End of the season | First team | [70] |
| 52 | FW | Nicklas Bendtner | Juventus | 31 August 2012 | End of the season | First team | [69] |
| MF | Chuks Aneke | Crewe Alexandra | 7 September 2012 | 21 January 2013 | Reserves | [149] | |
| 50 | MF | Conor Henderson | Coventry City | 21 September 2012 | 22 December 2012 | Reserves | [150] |
| MF | Craig Eastmond | Colchester United | 27 September 2012 | 27 January 2013 | Reserves | [151] | |
| 62 | FW | Sanchez Watt | Colchester United | 27 September 2012 | 27 January 2013 | Reserves | [151] |
| 26 | MF | Emmanuel Frimpong | Charlton Athletic | 19 November 2012 | 1 January 2013 | First team | [71] |
| 29 | FW | Marouane Chamakh | West Ham United | 4 January 2013 | End of the season | First team | [47] |
| 20 | DF | Johan Djourou | Hannover 96 | 5 January 2013 | End of the season | First team | [48] |
| 26 | MF | Emmanuel Frimpong | Fulham | 25 January 2013 | End of the season | First team | [74] |
| MF | Chuks Aneke | Crewe Alexandra | 31 January 2013 | End of the season | Reserves | [152] | |
| MF | Samuel Galindo | Wilstermann | 7 February 2013 | End of the season | Reserves | [153] | |
| FW | Benik Afobe | Millwall | 7 February 2013 | 7 March 2013 (due to injury) | Reserves | [154][155] | |
| 11 | DF | André Santos | Grêmio | 11 February 2013 | End of the season | First team | [51] |
| FW | Anthony Jeffrey | Stevenage | 1 March 2013 | 1 May 2013 | Academy | [156] |
Overall transfer activity Edit
Spending Edit
Undisclosed (~ £47,200,000)
Income Edit
Undisclosed (~ £47,405,000)
Net expenditure Edit
Undisclosed (~ £205,000)
Club Edit
Coaching staff Edit
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Arsène Wenger |
| Assistant manager | Steve Bould1 |
| First team coach | Boro Primorac1 Neil Banfield1 |
| Goalkeeping coach | Gerry Peyton |
| Fitness coach | Tony Colbert Craig Gant |
| Physiotherapist | Colin Lewin Ben Ashworth Declan Lynch |
| Kit manager | Paul Johnson Vic Akers Paul Akers |
| Masseur | Darren Page |
| Performance analyst | Ben Knapper |
| Club doctor | Gary O'Driscoll |
| Chief scout | Steve Rowley |
Last updated: 1 October 2012
Source: Arsenal F.C.
1 Steve Bould and Neil Banfield were confirmed as the assistant manager and first team coach respectively, following the retirement of Pat Rice, however Boro Primorac will continue in his position as first team coach.[22]
Kit Edit
Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Fly Emirates
Home | Home alt.[157] | Away | Away alt.[158] | Third | Goalkeeper 1 | Goalkeeper 2 | Goalkeeper 2 alt. | Goalkeeper 3 | Goalkeeper 3 alt. |
Kit information Edit
Nike released a new set of home, away and goalkeeper kits for the 2012–13 season. The club reverted to their traditional crest, after using an anniversary crest last season.
- Home: During the final years with Nike, Nike ditched the white sleeves the club's well known for. The shirt has a white wide stripe on each sleeve, flanked by two dark red, narrower stripes. It has a red V-neck collar which is the same colour as the primary shirt colour. The shirt is complemented by white shorts with a dark-red trim, and white socks with a red horizontal stripe. Red socks with white horizontal stripe were used in some away games. Arsenal revealed that the kit would be used for two season as two final season of Nike.
- Away: Arsenal's new away kit, was revealed on 12 July 2012, with the much speculated purple and black hooped kit being officially confirmed.[159] The reason behind the kit was to commemorate Arsenal's past, enhancing the "royal" theme from the Diamond Jubilee to remind Arsenal fans of the Royal Arsenal that once existed through the colour purple. The shirt featured red cuffs and detailing, and additionally featured hoops of different width on the arms. The purple and black hooped socks, bearing one red stripe each, paid tribute to Chapman's legacy and his introduction of hooped socks, which according to him, was said to make it easier for his players to pick each other out on the pitch. The hoops and red trim on the sleeves was designed the kit a modern and unique flavour to distinguish the club from others in the Premier League.
- Third: Arsenal's yellow and maroon 2010–11 away kit was retained as a third kit yet again with club badge reverted to traditional badge after last season with anniversary badge.
- Keeper: Nike launched a new set of goalkeeper strips for the 2012–13 season. The primary strip was predominantly green featuring several tones of the same colour on the arms. The alternatives were pink and gold, based on the same template.
Kit Usage Edit
- Away: Arsenal's unique away kit produced mix fortunes for the club on the road. Worn in eight games during the season it saw them crash out of the League Cup on penalties to Bradford City, yet whilst still ultimately going out of the competition thanks to a 3–1 defeat at the Emirates, it saw them win 2–0 away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout stages. An early 2–0 win at Anfield against Liverpool in the league saw the only other victory in this shirt. Draws came at Stoke, Southampton and Swansea (FA Cup) whilst three defeats came away to Manchester United, Olympiacos and the previously mentioned game against Bradford City.[160]
Other information Edit
| Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Emirates Stadium (60,355 / 113x76 metres) |
Updated to match played 11 May 2010
Source: Arsenal F.C.
Squad statistics Edit
Appearances and goals Edit
- As of 14 May 2013
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Champions League | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 1 | GK | POL | Wojciech Szczęsny | 33 | 0 | 25+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | FRA | Abou Diaby | 15 | 0 | 10+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Bacary Sagna | 31 | 0 | 25+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | GER | Per Mertesacker | 44 | 3 | 33+1 | 3 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BEL | Thomas Vermaelen | 39 | 1 | 25+4 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7+0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Laurent Koscielny | 34 | 4 | 20+5 | 2 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 5+0 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | CZE | Tomáš Rosický | 16 | 3 | 7+3 | 2 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Mikel Arteta | 43 | 6 | 34+0 | 6 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | GER | Lukas Podolski | 42 | 16 | 25+8 | 11 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 6+0 | 4 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Jack Wilshere | 33 | 2 | 20+5 | 0 | 2+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 |
| 11 | DF | BRA | André Santos [L] | 12 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | FRA | Olivier Giroud | 47 | 17 | 24+10 | 11 | 4+0 | 2 | 1+1 | 2 | 4+3 | 2 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Theo Walcott | 43 | 21 | 24+8 | 14 | 2+2 | 1 | 2+0 | 5 | 3+2 | 1 |
| 15 | FW | ENG | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 33 | 2 | 11+14 | 1 | 2+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 | 3+1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | WAL | Aaron Ramsey | 47 | 2 | 21+15 | 1 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+3 | 1 |
| 17 | DF | ESP | Nacho Monreal | 11 | 1 | 9+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | FRA | Sébastien Squillaci | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Santi Cazorla | 49 | 12 | 37+1 | 12 | 2+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | SUI | Johan Djourou [L] | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | GK | POL | Łukasz Fabiański | 5 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | FRA | Francis Coquelin | 22 | 0 | 3+8 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | RUS | Andrey Arshavin | 11 | 1 | 0+7 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 24 | GK | ITA | Vito Mannone | 13 | 0 | 9+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Carl Jenkinson | 21 | 0 | 14+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | GHA | Emmanuel Frimpong [L] | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | CIV | Gervinho | 26 | 7 | 12+6 | 5 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 4+2 | 2 |
| 28 | DF | ENG | Kieran Gibbs | 34 | 1 | 23+4 | 0 | 2+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | MAR | Marouane Chamakh [L] | 4 | 2 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+2 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | KOR | Park Chu-young [L] | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | JPN | Ryo Miyaichi | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 36 | GK | ARG | Emiliano Martínez [R] | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | SUI | Martin Angha [R] | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | GER | Thomas Eisfeld [R] | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | GER | Serge Gnabry [R] | 4 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 52 | FW | DEN | Nicklas Bendtner [L] | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 53 | MF | ENG | Jernade Meade [R] | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 54 | DF | ESP | Ignasi Miquel [R] | 3 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 64 | DF | ENG | Nico Yennaris [R] | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
- Source:[citation needed]
[R] – Reserve team player [L] – Out on loan [S] – Sold
Top scorers Edit
| Place | Position | Nationality | Number | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | 14 | Theo Walcott | 14 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 21 | |
| 2 | FW | 12 | Olivier Giroud | 11 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 17 | |
| 3 | FW | 9 | Lukas Podolski | 11 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 16 | |
| 4 | MF | 19 | Santi Cazorla | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | |
| 5 | FW | 27 | Gervinho | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | |
| 6 | MF | 8 | Mikel Arteta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 7 | DF | 6 | Laurent Koscielny | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 8 | DF | 4 | Per Mertesacker | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Own Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| MF | 7 | Tomáš Rosický | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 11 | FW | 29 | Marouane Chamakh | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| MF | 15 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||
| MF | 16 | Aaron Ramsey | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| MF | 10 | Jack Wilshere | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 15 | MF | 23 | Andrey Arshavin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| DF | 28 | Kieran Gibbs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| DF | 54 | Ignasi Miquel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| DF | 17 | Nacho Monreal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| DF | 5 | Thomas Vermaelen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| TOTALS | 72 | 6 | 14 | 13 | 105 | ||||
Disciplinary record Edit
| Number | Nationality | Position | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Total | |||||
| 6 | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | |
| 12 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | '6 | '1 | |
| 10 | MF | Jack Wilshere | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| 4 | DF | Per Mertesacker | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | |
| 25 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| 8 | MF | Mikel Arteta | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 16 | MF | Aaron Ramsey | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 5 | DF | Thomas Vermaelen | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | |
| 19 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 28 | DF | Kieran Gibbs | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 27 | FW | Gervinho | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 9 | FW | Lukas Podolski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 7 | MF | Tomáš Rosický | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 3 | DF | Bacary Sagna | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 14 | FW | Theo Walcott | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| 29 | FW | Marouane Chamakh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 22 | MF | Francis Coquelin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2 | MF | Abou Diaby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 17 | DF | Nacho Monreal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 23 | MF | Andrey Arshavin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 46 | MF | Thomas Eisfeld | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 36 | GK | Emiliano Martínez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 15 | MF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 18 | DF | Sébastien Squillaci | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 46 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 82 | 5 | |||
Captains Edit
| No. | P | Name | Country | No. games | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | DF | Vermaelen | 35 | Club captain | |
| 8 | MF | Arteta | 15 | Club vice captain | |
| 20 | 2012, arsenal, season, 2012, season, arsenal, football, club, 21st, season, premier, league, 87th, consecutive, season, flight, english, football, arsenal, participated, premier, league, uefa, champions, league, after, finishing, third, previous, premier, leag. The 2012 13 season was Arsenal Football Club s 21st season in the Premier League and 87th consecutive season in the top flight of English football 1 2 Arsenal participated in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League after finishing third in the previous Premier League season The League Cup however was out of their reach and despite an entertaining cup run which included 13 goals scored in two games Arsenal lost to fourth division Bradford City in the quarter finals on penalties In the FA Cup Arsenal were knocked out by Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the fifth round The Champions League also proved fruitless as despite a valiant effort in Bavaria winning 2 0 they were ultimately knocked out on the away goals rule against Bayern Munich thus extending their trophy drought for an eighth season The highest scoring game in their season was the famous 7 5 win in the League Cup after extra time where they came back from 4 goals down to beat Reading Arsenal s highest scoring league win was the 7 3 win against Newcastle United in December this was also their joint highest scoring Premier League game of all time This season Arsenal finished fourth after having to close another large points gap like last season between themselves and their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur who they beat 5 2 for the second season running 3 Arsenal2012 13 seasonChairmanPeter Hill WoodManagerArsene WengerStadiumEmirates StadiumPremier League4thFA CupFifth roundLeague CupQuarter finalsUEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16Top goalscorerLeague Theo Walcott 14 All Theo Walcott 21 Highest home attendance60 112 vs Manchester United 28 April 2013 Premier League Lowest home attendance58 351 vs Coventry City 26 September 2012 League Cup Average home league attendance59 927 in all competitions Home coloursAway coloursThird colours 2011 122013 14 Contents 1 Review 1 1 Pre season 1 2 August 1 3 September 1 4 October 1 5 November 1 6 December 1 7 January 1 8 February 1 9 March 1 10 April 1 11 May 1 12 Brief Season round up 2 Key events 3 Players 3 1 Squad information 3 2 Reserve squad 3 3 Transfers 3 3 1 In 3 3 2 Out 3 3 3 Loan out 3 3 4 Overall transfer activity 3 3 4 1 Spending 3 3 4 2 Income 3 3 4 3 Net expenditure 4 Club 4 1 Coaching staff 4 2 Kit 4 3 Kit information 4 4 Kit Usage 4 5 Other information 5 Squad statistics 5 1 Appearances and goals 5 2 Top scorers 5 3 Disciplinary record 5 4 Captains 6 Pre season and friendlies 7 Competitions 7 1 Overall 7 2 Premier League 7 2 1 League table 7 2 2 Results summary 7 2 3 Results by round 7 2 4 Matches 7 3 FA Cup 7 4 League Cup 7 5 UEFA Champions League 7 5 1 Group stage 7 5 2 Knockout phase 7 5 2 1 Round of 16 8 Notes 9 ReferencesReview EditPre season Edit Arsenal s pre season transfers started as early as 30 April 2012 when Arsenal announced they were going to sign German international Lukas Podolski from 1 FC Koln for an undisclosed fee 4 thought to be around 10 9 million 5 Podolski officially joined Arsenal when the summer transfer window opened on 1 July 6 Podolski became the second German player to join the club in the space of a year following the arrival of Per Mertesacker from Werder Bremen last summer whom Podolski himself stated played a big part in the transfer after talking about life at the Emirates 7 As well as early transfer news Arsenal had early staff news whereby after 48 years of being associated with Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice retired at the end of the previous season He was replaced on the same day by academy team manager Steve Bould 8 Pat Rice played a big role at Arsenal and was highly praised following his retirement by both the players and by manager Arsene Wenger 9 Arsenal s pre season schedule saw them take part in the second Markus Liebherr Memorial Cup in memory of the former Southampton owner Markus Liebherr 10 hosted by Southampton in two 45 minute matches against what was originally Scottish club Rangers but was later confirmed to be Anderlecht due to the financial troubles faced by Rangers 11 and the hosts themselves The competition was held on 14 July 2012 as a round robin system with Arsenal winning their first match 1 0 thanks to a close range finish by Henri Lansbury and despite losing 5 4 on penalties to Southampton following a Gervinho 35th minute equaliser to Jay Rodriguez s 31st minute opener in regulation time they had still accumulated enough points to win the cup Arsenal then travelled to the Far East in a tour similar to that they embarked upon before their 2011 12 season Arsenal started their tour by travelling to Malaysia to play a Malaysia League XI in Kuala Lumpur After an open training session which was attended by 30 000 fans in the previous season 12 Arsenal scored two late goals from German youngster Thomas Eisfeld and fellow reserve team player Chuks Aneke following Azmi Muslim s opener to win the match 2 1 citation needed From there they travelled to China to play fellow Premier League team Manchester City in Beijing in the inaugural China Cup 13 With extra significance due to the 2012 Summer Olympics the match was held at the 2008 Olympic Stadium and similar to the Malaysia tour Arsenal attempted to get closer to their Chinese fans 14 Arsenal ultimately lost 0 2 with two goals in the last five minutes of the first half by Pablo Zabaleta and Yaya Toure to lose the China Cup Arsenal then travelled to Hong Kong to play Kitchee champions of their national league The game gave the club s huge fan base in Hong Kong the opportunity to see Arsenal play live in an entertaining encounter that ended 2 2 after 90 minutes after Eisfeld equalised late on which should have led to a penalty shootout but it was later scrapped Arsenal played in Hong Kong for the first time in 17 years addressing their growing commitment to Asia 15 They were then going to travel to Nigeria to play the Nigeria national team 16 in their first visit to Africa since visiting South Africa in 1993 17 however this was later postponed till summer 2013 based on concerns with the host city 18 Instead the club sent three first team players Bacary Sagna Mertesacker and new signing Podolski on 28 July 2012 to engage with supporters in the region 19 The last stop on Arsenal s pre season schedule saw a repeat of last season s pre season fixture against 1 FC Koln resulting in an immediate goal scoring return for new signing Lukas Podolski to his previous home ground The fixture which was scheduled six days before the start of the Premier League season featured the likes of new signings Podolski Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla in a commanding 4 0 win with an early opener from Thomas Vermaelen a penalty and a close range strike from Podolski in the first half and a finish from an acute angle from Gervinho in the second half to complete the rout As the 2012 Olympics were being held in London it was announced that Arsenal would not host the Emirates Cup tournament as part of their usual pre season schedule citing unnecessary increased pressure on London s infrastructure However Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis stated that the Emirates Cup would be hosted by Arsenal in 2013 with a host of top clubs being lined up already 20 nbsp Robin van Persie C scored 96 Premier League goals in 8 seasons As the previous season drew to a close Arsenal announced the release of seven players on 22 May 2012 five of whom played professionally for Arsenal including Manuel Almunia who made 175 first team appearances for the club including the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final and Gavin Hoyte who was the only other released player to receive a first team cap against Manchester City on 22 November 2009 21 Soon afterwards Arsenal announced their progress on the staffing situation at the Emirates and despite Steve Bould already being announced as the new assistant manager the Club officially announced that Bould had indeed been promoted Neil Banfield would be promoted to being first team coach after managing the Arsenal reserve team for the past eight seasons 22 and that Terry Burton would become the reserve team manager 23 On 8 June 2012 Arsenal continued their transfer activity with the sale of Oguzhan Ozyakup to Turkish club Besiktas Although it is undisclosed by Arsenal Besiktas confirmed that a four year contract had been agreed with Ozyakup and a fee of around 405 000 agreed with Arsenal for the 19 year old midfielder 24 Arsenal then announced their second big transfer of the summer transfer window with the signing of French striker Olivier Giroud from Montpellier for a reported fee of 12 8 million 25 Giroud was top scorer in the French league last season and Arsene Wenger stated that he expects him to flourish 26 He was primarily signed as a backup rather than a replacement to golden boot winner Robin van Persie in a bid to challenge this season s Premier League title and win the club s first trophy for seven years 27 On 4 July 2012 however a transfer saga similar to the ones of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri last summer took a big step as club captain and player of the season 28 Van Persie revealed that he would not renew his Arsenal contract and would therefore become a free agent at the end of the current season signalling the end of an eight year career at the club following his move from Feyenoord in 2004 29 This eventually led to the confession that Giroud had actually been signed as a replacement for the Dutch talisman 30 Meanwhile on 29 June Arsenal announced that a further seven academy players had signed professional contracts 31 32 To signal the intent of reducing surplus players Arsenal then announced that a 6 million agreement had been reached for the sale of Carlos Vela on 17 July 2012 Vela featured 62 times for Arsenal scoring 11 goals and he was the first member of the first team squad to be sold in the summer transfer window A week later Arsenal announced that defender Laurent Koscielny had signed a new long term contract after a series of consistent appearances in the first team last season Throughout the summer transfer window manager Arsene Wenger had promised the club s fans that a headline transfer would be made so to compete for the title and this materialised on 7 August when Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla signed on a four year contract for a reported transfer fee of 16 5 million making him the most expensive player in the history of the club 33 With the sale of Van Persie being confirmed by the club for a fee thought to be around 24 million 34 on 17 August Arsenal revealed that Thomas Vermaelen had taken over the captaincy from the Dutchman with Mikel Arteta being given the position of vice captain August Edit The Premier League fixture list was announced on 18 June 2012 and it gave Arsenal a home game against Sunderland to open the new season Both matches last season produced a 2 1 win in Arsenal s favour which promised an entertaining opening match for the club Although Arsenal had the better of the chances they played out a 0 0 draw with the north eastern club Shortly after Arsenal announced that an agreement had been reached with Barcelona for the sale of Alex Song and two days later on 20 August 2012 Arsenal announced that he had indeed been sold 35 Meanwhile in contrast to last season Arsenal did not have any other commitments in August apart from competing in the Premier League with no English contingent participating in the play off round of the Champions League This therefore allowed Arsenal ample time to prepare for their next test at the Britannia Stadium in their second game against Stoke City 36 however it ended as a second successive 0 0 draw and although their previous defensive frailties were not present throughout August a goalless month was a cause for concern Arsenal had no disciplinary issues in their opening two games which epitomised the controlled albeit unexciting start to the season On a transfer deadline day that was dominated by the club s Premier League rivals Arsenal only announced departures as first team players Nicklas Bendtner and Park Chu young departed on season long loans to Italian giants Juventus and La Liga club Celta de Vigo respectively Despite manager Arsene Wenger stating that he is open to transfers before the window closes 37 Arsenal did not shadow the events of last season in buying no players in the final week of the transfer window September Edit Arsenal began a series a tough matches against Liverpool at Anfield where the Gunners registered both their first goals and cards of the season New signings Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla paired up for both goals as Podolski finished low to the goalkeeper s left in the 31st minute and Cazorla smashed a near post shot past goalkeeper Pepe Reina in the 68th minute to give Arsenal a commanding 2 0 win over Liverpool Arsenal continued their unbeaten start with an emphatic victory over Southampton that rested fears over the Gunner s lack of scoring potential A brace from Gervinho goals from Podolski and Theo Walcott and two own goals capped an almost perfect display with the only error coming from goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny as his spill gifted the visitors a goal and dealt Arsenal their first defensive blip of the season in a 6 1 thrashing Away from the Premier League Arsenal started their Champions League campaign with a group stage match against debutants Montpellier at the Stade de la Mosson Dubbed as favourites Arsenal did not begin the match in such commanding fashion as a penalty conceded by Thomas Vermaelen was put away by Younes Belhanda in the ninth minute but two goals in quick succession from Podolski and Gervinho meant Arsenal turned the game around to come out as 2 1 winners a scoreline that reflected the quality of the two teams Arsenal s tough month continued with arguable the toughest test that awaited them in the entire season an away tie at champions Manchester City Despite the constant troubles that have come from zonal marking Arsenal used this technique from set pieces all throughout the game which ultimately led to Joleon Lescott s 40th minute header giving City the lead until Laurent Koscielny s 82nd minute equaliser giving Arsenal a deserved draw at the Etihad The draw extended Arsenal s unbeaten run to five games and earned the team plaudits around the footballing world Continuing with the packed fixture list came another midweek tie against Coventry City in the League Cup Arsenal fielded a team mixed with experience and young talent in a convincing 6 1 win over the League One outfit Olivier Giroud opened his account for the club with a clever finish over goalkeeper Murphy and goals from youngsters Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Ignasi Miquel a brace from Walcott and an instinctive finish by Andrey Arshavin capped a satisfying night for the Arsenal faithful Arsenal s final game of September came in the form of a visit from table topping Chelsea side to the Emirates Stadium Despite Gervinho s strike late in the first half goals from Fernando Torres and Juan Mata both from set plays on either side of the half way mark highlighted the club s underlying defensive frailties in an unconvincing display from the Gunners October Edit nbsp The Madjeski Stadium scoreboard dictating the historic Arsenal win over Reading in the League Cup on 30 October 2012Arsenal began October with a 3 1 Premier League win against West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground After conceding an early goal from Mohamed Diame Arsenal netted late twice including Olivier Giroud s first Premier League goal Following an international break Arsenal travelled to Carrow Road to face third bottom Norwich City and lost 1 0 through a 20 minute Grant Holt goal after a Vito Mannone spill in an unconvincing display from the Gunners Their poor form continued in a Champions League clash with Schalke 04 conceding twice in a 2 0 loss their first at the Emirates in a European group stage match 38 putting Arsenal second in Group B with three games to play Arsenal then produced a respectable performance in their next match against a struggling Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League thanks to another late goal this time from Mikel Arteta following Stephane Mbia s red card dismissal Their final game of October was an away League Cup fourth round tie against Reading where after having fallen to a four goal deficit after 37 minutes goals from Theo Walcott twice Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny managed to equalise the match to 4 4 after 90 minutes despite a controversial 90 6th minute equaliser when only four minutes of added time was indicated Theo Walcott and Marouane Chamakh twice then netted in extra time with Pavel Pogrebnyak scoring an additional goal for Reading completing one of football s most inspiring comebacks as well as one of the most remarkable matches in League Cup history as well as the highest scoring 39 to a final score of 7 5 to Arsenal who have never lost to a Reading side in all ten occasions that the teams have met Arsenal became the first side to have scored over six goals in two consecutive League Cup matches in this record breaking and inspiring display They were drawn against League Two Bradford City in the quarter finals and entered November on a high November Edit Arsenal s November started as poorly as September had ended and October had started and despite a tough test against Manchester United an unlikely three points for the Gunners did not materialise in a lacklustre performance that only brought about two shots on target including a late consolation by Santi Cazorla and a disappointing 2 1 loss at Old Trafford Arsenal extended their losing streak at Old Trafford to six seasons in a performance that left Arsenal sixth in the Premier League table nine points off the top Arsenal frustratingly for everyone connected with the club showed another stuttering performance against table topping Schalke 04 in the Champions League They created a 2 0 lead inside 26 minutes with goals against the run of play from Theo Walcott following a mix up in defence and Giroud however Schalke deservedly pegged Arsenal back with goals either side of half time from Dutch striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar and Peruvian Jefferson Farfan as the Gunners left Gelsenkirchen with a point The result which Walcott said Arsenal would have taken before the game 40 left Arsenal a point and a place behind Schalke in a widely open group Four days later Arsenal surrendered another two goal lead this time created by Lukas Podolski and Giroud into a 3 2 deficit following a brace including a penalty conceded by Arteta for Dimitar Berbatov and a header from Alexander Kacaniklic for Fulham Giroud scored in the 69th minute to level the game at 3 3 thus making the game the first time he scored in consecutive games and two goals in one single game but the Gunners were denied late on after Mark Schwarzer saved a penalty from Arteta which would have given Arsenal a 4 3 lead in the 90 5th minute The draw meant Arsenal had won only one of the previous six Premier League and Champions League games L L W L D D which piled more pressure on Arsene Wenger With an uncanny resemblance to last season Arsenal entered their first North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on the back of a poor run of results while still managing coming out as 5 2 winners against their bitter rivals who were once again down to ten men Inside the first 20 minutes former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor went from hero to zero as he gave Spurs an early lead before getting sent off nine minutes later This allowed the Gunners a route back into the game which eventually came from the unlikely source of Per Mertesacker with his first goal for the club inside 25 minutes Arsenal then finished the half strongly with goals from Podolski and Giroud to give them a 3 1 lead In the second half Arsenal soaked up some early pressure from Spurs before Cazorla scored when the team were on a magnificent break Despite Gareth Bale s goal in the 71st minute Arsenal made their man advantage count as Walcott completed the rout three minutes from the end In Arsenal s fifth game of the month they faced a Montpellier side in poor form and in a far less entertaining game than the last Arsenal came out as solid 2 0 winners with a clean sheet Two sublime finishes from Jack Wilshere his first in 725 days 41 and Podolski a left foot volley reminiscent of former captain Van Persie allowed Arsenal to secure qualification to the knockout stage of the competition with only the top two places to be settled on the last matchday between the Gunners and Schalke 42 Arsenal returned to poor form in their next match however as they played out a dull 0 0 draw with relegation threatened Aston Villa meaning the Gunners lost ground yet again on the top four sides Yet again Arsenal played out an uninspiring draw against fellow Champions League chasers Everton The game started well for the Gunners as Walcott scored inside 52 seconds at Goodison Park but Marouane Fellaini equalised just before the half hour mark to level the score at 1 1 and so it stayed until the end as Arsenal finished November in seventh place in the Premier League table December Edit nbsp The Emirates Stadium scoreboard after the 7 3 victory over Newcastle United on 29 December 2012Arsenal started December losing 0 2 to aSwansea City side under Michael Laudrup with two goals scored by Michu for Swansea late on in what the BBC called Arsenal s worst start to a season under Arsene Wenger 43 Next up was a Champions League visit to Olympiacos Consecutive losses were on the cards for Arsenal as they named a weakened 18 man squad ahead of vital Premier League games for the club Despite taking a 38th minute lead with a low drive from Tomas Rosicky Arsenal surrendered yet another lead with two goals in under 10 minutes from Ioannis Maniatis and Konstantinos Mitroglou to give Olympiacos a 2 1 win Had Arsenal won the game they would have gone top of the table as Montpellier managed a draw against Schalke 04 but instead they finished second setting up a tough test against Bayern Munich in the last 16 44 Arsenal s fortunes turned however in their next match against high flying West Bromwich Albion where a controversial penalty for a perceived dive from Cazorla gifted Arsenal the lead when it was put down the centre of the goal by Arteta on 26 minutes Arsenal then doubled their lead this time on a blatant foul on Oxlade Chamberlain with another penalty from Arteta to finish the game 2 0 in Arsenal s favour It was the Gunners first win in four Premier League games and it lifted the team up to seventh in the table Spirits dropped yet again however as a near full strength Arsenal squad humiliatingly crashed out to League Two side Bradford City in the League Cup 3 2 on penalties following an 88th minute equaliser by Thomas Vermaelen who incidentally missed the final penalty This left Arsenal with interests in three competitions Arsenal then entered the Christmas period with a Monday night fixture against then bottom Reading The match ended in a familiar scoreline that lifted the Arsenal fans 5 2 Cazorla scored his first hat trick for the club and also provided an assist for Walcott s goal and the fifth of the match Lukas Podolski opened the scoring inside 15 minutes Arsenal continued their revival with a solid victory over Wigan Athletic with the Gunners recording three consecutive wins for the first time since March last season An Arteta penalty in the 60th minute gave Arsenal a 1 0 win and raised the team to fourth in the table Arsenal have a larger break than other teams in the Premier League however as the West Ham game was postponed due to a tube strike in the London Underground 45 Arsenal returned to action in style on 29 December against Newcastle by emphatically beating the Tyneside team 7 3 Arsenal were never behind in the game but were pegged back three times by two goals from Demba Ba and one from Sylvain Marveaux following goals from Podolski Oxlade Chamberlain and Walcott However following another two goals from Walcott to complete his hat trick and a brace from substitute Giroud Arsenal rounded off an impressive display to give confidence to the fans ahead of the crucial month January January Edit nbsp Theo Walcott was top scorer of the season at the time he signed his contractArsenal started 2013 in disappointing fashion with a result that Wenger called undeserved 46 a 1 1 draw against Southampton Arsenal were gifted their goal with an own goal from Guly do Prado Arsenal s third of the season with the previous two also coming against Southampton after Gaston Ramirez opened the scoring for the Saints The result was the last of a four game winning streak ahead of a tough couple of matches against Premier League champions Manchester City and European champions Chelsea Arsenal completed their first transfer business of the January transfer window with the loan of Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh to West Ham on 4 January 2013 47 Another loan was announced a day later as Swiss centre back Johan Djourou joined Hannover 96 48 Both players had yet to feature in the Premier League this season for the Gunners and both deals were for the rest of the season Arsenal started their FA Cup run against Swansea in the third round and following an uneventful first half the second half sprung into life as both teams scored late on Podolski and Gibbs for the Gunners and Danny Graham for Swansea after Michu opened the scoring in the 58th minute The final score of 2 2 meant both teams would play a replay A week later Arsenal slumped to a controversial yet disappointing loss to the champions Manchester City as Koscielny was sent off in the ninth minute after fouling Edin Dzeko in the penalty area Despite missing the resulting penalty Dzeko and James Milner gave City a comfortable 2 0 victory Vincent Kompany was sent off late in the game leaving both teams with ten players The stadium rang out in a chorus of jeering at the final whistle aimed at both the Gunners and the referee Arsenal turned their fortunes however as they progressed 1 0 winners against Swansea City into the FA Cup fourth round Jack Wilshere buried a shot from outside the penalty area to keep Arsenal s trophy hopes alive Arsenal fans soon had further encouragement as striker Theo Walcott signed a new contract with the club for an undisclosed length of time Arsene Wenger said he was delighted to secure the contract of a strong player and also a great person 49 Soon after Arsenal were subjected to a second consecutive Premier League loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge Another poor start resulted in two goals conceded which was a similar situation as their previous league defeat Despite Walcott managing to pull one goal back in the second half the game eventually ended 2 1 leaving Arsenal s hope of finishing in the top four in serious doubt Some doubt was erased only three days later as four goals in ten early second half minutes meant Arsenal romped to a 5 1 victory over West Ham in the rescheduled match originally to have been played on Boxing Day Two goals from Giroud and one each from Walcott Podolski and Cazorla left the Gunners just four points off their north London rivals Tottenham in fourth Arsenal then progressed into the fifth round of the FA Cup in another thriller three days later with a 3 2 victory over Brighton amp Hove Albion in the Falmer Stadium Giroud scored yet another brace and Walcott scored once to increase his goal tally to 17 for the season as Arsenal set up a tie against Championship side Blackburn Rovers in the next round Back in the Premier League Arsenal continued their increasingly frustrating habit of starting games slowly going 2 0 behind against Liverpool inside an hour thanks to goals from Luis Suarez and Jordan Henderson However two goals in quick succession from in form strikers Giroud and Walcott battled Arsenal back to a 2 2 draw Giroud spurned a late chance to collect a hat trick of braces and win the game for the Gunners Following an injury picked up by Kieran Gibbs in that game Arsenal rushed to complete a late signing of Spanish international left back Nacho Monreal from Malaga on deadline day for an undisclosed contract length and fee thought to be around 8 5 million though disappointed Gunners fans by not making a move for linked Barcelona striker David Villa 50 February Edit Arsenal started February solidly with a commanding yet disciplined performance against Stoke A deflected free kick from Lukas Podolski late in the game and a brilliant display from debutant Monreal left the Gunners in a promising position as teams around them dropped points For the first time in six attempts Arsenal climbed the table to fifth with a 1 0 win over Sunderland Arsenal had plenty of chances throughout the first half and parts of the second and Sunderland had the chance to equalise in the second half but it was Cazorla s ninth goal of the season that was the difference of the two teams Shortly thereafter Arsenal announced the loan departure of left back Andre Santos to Brazilian club Gremio until the end of the season 51 This came after the signing of Spanish international Monreal pushed Santos further down the pecking order With an upcoming fixture in the Champions League it was believed that Vermaelen or Gibbs would have to return to play left back 52 Despite the strong start to the month Arsenal crashed out of the FA Cup with a disappointing 1 0 loss to Championship club Blackburn Rovers Although their opponents only had three shots on target 53 Arsenal rued not putting their chances away throughout the game and left themselves with little hope of ending their trophy drought this season Three days later Arsenal resumed their Champions League campaign with a Round of 16 clash against Bayern Munich In the first leg of a very challenging tie at the Emirates they slumped to a 3 1 first leg defeat with Podolski scoring against his old club to give Arsenal a slight chance albeit needing three goals at the Allianz Arena in the second leg Toni Kroos Thomas Muller and Mario Mandzukic scored for Bayern Needing to lift the fans Arsenal played relegation threatened Aston Villa in sight of a third straight win in the Premier League Arsenal did so with a brace from Santi Cazorla either side of an Andreas Weimann equaliser to stay four points adrift of North London rivals Tottenham who they played the following Sunday March Edit However the North London derby ended in bitter disappointment for the red side of North London as Tottenham ran out 2 1 following two goals in quick succession from Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon late in the first half one of which being eventually cancelled out by Mertesacker s second goal for the club both were against Tottenham this season Arsenal then had a 10 day wait before their return leg in the Champions League due to Everton s participation in the FA Cup Though many resigned the Gunners to defeat Arsenal had a valiant attempt to knock out their German opponents by winning 2 0 on the night with a goal inside the first three minutes from Giroud and a goal in the last three minutes of the game from Laurent Koscielny crashing out on away goals However they were the first team to defeat Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena this season and the first team not to concede against Bayern all season giving huge confidence to the team both defensively and offensively in the final ten cup finals of the Premier League season 54 Arsenal stepped up once again to Wenger s rallying calls as Arsenal recorded a second consecutive 2 0 victory in a tough encounter at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea Goals in the second half from Nacho Monreal his first for the club and Gervinho kept Arsenal s top four hopes alive Arsenal s next match was after the international break against a struggling Reading side who Arsenal had already scored 12 goals in two matches against this season in all competitions Arsenal made it 12 wins in all 12 games against Reading as goals from Gervinho Cazorla Giroud and Arteta ensured the Gunners ran out 4 1 winners with Hal Robson Kanu pulling one back for the Royals and kept up their chase for the top four nbsp Laurent Koscielny again scored the crucial goal in Arsenal s final match of the season similar to last season that secured Arsenal s top four spotApril Edit Along with news that Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott were to return from injury soon Arsenal fans were given more to cheer about as a spirited performance following Metersacker s sending off against West Brom lifted the Gunners temporarily up to fourth in the table Two goals from Tomas Rosicky put Arsenal in a commanding position but a penalty scored by James Morrison on 71 minutes made for a nervy end as Arsenal eventually ran out 2 1 winners at The Hawthorns Arsenal then started a period of three games in a week against Norwich as a spirited comeback in the last seven minutes of the match ensured Arsenal went third in the Premier League table Michael Turner opened the scoring for Norwich from a set piece but a trio of goals including a controversial penalty was scored by Arteta Giroud and Podolski as the Gunners ran out 3 1 winners Their next match was against fellow Champions League chasers Everton and after early Everton pressure Arsenal settled into the match but was ultimately unable to score for the first time in 12 games in a match that ended 0 0 The Gunners resumed their top four fight in a derby against Fulham that saw two men sent off Steve Sidwell for Fulham and Giroud for Arsenal who later lost his appeal for it to be rescinded and an unlikely scorer in Per Mertesacker as Arsenal won 1 0 Following a guard of honour to the newly crowned champions Arsenal faced a Manchester United side with former captain Robin van Persie in tow Theo Walcott scored early as Arsenal showed early signs of brilliance but the goal was later cancelled out by a penalty conceded by Sagna from Van Persie The match ended 1 1 May Edit Arsenal entered a crucial period of the season with a game against newly relegated Queens Park Rangers as Tottenham and Chelsea would play their game in hand against each other leaving a straight battle to the top four Champions League qualification spots Walcott again got the Gunners off to the perfect start with the fastest goal in the Premier League season so far as well as the 12th fastest goal in Premier League history after he put the Gunners ahead after 20 seconds The game petered out however but it increased Arsenal s unbeaten run to 8 games as the Gunners ran out 1 0 winners Arsenal had a ten day before their final home game of the season against newly crowned FA Cup winners Wigan in what proved to be a crucial game at both ends of the Premier League table The game was won 4 1 by the Gunners after goals from Podolski 2 Walcott and Aaron Ramsey cancelled out Shaun Maloney s free kick strike Wigan were subsequently relegated after an eight year stay in the Premier League 55 whilst Arsenal left their top four faith in their own hands by staying one point above rivals Tottenham Although the result also presented an opportunity for an unprecedented third place play off this was not needed following a Chelsea win over Everton however Arsenal secured fourth spot as a 1 0 win over Newcastle scored by Laurent Koscielny meant Arsenal finished the season on 73 points three more than the previous season and one more above rivals Tottenham Arsenal thus qualified for the 2013 14 UEFA Champions League Following the season s completion Arsenal revealed their top four players of the season as voted for by Arsenal Football Club members In fourth place came the Spaniard Mikel Arteta for his consistent performances in the middle of midfield which included recording the second highest number of passes in the campaign 2750 at a 92 success rate with 5 of the votes 56 In third came Arsenal s top scorer Theo Walcott whose tally of 21 goals in all competitions bettered that of any of his previous seasons at the club He also held the feat of most assists of the campaign in an Arsenal shirt as he deservedly claimed 12 7 of the votes 57 In second place came Laurent Koscielny after taking over from captain Thomas Vermaelen as a main stay in the heart of Arsenal s defence A number of assured performances that included conceded only 5 goals in the final 10 games of the season handed the French defender 13 5 of all the votes 58 Lastly Arsenal s Player of Season award went to Spaniard Santi Cazorla who Arsene Wenger described as the perfect footballer With 12 goals and 14 assists Cazorla announced his arrival in English football with a bang as he ran away with 55 7 of the votes in the club poll 59 Brief Season round up Edit Overall the Gunners had a reasonably successful Premier League campaign although they failed to end the trophy drought At season s end Arsene Wenger promised to make some big signings and spend to get world class players to help them challenge for trophies in the following seasons Key events Edit30 April German striker Lukas Podolski joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee thought be around 10 9 million 5 from German club 1 FC Koln 60 22 May The Club announces that they will be releasing five professional players Manuel Almunia George Brislen Hall Gavin Hoyte Sean McDermott and Rhys Murphy and two scholars James Campbell and Jeffrey Monakana at the end of their contracts on 30 June 61 24 May Following Pat Rice s retirement Steve Bould and Neil Banfield become the assistant manager and first team coach respectively Boro Primorac remains a first team coach alongside Banfield 22 26 June French striker Olivier Giroud joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee thought to be around 12 8 million 62 from French club Montpellier 25 5 July Arsenal announce that Terry Burton will complete the coaching staff list by becoming the reserve team manager following the promotion of Neil Banfield 23 17 July Arsenal announce that Mexican striker Carlos Vela will join Spanish club Real Sociedad on a four year contract worth 6 million 63 24 July French defender Laurent Koscielny signs a new long term contract 64 7 August Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee thought to be around 11 4 million 65 from financially troubled Spanish club Malaga 33 16 August Jack Wilshere is given the squad number 10 previously allocated to Robin van Persie 66 17 August Following the departure of Robin van Persie for a reported fee of 24 million to Manchester United 34 Thomas Vermaelen was promoted to club captain and Mikel Arteta was given the vice captaincy 67 18 August Arsenal begin the 2012 13 Premier League season with a goalless draw at home to Sunderland 20 August Arsenal announce the sale of Cameroonian midfielder Alex Song to Barcelona with the latter confirming that he had signed a five year contract for a transfer fee of 14 9 million 35 68 31 August Arsenal announce the departures of Nicklas Bendtner and Park Chu young on season long loans to Juventus and Celta de Vigo respectively 69 70 30 October Arsenal recorded victory in the League Cup to a record breaking 7 5 scoreline at the Madjeski Stadium having been 4 0 down initially The game had the most goals ever scored in a single League Cup match 12 39 19 November Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong joins Championship side Charlton Athletic on loan until 1 January 2013 71 11 December Arsenal crashed out of the League Cup after losing 3 2 on penalties to League Two side Bradford City the first time in the club s history that a lower league club knocked out the Gunners in the competition 72 19 December British players Kieran Gibbs Carl Jenkinson Alex Oxlade Chamberlain Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere extend their contracts and pledge their futures for four to six years 73 29 December Arsenal participate in the joint highest scoring game in the Premier League a 7 3 win over Newcastle 4 January Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh joins West Ham United on loan until the end of the season 47 5 January Swiss defender Johan Djourou joins Hannover 96 on loan until the end of the season 48 18 January England international striker Theo Walcott signs new long term contract for an undisclosed length ending speculation of his departure 49 25 January Midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong joins fellow Premier League side Fulham on loan until the end of the season 74 31 January Spanish left back Nacho Monreal joins Arsenal for an undisclosed fee thought to be around 8 5 million from Spanish club Malaga 75 11 February After falling down the pecking order left back Andre Santos departs the club on loan until the end of the season to join Brazilian club Gremio 51 16 February Arsenal are eliminated from the FA Cup in the fifth round following a 1 0 home loss to Championship side Blackburn Rovers 13 March Arsenal s UEFA Champions League campaign came to a valiant end after a 2 0 win in Bavaria meant Arsenal lost out on the away goals rule following a 3 1 first leg loss It resigned the Gunners to an eight successive trophy less season 28 March Arsenal announce that French midfielder Abou Diaby tore his anterior cruciate ligament in training and will subsequently face up to 9 months out as a result 23 April The FA announce that Arsenal s appeal against Olivier Giroud s red card against Fulham 20 March is rejected thus condemning the striker to the usual three match ban 76 19 May Arsenal finish the season in the top 4 resigning their North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to Europa League football next season 31 May Arsenal announced via a club member s poll that the Player of the Season was Spaniard Santi Cazorla for his performances in both the midfield and front three 59 He was followed by defender Laurent Koscielny in second 58 top scorer Theo Walcott in third 57 and fellow Spaniard Mikel Arteta in fourth 56 Players EditSquad information Edit Further information Arsenal F C Players N Pos Nat Name Age EU Since App Goals Ends Transfer fee Notes1 GK nbsp Wojciech Szczesny 23 EU 2006 106 0 2015 77 Youth system2 MF nbsp Abou Diaby 27 EU 2006 Winter 178 19 undisclosed 78 2 0M 79 3 DF nbsp Bacary Sagna 30 EU 2007 236 4 2014 80 7 5M 81 4 DF nbsp Per Mertesacker 28 EU 2011 71 3 2015 82 8 0M 83 5 DF nbsp Thomas Vermaelen captain 27 EU 2009 129 15 2015 84 10 0M 85 6 DF nbsp Laurent Koscielny 27 EU 2010 119 10 undisclosed 64 8 5M 86 7 MF nbsp Tomas Rosicky 32 EU 2006 182 22 2014 87 6 8M 88 8 MF nbsp Mikel Arteta vice captain 31 EU 2011 81 12 2015 89 10 0M 90 9 FW nbsp Lukas Podolski 27 EU 2012 42 16 2016 5 10 9M 91 10 MF nbsp Jack Wilshere 21 EU 2008 97 5 2018 92 Youth system11 DF nbsp Andre Santos 30 Non EU 2011 33 3 undisclosed 93 6 2M 94 On loan to Gremio12 FW nbsp Olivier Giroud 26 EU 2012 47 17 undisclosed 25 12 8M 62 14 FW nbsp Theo Walcott 24 EU 2006 Winter 263 63 undisclosed 49 9 0M 95 15 FW nbsp Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 19 EU 2011 59 6 undisclosed 96 12 0M 97 16 MF nbsp Aaron Ramsey 22 EU 2008 150 11 undisclosed 98 4 8M 99 17 DF nbsp Nacho Monreal 27 EU 2013 Winter 11 1 undisclosed 75 8 5M 50 18 DF nbsp Sebastien Squillaci 32 EU 2010 39 2 2013 100 3 3M 100 19 MF nbsp Santi Cazorla 28 EU 2012 49 12 undisclosed 33 16 5M 65 20 DF nbsp Johan Djourou 26 EU 2003 144 1 2015 101 Youth system On loan to Hannover 9621 GK nbsp Lukasz Fabianski 28 EU 2007 67 0 undisclosed 102 2 0M 103 22 MF nbsp Francis Coquelin 22 EU 2008 43 0 undisclosed 104 Youth system23 MF nbsp Andrey Arshavin 31 Non EU 2009 Winter 144 31 2013 105 15 0M 106 24 GK nbsp Vito Mannone 25 EU 2005 23 0 2014 107 0 35M 108 25 DF nbsp Carl Jenkinson 21 EU 2011 35 0 undisclosed 109 1 0M 109 26 MF nbsp Emmanuel Frimpong 21 EU 2009 16 0 undisclosed 110 Youth system On loan to Fulham27 FW nbsp Gervinho 25 Non EU 2011 63 11 undisclosed 111 10 5M 112 28 DF nbsp Kieran Gibbs 23 EU 2007 106 3 undisclosed 113 Youth system29 FW nbsp Marouane Chamakh 29 EU 2010 67 14 undisclosed 114 Free On loan to West Ham United30 FW nbsp Park Chu young 27 Non EU 2011 6 1 undisclosed 115 1 8M 116 On loan to Celta Vigo31 MF nbsp Ryo Miyaichi 20 Non EU 2011 Winter 2 0 undisclosed 117 Free52 FW nbsp Nicklas Bendtner 25 EU 2004 157 45 undisclosed 118 Youth system On loan to JuventusMF nbsp Denilson 25 Non EU 2006 153 10 undisclosed 119 3 5M 120 On loan to Sao PauloFW nbsp Joel Campbell 20 Non EU 2011 0 0 undisclosed 121 0 9M 122 On loan to Real BetisLast updated 19 May 2013 Source Arsenal F C and footballdatabase com for EU passport country as international player contract ending and transfer fee Ordered by squad number Reserve squad Edit Further information Arsenal F C Reserves and Arsenal F C Academy As of 5 February 2013 123 124 125 Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player36 GK nbsp ARG Emiliano Martinez38 DF nbsp SUI Martin Angha39 FW nbsp ENG Zak Ansah40 DF nbsp ESP Hector Bellerin41 DF nbsp MAR Samir Bihmoutine42 DF nbsp GHA Daniel Boateng43 GK nbsp ENG Reice Charles Cook44 MF nbsp ENG Craig Eastmond45 MF nbsp NED Kyle Ebecilio46 MF nbsp GER Thomas Eisfeld47 MF nbsp GER Serge Gnabry48 DF nbsp SUI Sead Hajrovic49 DF nbsp ENG Isaac Hayden50 MF nbsp EIR Conor Henderson51 FW nbsp ENG Benik Afobe No Pos Nation Player53 MF nbsp ENG Jernade Meade54 DF nbsp ESP Ignasi Miquel55 DF nbsp SUI Elton Monteiro56 FW nbsp JAM Nigel Neita58 MF nbsp ENG Josh Rees60 GK nbsp ENG James Shea62 FW nbsp ENG Sanchez Watt63 MF nbsp ENG Jordan Wynter64 MF nbsp ENG Nico Yennaris65 MF nbsp ENG Jack Jebb66 FW nbsp ENG Austin Lipman67 FW nbsp ENG Chuba Akpom68 GK nbsp MKD Dejan Iliev71 DF nbsp ENG Brandon Ormonde OttewillTransfers Edit In Edit Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Team Source9 FW nbsp Lukas Podolski nbsp 1 FC Koln Undisclosed 10 900 000 5 30 April 2012 First team 126 12 FW nbsp Olivier Giroud nbsp Montpellier Undisclosed 12 800 000 62 26 June 2012 First team 25 19 MF nbsp Santi Cazorla nbsp Malaga Undisclosed 15 000 000 65 6 August 2012 First team 33 17 DF nbsp Nacho Monreal nbsp Malaga Undisclosed 8 500 000 31 January 2013 First team 75 Total spending nbsp Undisclosed 47 200 000 Out Edit Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Team SourceMF nbsp Jeffrey Monakana nbsp Preston North End Free transfer Released 29 May 2012 Academy 127 DF nbsp Ben Glasgow nbsp Stoke City Free transfer 7 June 2012 Academy 128 53 MF nbsp Oguzhan Ozyakup nbsp Besiktas 405 000 8 June 2012 Reserves 24 129 50 FW nbsp Rhys Murphy nbsp Telstar Free transfer Released 9 June 2012 Reserves 21 130 MF nbsp Alban Bunjaku nbsp Sevilla Free transfer 28 June 2012 Academy 131 DF nbsp James Campbell nbsp Stoke City Free transfer Released 28 June 2012 Academy 21 45 DF nbsp Gavin Hoyte nbsp Dagenham amp Redbridge Free transfer Released 10 July 2012 Reserves 21 132 FW nbsp Carlos Vela nbsp Real Sociedad 5 000 000 17 July 2012 First team 63 DF nbsp Pedro Botelho nbsp Atletico Paranaense Free transfer 25 July 2012 Reserves 133 1 GK nbsp Manuel Almunia nbsp Watford Free transfer Released 31 July 2012 First team 21 134 47 GK nbsp Sean McDermott nbsp Sandnes Ulf Free transfer Released 8 August 2012 Reserves 21 135 35 DF nbsp Kyle Bartley nbsp Swansea City 1 000 000 16 August 2012 First team 136 137 10 FW nbsp Robin van Persie nbsp Manchester United 25 000 000 17 August 2012 First team 34 138 17 MF nbsp Alex Song nbsp Barcelona 15 000 000 20 August 2012 First team 35 68 MF nbsp Henri Lansbury nbsp Nottingham Forest 1 000 000 28 August 2012 Reserves 139 38 DF nbsp George Brislen Hall nbsp Inverness C T Free transfer Released 30 August 2012 Reserves 21 140 Total income nbsp Undisclosed 47 405 000 Loan out Edit Position Player Loaned to Date Loan expires Team SourceMF nbsp Denilson nbsp Sao Paulo 6 July 2012 End of the season First team 141 FW nbsp Joel Campbell nbsp Real Betis 11 July 2012 End of the season First team 142 FW nbsp Benik Afobe nbsp Bolton Wanderers 3 August 2012 1 February 2013 Reserves 143 31 MF nbsp Ryo Miyaichi nbsp Wigan Athletic 13 August 2012 9 March 2013 due to injury First team 144 145 FW nbsp Wellington nbsp Ponferradina 15 August 2012 End of the season Reserves 146 MF nbsp Samuel Galindo nbsp Lugo 23 August 2012 End of the season Reserves 147 DF nbsp Daniel Boateng nbsp Oxford United 28 August 2012 1 January 2013 Reserves 148 FW nbsp Philip Roberts nbsp Inverness C T 30 August 2012 End of the season Reserves 140 30 FW nbsp Park Chu young nbsp Celta Vigo 31 August 2012 End of the season First team 70 52 FW nbsp Nicklas Bendtner nbsp Juventus 31 August 2012 End of the season First team 69 MF nbsp Chuks Aneke nbsp Crewe Alexandra 7 September 2012 21 January 2013 Reserves 149 50 MF nbsp Conor Henderson nbsp Coventry City 21 September 2012 22 December 2012 Reserves 150 MF nbsp Craig Eastmond nbsp Colchester United 27 September 2012 27 January 2013 Reserves 151 62 FW nbsp Sanchez Watt nbsp Colchester United 27 September 2012 27 January 2013 Reserves 151 26 MF nbsp Emmanuel Frimpong nbsp Charlton Athletic 19 November 2012 1 January 2013 First team 71 29 FW nbsp Marouane Chamakh nbsp West Ham United 4 January 2013 End of the season First team 47 20 DF nbsp Johan Djourou nbsp Hannover 96 5 January 2013 End of the season First team 48 26 MF nbsp Emmanuel Frimpong nbsp Fulham 25 January 2013 End of the season First team 74 MF nbsp Chuks Aneke nbsp Crewe Alexandra 31 January 2013 End of the season Reserves 152 MF nbsp Samuel Galindo nbsp Wilstermann 7 February 2013 End of the season Reserves 153 FW nbsp Benik Afobe nbsp Millwall 7 February 2013 7 March 2013 due to injury Reserves 154 155 11 DF nbsp Andre Santos nbsp Gremio 11 February 2013 End of the season First team 51 FW nbsp Anthony Jeffrey nbsp Stevenage 1 March 2013 1 May 2013 Academy 156 Overall transfer activity Edit Spending Edit nbsp Undisclosed 47 200 000 Income Edit nbsp Undisclosed 47 405 000 Net expenditure Edit nbsp Undisclosed 205 000 Club EditCoaching staff Edit nbsp This is Arsene Wenger s 17th season with Arsenal nbsp The retirement of Pat Rice allowed the promotion of Steve Bould and Neil Banfield Position StaffManager nbsp Arsene WengerAssistant manager nbsp Steve Bould1First team coach nbsp Boro Primorac1 nbsp Neil Banfield1Goalkeeping coach nbsp Gerry PeytonFitness coach nbsp Tony Colbert nbsp Craig GantPhysiotherapist nbsp Colin Lewin nbsp Ben Ashworth nbsp Declan LynchKit manager nbsp Paul Johnson nbsp Vic Akers nbsp Paul AkersMasseur nbsp Darren PagePerformance analyst nbsp Ben KnapperClub doctor nbsp Gary O DriscollChief scout nbsp Steve RowleyLast updated 1 October 2012Source Arsenal F C 1 Steve Bould and Neil Banfield were confirmed as the assistant manager and first team coach respectively following the retirement of Pat Rice however Boro Primorac will continue in his position as first team coach 22 Kit Edit Supplier Nike Sponsor Fly Emirates nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Home nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Home alt 157 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Away nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Away alt 158 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Third nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Goalkeeper 1 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Goalkeeper 2 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Goalkeeper 2 alt nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Goalkeeper 3 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Goalkeeper 3 alt Kit information Edit Nike released a new set of home away and goalkeeper kits for the 2012 13 season The club reverted to their traditional crest after using an anniversary crest last season Home During the final years with Nike Nike ditched the white sleeves the club s well known for The shirt has a white wide stripe on each sleeve flanked by two dark red narrower stripes It has a red V neck collar which is the same colour as the primary shirt colour The shirt is complemented by white shorts with a dark red trim and white socks with a red horizontal stripe Red socks with white horizontal stripe were used in some away games Arsenal revealed that the kit would be used for two season as two final season of Nike Away Arsenal s new away kit was revealed on 12 July 2012 with the much speculated purple and black hooped kit being officially confirmed 159 The reason behind the kit was to commemorate Arsenal s past enhancing the royal theme from the Diamond Jubilee to remind Arsenal fans of the Royal Arsenal that once existed through the colour purple The shirt featured red cuffs and detailing and additionally featured hoops of different width on the arms The purple and black hooped socks bearing one red stripe each paid tribute to Chapman s legacy and his introduction of hooped socks which according to him was said to make it easier for his players to pick each other out on the pitch The hoops and red trim on the sleeves was designed the kit a modern and unique flavour to distinguish the club from others in the Premier League Third Arsenal s yellow and maroon 2010 11 away kit was retained as a third kit yet again with club badge reverted to traditional badge after last season with anniversary badge Keeper Nike launched a new set of goalkeeper strips for the 2012 13 season The primary strip was predominantly green featuring several tones of the same colour on the arms The alternatives were pink and gold based on the same template Kit Usage Edit Away Arsenal s unique away kit produced mix fortunes for the club on the road Worn in eight games during the season it saw them crash out of the League Cup on penalties to Bradford City yet whilst still ultimately going out of the competition thanks to a 3 1 defeat at the Emirates it saw them win 2 0 away to Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout stages An early 2 0 win at Anfield against Liverpool in the league saw the only other victory in this shirt Draws came at Stoke Southampton and Swansea FA Cup whilst three defeats came away to Manchester United Olympiacos and the previously mentioned game against Bradford City 160 Other information Edit nbsp The Emirates Stadium is the second largest stadium in the Premier League Chairman nbsp Peter Hill WoodGround capacity and dimensions Emirates Stadium 60 355 113x76 metres Updated to match played 11 May 2010Source Arsenal F C Squad statistics EditAppearances and goals Edit As of 14 May 2013No Pos Nat Player Total Premier League FA Cup League Cup Champions LeagueApps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals1 GK nbsp POL Wojciech Szczesny 33 0 25 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 02 MF nbsp FRA Abou Diaby 15 0 10 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 03 DF nbsp FRA Bacary Sagna 31 0 25 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 04 DF nbsp GER Per Mertesacker 44 3 33 1 3 3 0 0 1 0 0 6 0 05 DF nbsp BEL Thomas Vermaelen 39 1 25 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 7 0 06 DF nbsp FRA Laurent Koscielny 34 4 20 5 2 3 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 17 MF nbsp CZE Tomas Rosicky 16 3 7 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 18 MF nbsp ESP Mikel Arteta 43 6 34 0 6 2 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 09 FW nbsp GER Lukas Podolski 42 16 25 8 11 1 1 1 1 0 0 6 0 410 MF nbsp ENG Jack Wilshere 33 2 20 5 0 2 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 111 DF nbsp BRA Andre Santos L 12 0 3 5 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 012 FW nbsp FRA Olivier Giroud 47 17 24 10 11 4 0 2 1 1 2 4 3 214 FW nbsp ENG Theo Walcott 43 21 24 8 14 2 2 1 2 0 5 3 2 115 FW nbsp ENG Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 33 2 11 14 1 2 0 0 1 1 1 3 1 016 MF nbsp WAL Aaron Ramsey 47 2 21 15 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 4 3 117 DF nbsp ESP Nacho Monreal 11 1 9 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 018 DF nbsp FRA Sebastien Squillaci 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 019 MF nbsp ESP Santi Cazorla 49 12 37 1 12 2 1 0 1 0 0 7 0 020 DF nbsp SUI Johan Djourou L 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 021 GK nbsp POL Lukasz Fabianski 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 022 MF nbsp FRA Francis Coquelin 22 0 3 8 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 3 3 023 MF nbsp RUS Andrey Arshavin 11 1 0 7 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 024 GK nbsp ITA Vito Mannone 13 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 025 DF nbsp ENG Carl Jenkinson 21 0 14 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 5 0 026 MF nbsp GHA Emmanuel Frimpong L 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 027 FW nbsp CIV Gervinho 26 7 12 6 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 2 228 DF nbsp ENG Kieran Gibbs 34 1 23 4 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 029 FW nbsp MAR Marouane Chamakh L 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 030 FW nbsp KOR Park Chu young L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 031 MF nbsp JPN Ryo Miyaichi 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 036 GK nbsp ARG Emiliano Martinez R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 038 DF nbsp SUI Martin Angha R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 046 MF nbsp GER Thomas Eisfeld R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 047 MF nbsp GER Serge Gnabry R 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 052 FW nbsp DEN Nicklas Bendtner L 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 053 MF nbsp ENG Jernade Meade R 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 054 DF nbsp ESP Ignasi Miquel R 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 064 DF nbsp ENG Nico Yennaris R 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0Source citation needed R Reserve team player L Out on loan S Sold Top scorers Edit Place Position Nationality Number Name Premier League FA Cup League Cup Champions League Total1 FW nbsp 14 Theo Walcott 14 1 5 1 212 FW nbsp 12 Olivier Giroud 11 2 2 2 173 FW nbsp 9 Lukas Podolski 11 1 0 4 164 MF nbsp 19 Santi Cazorla 12 0 0 0 125 FW nbsp 27 Gervinho 5 0 0 2 76 MF nbsp 8 Mikel Arteta 6 0 0 0 67 DF nbsp 6 Laurent Koscielny 2 0 1 1 48 DF nbsp 4 Per Mertesacker 3 0 0 0 3Own Goals 3 0 0 0 3MF nbsp 7 Tomas Rosicky 2 0 0 1 311 FW nbsp 29 Marouane Chamakh 0 0 2 0 2MF nbsp 15 Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 1 0 1 0 2MF nbsp 16 Aaron Ramsey 1 0 0 1 2MF nbsp 10 Jack Wilshere 0 1 0 1 215 MF nbsp 23 Andrey Arshavin 0 0 1 0 1DF nbsp 28 Kieran Gibbs 0 1 0 0 1DF nbsp 54 Ignasi Miquel 0 0 1 0 1DF nbsp 17 Nacho Monreal 1 0 0 0 1DF nbsp 5 Thomas Vermaelen 0 0 1 0 1TOTALS 72 6 14 13 105Disciplinary record Edit Number Nationality Position Name Premier League FA Cup League Cup Champions League Total nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 6 nbsp DF Laurent Koscielny 1 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 5 212 nbsp FW Olivier Giroud 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 110 nbsp MF Jack Wilshere 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 14 nbsp DF Per Mertesacker 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 125 nbsp DF Carl Jenkinson 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 18 nbsp MF Mikel Arteta 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 8 016 nbsp MF Aaron Ramsey 5 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 8 05 nbsp DF Thomas Vermaelen 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 019 nbsp MF Santi Cazorla 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 028 nbsp DF Kieran Gibbs 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 4 027 nbsp FW Gervinho 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 3 09 nbsp FW Lukas Podolski 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 07 nbsp MF Tomas Rosicky 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 03 nbsp DF Bacary Sagna 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 014 nbsp FW Theo Walcott 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 029 nbsp FW Marouane Chamakh 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 022 nbsp MF Francis Coquelin 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 02 nbsp MF Abou Diaby 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 017 nbsp DF Nacho Monreal 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 01 nbsp GK Wojciech Szczesny 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 023 nbsp MF Andrey Arshavin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 046 nbsp MF Thomas Eisfeld 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 036 nbsp GK Emiliano Martinez 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 015 nbsp MF Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 018 nbsp DF Sebastien Squillaci 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0TOTALS 46 6 4 0 6 0 26 0 82 5Captains Edit No P Name Country No games Notes5 DF Vermaelen nbsp 35 Club captain8 MF Arteta nbsp 15 Club vice captain20 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library, article, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games. |