2016–17 Arsenal F.C. season
The 2016–17 season was Arsenal's 25th in the Premier League, their 91st consecutive season in the top flight of English football and their 100th season in the top flight overall.[1][2] The club participated in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
| 2016–17 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Sir Chips Keswick |
| Manager | Arsène Wenger |
| Stadium | Emirates Stadium |
| Premier League | 5th |
| FA Cup | Winners |
| EFL Cup | Fifth round |
| UEFA Champions League | Round of 16 |
| Top goalscorer | League: Alexis Sánchez (24) All: Alexis Sánchez (30) |
In the league, despite being in the title race in the first half of the season, their form collapsed in the second half of the season, with Arsenal finishing outside the top four of the Premier League for the first time since the 1995–96 season. In Europe, despite topping their group, Bayern Munich inflicted Arsenal's heaviest defeat in a two-legged European tie with a 10–2 aggregate defeat, with increasing criticism towards manager Arsène Wenger, as well as calls for change within the Arsenal hierarchy.[3] Despite the loss of form and heavy fan disapproval towards the end of the season, Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 13th time, beating Chelsea 2–1 in the final. The victory saw manager Arsène Wenger become the most successful manager in FA Cup history with seven wins.
The season covers the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017.
Review edit
Pre-season edit
Arsenal made its first summer signing prior to start of the current season on 25 May, with the acquisition of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported £30 million fee. Xhaka's involvement in UEFA Euro 2016 and his subsequent desire to secure his club future beforehand enabled Arsenal to uncharacteristically complete a signing before the formal opening of the transfer window.[4] In the following weeks, the Gunners activated the release clause of Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy.[5] However, they failed in their attempts to bring Vardy from the Premier League champions, with the England forward instead opting to sign a contract extension with the East Midlands club.[6] Manager Arsène Wenger came under fire for failing to secure the transfer, and fans were outraged further when Arsenal signed young forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima,[7] due to the relative unproven nature of the forward's capabilities. Arsenal made its third summer signing on 22 July, signing Bolton Wanderers' Player of the Year Rob Holding. He joined for a reported £2 million fee from the League One side.[8] Arsenal played Lens later that day in their first pre-season game, with a late chipped goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain earning Arsenal a hard-fought 1–1 draw.[9] Arsenal then flew out to California for two more pre-season fixtures, against the MLS All-Stars and Chivas Guadalajara. Wenger would state that Per Mertesacker would not be on the tour, after picking up an injury against Lens. He would later confirm that Mertesacker had surgery in his native Germany, and would be out for "months".[10] Arsenal beat the All Stars 2–1 on 28 July (July 29 BST), with a Joel Campbell penalty and a Chuba Akpom close-range finish coming either side of a goal from Didier Drogba.[11] Arsenal concluded their tour on 31 July (1 August BST) with a 3–1 win over Chivas. Oxlade-Chamberlain and Akpom scored their second pre-season goals each, with the opener scored by Holding.[12] Wenger confirmed that the injury to Mertesacker meant he'd need to sign a replacement ideally before the season's opener against Liverpool on 14 August,[13] as talks of incoming transfers intensified.
August edit
Despite the absence of key players, Wenger gave positive news ahead of a trip to Scandinavia; Alexis Sánchez and Aaron Ramsey would join the team for the tour and would likely be fit for the season's opener against Liverpool. Gabriel also returned after missing the US tour with tonsillitis.[14] Arsenal's pre-season continued in Norway, against Viking FK. The Gunners were 8–0 winners; Joel Campbell continued his pre-season form with a double, while Chuba Akpom added his third goal in as many pre-season games. Alex Iwobi also scored a late double, with the remaining goals coming from Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla (although the Spaniard missed a third-minute penalty), and an own goal from defender Michael Haukås.[15] In a post match interview, Wenger confirmed that Mesut Özil, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud would not be fit for the game against Liverpool in nine days, with the trio returning to training on 8 August due to their extended exploits at Euro 2016. He stated that Jack Wilshere would be in training after a knee injury, but he could also miss the opening game, and that Mertesacker would not be available for four months.[16] Arsenal concluded their pre-season with a 3–2 win over Manchester City. Akpom scored for the fourth game running, while Walcott and Iwobi scored for the second successive game. Sergio Agüero and Kelechi Iheanacho scored either side of the Arsenal goals. The game ended on a sour note, however, with Gabriel sustaining a serious injury. The Brazilian was stretchered off, meaning Arsenal was left with Koscielny acting as the club's only available senior centre-back.[17] Wenger's pre-match press conference ahead of the opening day clash with Liverpool was that Gabriel would be back by October, and that Carl Jenkinson (returning from a loan at West Ham United) would be fit in November after a knee injury suffered on loan in January.[18]
Similar to last season, Arsenal could not carry on its pre-season form when the league season started. Despite goals from Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Calum Chambers, Arsenal lost 4–3 at home to Liverpool. The club's opening day defeat was the second in succession, and the third in four years (after defeats to Aston Villa and West Ham in 2013–14 and 2015–16, respectively). Walcott gave Arsenal the lead after missing a penalty, but a Philippe Coutinho free-kick drew the sides level before half-time. An Adam Lallana finish, a second for Coutinho, and a goal for debutant Sadio Mané saw Arsenal go behind 4–1 after 63 minutes. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back with a solo finish, and Calum Chambers headed in a Cazorla free kick. However, the Gunners failed to force a fourth in the final 15 minutes. Arsenal also had Ramsey limp off, making him Arsenal's fifth injured player in the senior team, alongside Jenkinson, Gabriel, Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck. Xhaka and Holding were given their debuts; Xhaka came off the bench in the second half, while the latter started alongside Chambers in defence.[19]
Arsenal went to the King Power Stadium on the second matchday, facing champions Leicester City. Both teams were aiming to bounce back from opening-weekend losses, and while both squads had opportunities of their own, Arsenal enjoyed the better of the first half, with Oxlade-Chamberlain shooting narrowly wide. Despite various attacking exploits from either side in both halves, neither could not find a breakthrough in a fiercely-contested game, as it concluded 0–0. The result left the Gunners 12th, with one point from their first two games.[20] Arsenal would then travel away to Watford, with both sides aiming to achieve their first wins of the campaign, after sustaining a defeat and a draw from the opening two league matches. Arsenal would gain the lead after Cazorla converted a penalty following a challenge from Nordin Amrabat on Sánchez, who would later score from a Walcott cross. Özil clinched Arsenal's third on the stroke of half-time, heading in from Sánchez's crisp pass into the box. Roberto Pereyra would also score for the Hornets on his debut midway through the second half, as Arsenal won 3–1.[21] Arsenal would then announce the signings of Lucas Pérez on 28 August, with the forward joining from Deportivo de La Coruña after the Gunners activated the Spaniard's reported £17.1 million release clause.[22] The deal proceeded Arsenal confirming the signing of German defender Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia on 30 August. Mustafi joined the Gunners for £35 million, making him the club's joint second most expensive player, with him commanding the same fee as Sánchez three seasons prior.[23][24]
September edit
Following the international break, Arsenal resumed their Premier League campaign with a hard-fought 2–1 home victory over Southampton. Despite an unfortunate own goal by Petr Čech, the Gunners responded with two unanswered goals to ensure the win. In the first half, Laurent Koscielny equalised through a bicycle kick whilst Santi Cazorla struck a penalty in the dying minutes of the match to lead Arsenal to victory. Furthermore, the match saw the debuts of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Pérez, with the former making the most clearances and interceptions in the match.[25] Arsenal would begin its 19th consecutive season in the UEFA Champions League three days later with a 1–1 away draw against Paris Saint-Germain. Despite going behind after 42 seconds following an Edinson Cavani header, Arsenal bounced back in the latter stages of the game, with Alexis Sánchez rifling in Arsenal's first shot on target. Olivier Giroud, who was brought on as a substitute, picked up two yellow cards in his 27 minutes, thus causing him to miss the home match against Basel on 28 September.[26] Arsenal would then travel to newly promoted Hull City on 17 September. The Gunners took the lead through Sánchez, who deflected in Alex Iwobi's shot. Sánchez had a penalty saved before half time after a handball by Jake Livermore, who received a red card as a result. In the second half, Arsenal went 2–0 up through a Theo Walcott chip before Hull got a goal back, with Robert Snodgrass converting his penalty when Čech took down Dieumerci Mbokani. Sánchez got his second goal of the game with four minutes later, to restore the two-goal lead. Substitute Granit Xhaka scored his first goal in the last minute of stoppage time, with his 25-yard drive wrapping up a 4–1 win.[27]
The club's next match saw Arsenal kick off their EFL Cup campaign away to Nottingham Forest. Xhaka opened the scoring with his second long range goal in the space of a week, and new signing Pérez scored a double before Oxlade-Chamberlain scored in stoppage time as Arsenal won 4–0, with Nicklas Bendtner making his first competitive appearance against his former side (having played an Emirates Cup friendly a year prior with VfL Wolfsburg).[28] Arsenal were then drawn at home to Reading in the fourth round of the competition.[29] Arsenal's next game saw them host Chelsea, a team the club had not beaten in the League since 2011. Arsenal ran riot in the first half, with Sánchez, Walcott and Mesut Özil all finding the back of the net. The half time score of 3–0 remained unchanged at the final whistle.[30] Arsenal's final game of September saw them host Basel in the Champions League, which was the first ever meeting between the clubs in European competition. Xhaka started against the team he began his career with, and also faced his brother Taulant for the first time in club football while Mohamed Elneny was also brought on as a substitute against his former side. Walcott scored a first half double, with a brace in assists from Sánchez, securing a 2–0 win.[31]
October edit
Arsenal resumed Premier League action on 2 October, facing Burnley at Turf Moor. Burnley often chose to sit back during the game, allowing Arsenal to apply attacking pressure, although, both had chances to win the match. Arsenal's pressure finally got to a resistant Burnley side, with Laurent Koscielny scoring at a last minute corner. The controversial goal had claims off both handball and offside, after the defender knocked the ball in with his elbow on the goal-line. Burnley manager Sean Dyche questioned referee Craig Pawson following the game, as the referee had a clear sight of the incident.[32] Retired referee Dermot Gallagher, however, stood by the ruling, claiming it was not an intentional handball.[33] Arsenal hosted Swansea City after the international break, looking for its first home win against the Swans since September 2011. Theo Walcott scored his fourth and fifth league goals early on, giving Arsenal a two-goal lead before Gylfi Sigurðsson pulled one back before the break. Mesut Özil added a third on his 28th birthday, before Borja reduced the deficit once more. A controversial red card for a cynical Granit Xhaka challenge on Modou Barrow set up a dramatic finale, but Arsenal prevailed, winning 3–2. This allowed the Gunners to move joint top with league leaders Manchester City.[34] Arsenal would resume its Champions League campaign on 19 October, with a home game against Bulgarian champions, Ludogorets Razgrad. Goals from Sánchez, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and a career first hat-trick for Özil saw Arsenal to a resounding 6–0 win over the Bulgarians. The victory took the Gunners to seven wins in a row in all competitions.[35]
Arsenal's next game would be at home to Middlesbrough in the Premier League. In an end to end clash, Arsenal were denied a late goal from Özil due to an offside, and the match finished 0–0. It was Arsenal's first draw at home since April, and their second of the season. It also ended a run of six consecutive league wins.[36] Arsenal's next match was a home tie in the EFL Cup against Reading. The sides met nearly four years after a famous 7–5 Arsenal win at the same stage of the competition. Oxlade-Chamberlain continued his fine form with a double to give Arsenal a 2–0 win, and set up a quarter final clash with Southampton on 30 November.[37][38] Oxlade-Chamberlain's form saw him awarded with a Premier League start against basement side Sunderland. The winger provided an assist as doubles from Olivier Giroud, his first goals of the season, and from Sánchez saw Arsenal convincingly win 4–1. A Jermain Defoe penalty helped the Black Cats get onto the scoresheet.[39] Arsenal's next game would be away at Ludogorets in the Champions League on 1 November.
November edit
Arsenal started November with a Champions League game away to Ludogorets Razgrad. Despite the Bulgarian side going into a shock 2–0 lead early on, Arsenal eventually came back with goals through Granit Xhaka, Olivier Giroud and a late Mesut Özil goal to win 3–2 and qualify for the knockout stages. This took Arsenal's unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions.[40][41] Arsenal then participated in the North London derby, hosting Tottenham Hotspur in Premier League action on 6 November. Arsenal gained the lead just prior to the half-time break, with Kevin Wimmer glancing Özil's free-kick past Hugo Lloris, before Spurs responded with a Harry Kane spot-kick following a tangle between Laurent Koscielny and Mousa Dembélé. Despite presses from either side late on, the game ended 1–1, and left Arsenal fourth in the Premier League going into the international break.[42] Arsenal returned to Premier League action against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 19 November. During the match, Arsenal had not had an effort on goal and often conceded to allow United to control the game for long periods, and their advances toward goal were rewarded through a Juan Mata left-foot finish after 68 minutes. During the dying moments of the game, however, a substitute Giroud rose at the far post to head home an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain cross.[43]
Arsenal then continued in their Champions League campaign with a home game to Paris-Saint Germain, with Arsenal requiring a win to secure top spot in their group as the first round concludes, finishing second in six consecutive seasons. Early on, Edinson Cavani slide home from a Blaise Matuidi cross, before Arsenal gained one back through a penalty from Giroud after a Grzegorz Krychowiak tackle on Alexis Sánchez. Midway through the second half, Arsenal obtained the lead when a penalty-box rebound struck Marco Verratti, before PSG responded through a ricocheted Lucas header off Alex Iwobi 13 minutes from time as the game ended 2–2. The French champions now have an advantage on head-to-head away goals with one round of games left after a 1–1 draw earlier in the competition.[44] The Gunners then hosted AFC Bournemouth on 27 November, and were gifted the lead when Steve Cook's poor backpass allowed Sánchez to calmly side-foot past Adam Federici. Despite Callum Wilson's penalty equaliser, Walcott managed to score after a Nacho Monreal cross in the 53rd minute, before Sánchez secured the victory after slotting in Giroud's cross, moving the Gunners to fourth, three points behind leaders Chelsea.[45] To conclude November, Arsenal welcomed Southampton to play in the quarter-finals of EFL Cup, hoping to win the competition for the first time in Wenger's tenure at the club. The Gunners fielded a side with 10 changes to the previous game, and saw Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand secure victory and inflict the first defeat on Arsenal since the opening day of the season, as Arsenal bowed out of the competition.[46]
December edit
Arsenal responded to the midweek League Cup defeat with a dominant 5–1 win at West Ham United. Mesut Özil opened the scoring before Alexis Sánchez scored two goals in eight minutes. Substitute Andy Carroll headed home to give the hosts hope but it was determined for three points to go Arsenal's favour as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck a 25-yard strike before Sánchez completed his hat trick, sprinting through the West Ham defence and chipping in.[47] Three days later was the Gunners' final Champions League group match against Basel in Switzerland. Arsenal, who started a few of the fringe players for this match, prevailed 4–1 with Lucas Pérez scoring a hat-trick as well as Alex Iwobi tapping in his first goal of the season.[48] On 10 December Arsenal continued the Premier League campaign as they faced Stoke City at the Emirates. Charlie Adam's penalty gave the visitors a shock lead but Arsenal replied with Theo Walcott equalising before second half goals by Özil and Iwobi as the Gunners ultimately won 3–1.[49]
A run of 14 league matches unbeaten were responded bitterly by back-to-back away defeats just before Christmas. First Arsenal took on Everton at Goodison Park but lost 2–1. Despite the Gunners taking the lead through Alexis Sánchez's deflected free kick the hosts equalised before half-time through Séamus Coleman before Ashley Williams headed home a late winner. Phil Jagielka was then sent off as Arsenal pressed on to find an equaliser and had two shots cleared off the line. Everton held on to win and end Arsenal's unbeaten run in the Premier League.[50] It got worse for them five days later as they lost against Manchester City at the Etihad. Theo Walcott scored early in the first half but City responded during the second. Leroy Sané netted the equaliser on 47 minutes before Raheem Sterling scored the winner from a tight angle. The match ended 2–1 to Manchester City inflicting a second consecutive league defeat on Arsenal.[51] However Arsenal went on to win the next Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates. Olivier Giroud, who made his first league start of the season, scored the winner to revive Arsenal's title hopes. The Gunners' final match of the year ended in relieving victory.[52]
January edit
On New Year's Day, Arsenal continued the league campaign and played against Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace. Arsenal won the match 2-0. On 17 minutes, Olivier Giroud established the lead in tremendous fashion, meeting Alexis Sánchez's cross and reaching the ball with his left foot from behind his head, ergo a scorpion kick which brought the ball off the underside of the bar and into the net – a response originally to Henrikh Mkhitaryan's scorpion goal for Manchester United against Sunderland on Boxing Day. Alex Iwobi scored the second goal, tamely heading the ball towards the back of the net via a desperate attempt by Palace defender Joel Ward to head it off the goal line only to head it onto his own bar, ricocheting it into the net.[53] Next, only two days later, Arsenal took the trip to the South Coast as they faced Bournemouth. Arsenal were very shaky throughout the first half and early stages of the second and goals by Charlie Daniels, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser helped Bournemouth take a shock 3–0 lead. However, during the final 20 minutes the Gunners mounted an emphatic comeback with Alexis Sánchez and Lucas Pérez both scoring before Simon Francis was sent off. Giroud then netted the equaliser in stoppage time to ensure a dramatic 3–3 draw.[54] On 7 January, Arsenal started their FA Cup campaign in the third round against Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale. Once more, Arsenal were shoddy in the early minutes and fell behind in the seventh minute through poor defending; but the Gunners responded in the second half. Aaron Ramsey made it 1–1 in the very first minute of the half and Giroud's goalscoring form continued tapping home an 89th-minute winner.[55]
On 14 January Arsenal went to South Wales for the next Premier League match and won 4–0 at Swansea. Olivier Giroud scored his fifth goal in five matches, followed by own goals by Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton, before the fourth goal was fired home by Alexis Sánchez.[56] Eight days later Arsenal faced Burnley at the Emirates. Following a goalless first half, Shkodran Mustafi scored his first Arsenal goal, heading home from a corner on 59 minutes. Granit Xhaka was then unusually sent off by referee Jonathan Moss and in stoppage time it got much more dramatic: in the 93rd minute Burnley were awarded a penalty through which Andre Gray scored. A cruel hammer blow for Arsenal meant that it was destined for the visitors to bring back a point but then in the 97th minute the Gunners themselves were handed a penalty despite an offside appeal. Sánchez scored from the spot in the final minute of stoppage time to keep the three points in North London. The match moreover saw Arsène Wenger get sent off for complaining to the fourth official about the Burnley penalty decision. For this offense Wenger was given a domestic four match ban which made him sit on the 'naughty step' and watch assistant manager Steve Bould do the touchline duties for the next four matches.[57] On 28 January, Arsenal played in the FA Cup fourth round at Southampton. A brace by Danny Welbeck and a hat trick by Theo Walcott made them cruise into the fifth round with a comfortable 5-0 win.[58] Two days later Arsenal continued the Premier League campaign but they suffered a shock 2–1 home defeat by Watford. Former Tottenham defender Younès Kaboul gave the visitors the lead through a deflected strike from outside the box early in the first half and three minutes later Troy Deeney doubled Watford's advantage. In the second half Arsenal were back into it as Alex Iwobi gave the Gunners hope. Arsenal piled on the pressure for the remaining minutes and Lucas Pérez hit the bar but they were unable to get the equaliser. The match ended 2–1 to Watford as the month of January ended harshly for the Gunners.[59]
February edit
Arsenal's Premier League setback continued as they were beaten by Chelsea 3–1 at Stamford Bridge. Marcos Alonso scored the only goal of the first half before Eden Hazard wrapped up a fine solo goal. Cesc Fàbregas scored against his old club for Chelsea's third before Olivier Giroud netted a late consolation goal.[60] On 11 February however the Gunners bounced back as they eased past Hull at the Emirates. In the first half Alexis Sánchez bundled home the opening goal despite replays showing the ball hit his hand before it went into the back of the net. Arsenal grabbed a second in stoppage time as Sánchez converted a 93rd-minute penalty following handball by Sam Clucas which resulted into his dismissal.[61] Four days later Arsenal played in the knockout stage of the Champions League against German giants and five-times European champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. The Gunners were undone and under pressure by the Bayern possession and fell behind on 11 minutes through Arjen Robben's 20-yard screamer. However, in the 30th minute Arsenal were handed a penalty and Sánchez slotted home the rebound following his initial spot-kick being saved by Manuel Neuer as the first half ended 1–1 with much cherished positivity for the Gunners. Unfortunately in the second half Arsenal collapsed horrendously: first they lost captain Laurent Koscielny through injury which proved to be the catalyst for Arsenal's capitulation as they conceded three goals in ten minutes. Bayern Munich went back in front in the 53rd minute as Robert Lewandowski mismatched Shkodran Mustafi to head home Philipp Lahm's cross. Then, only three minutes later, Spanish midfielder Thiago made it 3–1 and sooner Bayern Munich were 4–1 up through Thiago's deflected shot from outside the penalty area following a scramble in the box. Finally in the 88th minute Thomas Müller, who had only scored four goals this season before the match, went off the bench and scored a fifth goal for Bayern Munich to put Arsenal's hopes of reaching the quarter-final of the Champions League beyond them. The match ended 5–1 to Bayern Munich putting Arsène Wenger under huge pressure.[62] On 20 February Arsenal resumed the FA Cup campaign as they took the trip to non-league team Sutton United. The Gunners comfortably won 2–0 with Lucas Pérez scoring his 7th goal of the season and Theo Walcott scoring his 100th Arsenal goal as they progressed into the FA Cup quarter-final.[63]
March edit
Arsenal started March away to Liverpool and suffered a 3–1 defeat with goals from Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum. Arsene Wenger drew much criticism from supporters following his decision to leave Alexis Sánchez out of the starting lineup. Three days later, Bayern Munich, already 5–1 up from the first leg of the Champions League knockout stage came to the Emirates for the second leg. Arsenal started brightly and went into half-time winning 1–0 courtesy of Theo Walcott. However, early on in the second half, Laurent Koscielny gave away a penalty for a foul on Robert Lewandowski and was shown a yellow card. However, referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos then changed his mind and sent-off Koscielny. Lewandowski scored the penalty and then Bayern proceeded to run riot against 10-man Arsenal and goals from Arjen Robben, Douglas Costa and a brace from Arturo Vidal ensured Bayern again won 5–1. Arsenal lost 10–2 on aggregate and Wenger had to endure increasing calls for him to be sacked or resign. At the weekend, though Arsenal beat non-league Lincoln City 5–0 in the FA Cup to set up a semi-final against Manchester City at Wembley. However, Arsenal's poor form throughout 2017 continued in the league as they were soundly beaten 3–1 away to West Bromwich Albion, putting their hopes of a top four finish in serious doubt.
April edit
After the international break, Arsenal returned to action with an exciting 2–2 draw at home to Manchester City. After the game there was an outbreak of violence between supporters who wanted Wenger to remain as manager and supporters who wanted him to leave. In the next fixture against West Ham, three second-half goals from Mesut Özil, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal their first league win since February. This was undone however the following week when they lost 3–0 away to Crystal Palace, who were fighting for Premier League survival. The result put Arsenal seven points off fourth place and fans chanted "you're not fit to wear the shirt" at the team. To rectify the decline, for the next match away to Middlesbrough, Wenger decided to change the formation to 3–4–3 which eventual champions Chelsea had been playing with for almost the whole season. It worked as Arsenal won 2–1 with goals from Alexis Sánchez and Mesut Özil. Arsenal's next outing would be against Manchester City at Wembley in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Manchester City came into the match as favourites and Sergio Aguero put them in front after the hour. 10 minutes later, wing-back Nacho Monreal equalised and the game went to extra-time where Alexis Sánchez scored the winning goal to book Arsenal's place in the final against Chelsea. Their improvement in form was highlighted three days later when they beat Leicester 1–0 with a late Robert Huth own goal. However, their decline was also shown when they lost 2–0 to Spurs in the last ever North London Derby to take place at White Hart Lane before its demolition. The result meant Spurs would finish above Arsenal for the first time in over 20 years.
May edit
After the morale-sapping defeat at White Hart Lane, the Gunners played host to Manchester United in a critical match at the Emirates Stadium. After a goalless first period, Granit Xhaka's wildly deflected effort soared into the net, before Danny Welbeck nodded home three minutes later to seal a vital 2–0 victory and subsequently end United's 25-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
The Gunners' next match was away to Southampton, and second-half goals from Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud earned Arsenal a routine 2–0 victory, before Giroud scored a brace to lay the foundations for a convincing 4–1 win at Stoke City, with Sanchez and Ozil also scoring either side of a Peter Crouch goal.
With the top four still a valid hope, Arsenal played host to Sunderland, and despite winning the match 2–0, had to work hard for the three points, earned with Alexis Sanchez's late brace.
Coming into the final matchday, Arsenal were tipped to fail in their top-four bids as they were relying on slip-ups from Liverpool or Manchester City, who were playing Middlesbrough at home and Watford away, respectively.
Nonetheless, the Gunners made the perfect start, with Hector Bellerin rifling home after just eight minutes against Everton. However, a red-card for Laurent Koscielny hindered Arsenal's progress, but Sanchez nonetheless managed to extend the lead before the break. Despite Romelu Lukaku's penalty cutting the deficit to 2–1, a fine, curling finish from Aaron Ramsey in stoppage time sealed a 3–1 win; but it was all in vain, as Liverpool's 3–0 triumph over Middlesbrough and Manchester City's 5-0 drubbing of Watford meant Arsenal finished outside of the top four for the first time in Arsène Wenger's reign.
Despite missing out on Champions League qualification, Arsenal still had the FA Cup final at Wembley to look forward to, and Alexis Sanchez gave them the perfect start after just four minutes against Chelsea, who were looking to win the Double. However, despite being reduced to ten men after Victor Moses's red card early in the second half, Chelsea managed to equalise on 76 minutes through an improvised Diego Costa volley. However, just three minutes later, Aaron Ramsey powered home Olivier Giroud's cross with a solid header to seal a 2–1 win, and with it, a record 13th FA Cup for Arsenal and Arsène Weneger's seventh winners medal as a turbulent and difficult season ended on a high.
Players edit
Squad information edit
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | EU | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | 27 | EU | 2009 (Winter) | 181 | 0 | undisclosed[64] | Youth system | On loan to Roma | |
| 2 | DF | Mathieu Debuchy | 31 | EU | 2014 | 23 | 1 | undisclosed | £12.0M[65] | ||
| 3 | DF | Kieran Gibbs | 27 | EU | 2007 | 230 | 6 | undisclosed[66] | Youth system | ||
| 4 | DF | Per Mertesacker | 32 | EU | 2011 | 210 | 8 | undisclosed[67] | £8.0M[68] | ||
| 5 | DF | Gabriel Paulista | 26 | Non-EU | 2015 (Winter) | 65 | 1 | undisclosed[69] | £11.3M[70] | ||
| 6 | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 31 | EU | 2010 | 291 | 22 | undisclosed[71] | £8.5M[72] | ||
| 7 | FW | Alexis Sánchez | 28 | Non-EU | 2014 | 145 | 72 | undisclosed[73] | £30.0M[74] | ||
| 8 | MF | Aaron Ramsey | 26 | EU | 2008 | 297 | 47 | undisclosed[75] | £4.8M[76] | ||
| 9 | FW | Lucas Pérez | 28 | EU | 2016 | 21 | 7 | undisclosed | £17.1M[77] | ||
| 10 | MF | Jack Wilshere | 25 | EU | 2008 | 159 | 12 | 2018[78] | Youth system | On loan to AFC Bournemouth | |
| 11 | MF | Mesut Özil | 28 | EU | 2013 | 162 | 32 | undisclosed[79] | £42.5M[80][81][82] | ||
| 12 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 30 | EU | 2012 | 227 | 98 | undisclosed[83] | £12.8M[84] | ||
| 13 | GK | David Ospina | 28 | Non-EU | 2014 | 50 | 0 | undisclosed[85] | £3.2M (EUR 4m)[86] | ||
| 14 | FW | Theo Walcott | 28 | EU | 2006 (Winter) | 381 | 104 | 2019[87] | £9.0M[88] | ||
| 15 | MF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 23 | EU | 2011 | 194 | 20 | undisclosed[89] | £12.0M[90] | ||
| 16 | DF | Rob Holding | 21 | EU | 2016 | 18 | 0 | undisclosed | £2.0M[91] | ||
| 17 | FW | Alex Iwobi | 21 | EU | 2015 | 59 | 6 | undisclosed | Youth system | ||
| 18 | DF | Nacho Monreal | 31 | EU | 2013 (Winter) | 174 | 3 | undisclosed[92] | £8.5M[93] | ||
| 19 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 32 | EU | 2012 | 180 | 29 | undisclosed[75] | £12.0M[94] | ||
| 20 | DF | Shkodran Mustafi | 25 | EU | 2016 | 37 | 2 | undisclosed | £35.0M[95] | ||
| 21 | DF | Calum Chambers | 22 | EU | 2014 | 60 | 3 | undisclosed[96] | £16.0m[97] | On loan to Middlesbrough | |
| 22 | FW | Yaya Sanogo | 24 | EU | 2013 | 20 | 1 | undisclosed[98] | Free[98] | ||
| 23 | FW | Danny Welbeck | 26 | EU | 2014 | 69 | 17 | 2019 | £16.0M | ||
| 24 | DF | Héctor Bellerín | 22 | EU | 2013 | 115 | 4 | undisclosed | Youth system | ||
| 25 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | 25 | EU | 2011 | 62 | 1 | undisclosed[99] | £1.0M[100] | ||
| 26 | GK | Emiliano Martínez | 24 | Non-EU | 2012 | 13 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | ||
| 28 | FW | Joel Campbell | 24 | Non-EU | 2011 | 41 | 4 | undisclosed[101] | £0.9M[102] | On loan to Sporting CP | |
| 29 | MF | Granit Xhaka | 24 | Non-EU | 2016 | 46 | 4 | undisclosed | £30.0M[103] | ||
| 31 | MF | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | 19 | EU | 2016 | 8 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | ||
| 32 | FW | Chuba Akpom | 21 | EU | 2013 | 10 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Brighton & Hove Albion | |
| 33 | GK | Petr Čech | 35 | EU | 2015 | 79 | 0 | 2019[104] | £10.0M[104] | ||
| 34 | MF | Francis Coquelin | 26 | EU | 2008 | 148 | 0 | undisclosed[105] | Youth system | ||
| 35 | MF | Mohamed Elneny | 24 | Non-EU | 2016 (Winter) | 41 | 1 | undisclosed | £7.4M[106][107] | ||
| — | FW | Takuma Asano | 22 | Non-EU | 2016 | 0 | 0 | undisclosed | £0.8M[108] | On loan to VfB Stuttgart |
- Last updated: 27 May 2017
- Source: Arsenal F.C. and footballdatabase.com (for EU passport, country as international player, contract ending and transfer fee)
- Ordered by squad number.
Transfers edit
Transfers in edit
Arsenal started its transfer business early, acquiring Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported £30 million from Borussia Mönchengladbach on 25 May.[4] Arsenal continued their recruitment in July, signing young forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima for an undisclosed fee, widely believed to be £800,000.[7] On 22 July, Arsenal confirmed their third summer signing in Rob Holding, with the defender joining from Bolton Wanderers for a reported fee of £2 million.[8] The club would later sign Nigerian prospect Kelechi Nwakali, who joined the Arsenal reserve team on a five-year deal.[109] Arsenal would move for Lucas Pérez and Shkodran Mustafi late in the transfer window, with the La Liga duo eventually joining for a reported £17.1 million[77] and £35 million respectively.[95]
| # | Position | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | MF | Granit Xhaka | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Undisclosed (~£30,000,000)[103] | 25 May 2016 | First team | [4] |
| — | FW | Takuma Asano | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Undisclosed (~£800,000)[108] | 3 July 2016 | First team | [7] |
| 16 | DF | Rob Holding | Bolton Wanderers | Undisclosed (~£2,000,000)[91] | 22 July 2016 | First team | [8] |
| — | MF | Kelechi Nwakali | Diamond Football Academy | Undisclosed (~£3,000,000)[110] | 5 August 2016 | Reserves | [109] |
| 9 | FW | Lucas Pérez | Deportivo La Coruña | Undisclosed (~£17,100,000)[77] | 30 August 2016 | First team | [111] |
| 20 | DF | Shkodran Mustafi | Valencia | Undisclosed (~£35,000,000)[95] | 30 August 2016 | First team | [112] |
| 85 | DF | Cohen Bramall | Hednesford Town | Undisclosed (~£40,000)[113] | 10 January 2017 | Reserves | [114] |
Total spending: Undisclosed (~£87,940,000)
Transfers out edit
| # | Position | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | MF | Mikel Arteta | Retired[a] | n/a | 30 June 2016 | First team | [116] |
| 20 | MF | Mathieu Flamini | Crystal Palace[b] | Free transfer (Released) | 30 June 2016 | First team | [116] |
| 7 | MF | Tomáš Rosický | Sparta Prague[c] | Free transfer (Released) | 30 June 2016 | First team | [116] |
| 42 | DF | Isaac Hayden | Newcastle United | Undisclosed (~£2,500,000)[119] | 11 July 2016 | First team | [120] |
| — | MF | Wellington Silva | Fluminense | Undisclosed | 18 July 2016 | Reserves | [121] |
| — | DF | Ilias Chatzitheodoridis | Brentford | Free transfer | 6 August 2016 | Reserves | [122] |
| 27 | MF | Serge Gnabry | Werder Bremen | Undisclosed (~£5,000,000)[123] | 31 August 2016 | First team | [124] |
| — | MF | Tyrell Robinson | Bradford City[d] | Free transfer (Released) | 2 February 2017 | Reserves | [126] |
Total incoming: Undisclosed (~£7,500,000+)
- ^ Upon the expiry of Arteta's contract, he retired and joined Manchester City in a coaching position.[115]
- ^ Upon the expiry of Flamini's contract, he joined Crystal Palace.[117]
- ^ Upon the expiry of Rosický's contract, he signed for Sparta Prague.[118]
- ^ Upon the expiry of Robinson's contract, he joined Bradford City.[125]
Loans in edit
| # | Position | Player | Loaned from | Date | Loan expires | Team | Source |
|---|
Loans out edit
| # | Position | Player | Loaned to | Date | Loan expires | Team | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | MF | Daniel Crowley | Oxford United | 1 July 2016 | 1 December 2016 [a] | Reserves | [128] |
| 43 | GK | Ryan Huddart | Eastleigh | 1 July 2016 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [129] |
| 57 | MF | Jon Toral | Granada | 15 July 2016 | 10 January 2017 [b] | Reserves | [131] |
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | Roma | 4 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [132] |
| 52 | DF | Stefan O'Connor | Maastricht | 5 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [133] |
| 53 | DF | Julio Pleguezuelo | Mallorca | 5 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [134] |
| 59 | DF | Tafari Moore | Jong FC Utrecht | 17 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [135] |
| 28 | FW | Joel Campbell | Sporting CP | 21 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [136] |
| — | FW | Takuma Asano | Stuttgart | 26 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [137] |
| 21 | DF | Calum Chambers | Middlesbrough | 30 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [138] |
| — | MF | Kelechi Nwakali | Maastricht | 31 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [139] |
| 52 | MF | Glen Kamara | Colchester United | 31 August 2016 | 1 January 2017 | Reserves | [140] |
| 10 | MF | Jack Wilshere | AFC Bournemouth[c] | 31 August 2016 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [142][143] |
| 38 | MF | Daniel Crowley | Go Ahead Eagles | 10 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [144] |
| 57 | MF | Jon Toral | Rangers | 12 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [145] |
| 40 | MF | Gedion Zelalem | VVV Venlo | 24 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [146] |
| 32 | FW | Chuba Akpom | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | First team | [147] |
| 37 | DF | Krystian Bielik | Birmingham City | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [148] |
| 38 | DF | Marc Bola | Notts County | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [149] |
| 44 | DF | Aaron Eyoma | Volendam | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [150] |
| 48 | FW | Kaylen Hinds | Stevenage | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [151] |
| 54 | GK | Matt Macey | Luton Town | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [152] |
| 57 | FW | Stephy Mavididi | Charlton Athletic | 31 January 2017 | 30 June 2017 | Reserves | [153] |
Overall transfer activity edit
| Spending Summer: Undisclosed (~£87,900,000) Winter: Undisclosed (~£40,000) Total: Undisclosed (~£87,940,000) | Income Summer: Undisclosed (~£7,500,000+) Winter: £0 Total: Undisclosed (~£7,500,000+) | Net expenditure Summer: Undisclosed (~£80,400,000-) Winter: Undisclosed (~£40,000) Total: Undisclosed (~£80,440,000-) |
Club edit
Coaching staff edit
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Manager | Arsène Wenger |
| Assistant manager | Steve Bould |
| First team coach | Boro Primorac Neil Banfield |
| Goalkeeping coach | Gerry Peyton |
| Head of athletic performance enhancement | Shad Forsythe |
| Fitness coach | Tony Colbert Craig Gant |
| Physiotherapist | Colin Lewin Ben Ashworth Andrew Rolls |
| Club doctor | Gary O'Driscoll |
| Head of academy | Andries Jonker |
| Masseur | Darren Page Chris Harvey Chris Senior |
| Kit manager | Vic Akers |
| Assistant Kit manager | Paul Akers |
| Equipment manager | Paul Johnson |
| Performance nutritionist | James Collins |
| Football analyst | Ben Knapper |
Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: Arsenal F.C.
Kit edit
Supplier: Puma / Sponsor: Fly Emirates
Kit information edit
This is third consecutive season Puma has supplied Arsenal with kits.
- Home: The home kit features Arsenal's traditional colours of red and white, with the addition of a dark trim around the lowered neck line, on the sleeve (hooped) and along the red stripe on the shorts. The distinguishing feature of the kit is the darkened, vertical, red stripe across the centre of the kit. It also features predominantly red socks for the first time since the 2004–05 season (as opposed to only featuring on the alternate kits).
- Away: The away kit is predominantly yellow following the trend of recent Arsenal away kits. The contrasting colour is "gunmetal grey"[158] which appears on the collar (alongside a thin, centred, yellow line), as a trim on the v-shaped neck line and on the sleeve, separated by a large yellow strip across the shoulders and multiple hooped yellow lines across the bottom section of the sleeve. The shorts are predominantly gunmetal grey, with a yellow trim along the sides. The socks are yellow with multiple gunmetal grey hooped lines on the upper section.
- Third: The third kit is an abstraction from previous alternate kits for Arsenal as it predominantly features a single colour of dark blue. A vibrant neon yellow forms the detail across a wide strip on the shoulder and on the cuffs of the sleeves. The shorts are also dark blue with neon yellow detail along the sides and the kit is completed with single-colour neon yellow socks with a single dark blue hoop on the upper section.
Other information edit
| Chairman | Sir Chips Keswick |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Emirates Stadium (60,355 / 113x76 metres) |
Updated to match played 30 May 2014
Source: Arsenal F.C.
Squad statistics edit
Appearances and goals edit
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Champions League | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 2 | DF | FRA | Mathieu Debuchy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Kieran Gibbs | 8 (3) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | 18 (4) | 0 |
| 4 | DF | GER | Per Mertesacker | 0 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Gabriel Paulista | 15 (4) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 22 (5) | 0 |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Laurent Koscielny | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 43 | 2 |
| 7 | FW | CHI | Alexis Sánchez | 36 (2) | 24 | 3 (2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 47 (4) | 30 |
| 8 | MF | WAL | Aaron Ramsey | 13 (10) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 (10) | 4 |
| 9 | FW | ESP | Lucas Pérez | 2 (9) | 1 | 3 (1) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 (2) | 3 | 9 (12) | 7 |
| 11 | MF | GER | Mesut Özil | 32 (1) | 8 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 (1) | 4 | 41 (3) | 12 |
| 12 | FW | FRA | Olivier Giroud | 11 (18) | 12 | 3 (1) | 2 | 0 (1) | 0 | 3 (3) | 2 | 17 (23) | 16 |
| 13 | GK | COL | David Ospina | 1 (1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 (1) | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Theo Walcott | 23 (5) | 10 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 (3) | 4 | 29 (8) | 19 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 16 (13) | 2 | 5 (1) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 (3) | 1 | 27 (18) | 6 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Rob Holding | 9 | 0 | 4 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 (1) | 0 |
| 17 | FW | NGA | Alex Iwobi | 18 (8) | 3 | 2 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 (2) | 1 | 27 (11) | 4 |
| 18 | DF | ESP | Nacho Monreal | 35 (1) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 (1) | 1 |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Santi Cazorla | 7 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 (1) | 2 |
| 20 | DF | GER | Shkodran Mustafi | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 2 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Danny Welbeck | 8 (8) | 2 | 3 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 (10) | 4 |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Héctor Bellerín | 28 (6) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 35 (7) | 1 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Carl Jenkinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | ARG | Emiliano Martínez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | SUI | Granit Xhaka | 28 (4) | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 (1) | 1 | 5 (2) | 1 | 39 (7) | 4 |
| 31 | MF | FRA | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 |
| 33 | GK | CZE | Petr Čech | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | FRA | Francis Coquelin | 22 (7) | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | 28 (11) | 0 |
| 35 | MF | EGY | Mohamed Elneny | 8 (6) | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 (5) | 0 | 12 (12) | 0 |
| 55 | MF | ENG | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (3) | 0 |
| 68 | MF | ENG | Chris Willock | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 |
| Players out on loan for rest of the season | |||||||||||||
| 10 | MF | ENG | Jack Wilshere | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Calum Chambers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 32 | FW | ENG | Chuba Akpom | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | POL | Krystian Bielik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 40 | MF | USA | Gedion Zelalem | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 |
Goalscorers edit
- As of 27 May 2017
| Rank | Position | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Champions League | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FW | Alexis Sánchez | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 30 |
| 2 | FW | Theo Walcott | 10 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 19 |
| 3 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 16 |
| 4 | MF | Mesut Özil | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 5 | FW | Lucas Pérez | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| 6 | MF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| 7 | FW | Alex Iwobi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| MF | Aaron Ramsey | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| FW | Danny Welbeck | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| MF | Granit Xhaka | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |
| 11 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| DF | Laurent Koscielny | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| DF | Shkodran Mustafi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 14 | DF | Héctor Bellerín | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| DF | Calum Chambers | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| DF | Nacho Monreal | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Own goals | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Total | 77 | 18 | 6 | 20 | 121 | ||
Disciplinary record edit
- As of 27 May 2017
| Rank | Position | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Champions League | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MF | Granit Xhaka | 5 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 2 |
| 2 | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| 3 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Shkodran Mustafi | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Francis Coquelin | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| FW | Alexis Sánchez | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 7 | DF | Gabriel Paulista | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Rob Holding | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| MF | Aaron Ramsey | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |
| 10 | DF | Héctor Bellerín | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| DF | Kieran Gibbs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| DF | Nacho Monreal | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 13 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| GK | Petr Čech | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| DF | Mohamed Elneny | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| FW | Alex Iwobi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| DF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| MF | Mesut Özil | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| DF | Theo Walcott | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 20 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FW | Lucas Pérez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| MF | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| MF | Jack Wilshere | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 67 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 94 | 5 | ||
Clean sheets edit
- As of 27 May 2017
| Rank | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Champions League | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petr Čech | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2 | David Ospina | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Emiliano Martínez | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| Total | 13 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 20 | |
Pre-season edit
In February 2016, it was announced that Arsenal would play in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California in addition to a friendly against Mexican side Guadalajara three days later.[159] However, Arsenal later announced that the annual Emirates Cup would be cancelled for the second time in its history due to the extended absence of international players participating in Euro 2016 and "essential pitch reconstruction works" at the Emirates Stadium.[160] Arsenal confirmed their final pre-season fixtures before the Premier League campaign in early-June 2016, as Scandinavian trips against Viking in Stavanger and Premier League rivals Manchester City in Gothenburg completed the line-up.[161] It is the third time in four years that Arsenal and Manchester City will meet in a pre-season fixture outside of England.[162] To complete Arsenal's pre-season calendar, in early-July, Arsenal announced their pre-season opening fixture against RC Lens of Ligue 2 to be played 15 days after the announcement date. It was hence confirmed that the club's pre-season fixture list would stretch from 22 July to 7 August 2016 (six days before the start of the Premier League season).
Win Draw Loss
| 31 July 2016 Friendly | Guadalajara | 1–3 | Arsenal | Carson, United States |
| 18:00 PDT | Zaldívar 74' (pen.) | Report | Holding 34' Oxlade-Chamberlain 50' Akpom 56' | Stadium: StubHub Center Attendance: 24,168[164] Referee: Kevin Terry Jr.[165] |
MLS All-Star Game edit
| 28 July 2016 MLS All-Star Game | MLS All-Stars | 1–2 | Arsenal | San Jose, United States |
| 17:01 PDT | Ciman 10' Drogba 45+2' | Report | Campbell 11' (pen.) Akpom 87' | Stadium: Avaya Stadium Attendance: 18,000[166] Referee: Chris Penso[167] |
Super Match edit
| 7 August 2016 Super Match | Manchester City | 2–3 | Arsenal | Gothenburg, Sweden |
| 17:00 CEST | Fernando 2' Agüero 30', 55' Iheanacho 88' | Report | Iwobi 50' Walcott 73' Akpom 85' | Stadium: Ullevi Referee: Martin Strombergsson (Sweden) |
Competitions edit
Overview edit
| Competition | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | |
| Premier League | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 77 | 44 | +33 | 60.53 |
| FA Cup | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | +15 | 100.00 |
| EFL Cup | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 66.67 |
| Champions League | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 16 | +4 | 50.00 |
| Total | 55 | 35 | 8 | 12 | 121 | 65 | +56 | 63.64 |
Source: Competitions
Premier League edit
League table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Manchester City | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 80 | 39 | +41 | 78 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Liverpool | 38 | 22 | 10 | 6 | 78 | 42 | +36 | 76 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Arsenal | 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 77 | 44 | +33 | 75 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage[a] |
| 6 | Manchester United | 38 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 54 | 29 | +25 | 69 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage[b] |
| 7 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 61 | Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[c] |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Play-offs (only if needed to decide champion, teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions).[168][169]
Notes:
- ^ Arsenal qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2016–17 FA Cup. As they had also qualified there by the virtue of their league position (5th), this spot was passed to the next-highest ranked team (6th), Manchester United.
- ^ Manchester United qualified for the Champions League group stage by winning the 2016–17 UEFA Europa League. Based on their league position (6th), they would have received the spot above to enter the Europa League group stage. This spot was vacated without replacement as per UEFA regulations.
- ^ Manchester United, winners of the 2016–17 EFL Cup, initially attained a spot in the Europa League third qualifying round. That was passed to the next-highest ranked team in the league not already qualified for UEFA competitions (7th-placed Everton).
Results summary edit
| Overall | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 38 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 77 | 44 | +33 | 75 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 39 | 16 | +23 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 28 | +10 |
Source: Premier League
Results by matchday edit
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Matches edit
On 15 June 2016, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.[170]
Win Draw Loss
| 14 August 2016 1 | Arsenal | 3–4 | Liverpool | Holloway, London |
| 16:00 BST | Walcott 30' 31' Coquelin 37' Iwobi 58' Oxlade-Chamberlain 64' Chambers 75' Xhaka 86' | Arsenal report BBC report | Lallana 26', 49' Moreno 29' Lovren 41' Coutinho 45+1', 56' Mané 63' | Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,033 Referee: Michael Oliver |
| 20 August 2016 2 | Leicester City | 0–0 | Arsenal | Leicester |
| 17:30 BST | Mendy 45' | Arsenal report BBC report | Coquelin 24' Holding 90+2' | Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 32,008 Referee: Mark Clattenburg |
| 17 September 2016 5 | Hull City | 1–4 | Arsenal | Kingston upon Hull |
| 15:00 BST | 2016, arsenal, season, 2016, season, arsenal, 25th, premier, league, their, 91st, consecutive, season, flight, english, football, their, 100th, season, flight, overall, club, participated, premier, league, uefa, champions, league, arsenal2016, seasonarsenal, c. The 2016 17 season was Arsenal s 25th in the Premier League their 91st consecutive season in the top flight of English football and their 100th season in the top flight overall 1 2 The club participated in the Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League Arsenal2016 17 seasonArsenal and Chelsea line up before the 2017 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium May 2017ChairmanSir Chips KeswickManagerArsene WengerStadiumEmirates StadiumPremier League5thFA CupWinnersEFL CupFifth roundUEFA Champions LeagueRound of 16Top goalscorerLeague Alexis Sanchez 24 All Alexis Sanchez 30 Home coloursAway coloursThird colours 2015 162017 18 In the league despite being in the title race in the first half of the season their form collapsed in the second half of the season with Arsenal finishing outside the top four of the Premier League for the first time since the 1995 96 season In Europe despite topping their group Bayern Munich inflicted Arsenal s heaviest defeat in a two legged European tie with a 10 2 aggregate defeat with increasing criticism towards manager Arsene Wenger as well as calls for change within the Arsenal hierarchy 3 Despite the loss of form and heavy fan disapproval towards the end of the season Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 13th time beating Chelsea 2 1 in the final The victory saw manager Arsene Wenger become the most successful manager in FA Cup history with seven wins The season covers the period from 1 July 2016 to 30 June 2017 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 2 Players 2 1 Squad information 3 Transfers 3 1 Transfers in 3 2 Transfers out 3 3 Loans in 3 4 Loans out 3 5 Overall transfer activity 4 Club 4 1 Coaching staff 4 2 Kit 4 3 Kit information 4 4 Other information 5 Squad statistics 5 1 Appearances and goals 5 2 Goalscorers 5 3 Disciplinary record 5 4 Clean sheets 6 Pre season 6 1 MLS All Star Game 6 2 Super Match 7 Competitions 7 1 Overview 7 2 Premier League 7 2 1 League table 7 2 2 Results summary 7 2 3 Results by matchday 7 2 4 Matches 7 3 FA Cup 7 4 EFL Cup 7 5 UEFA Champions League 7 5 1 Group stage 7 5 2 Knockout phase 7 5 2 1 Round of 16 8 Awards 8 1 Arsenal Player of the Month award 9 ReferencesReview editPre season edit Arsenal made its first summer signing prior to start of the current season on 25 May with the acquisition of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported 30 million fee Xhaka s involvement in UEFA Euro 2016 and his subsequent desire to secure his club future beforehand enabled Arsenal to uncharacteristically complete a signing before the formal opening of the transfer window 4 In the following weeks the Gunners activated the release clause of Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy 5 However they failed in their attempts to bring Vardy from the Premier League champions with the England forward instead opting to sign a contract extension with the East Midlands club 6 Manager Arsene Wenger came under fire for failing to secure the transfer and fans were outraged further when Arsenal signed young forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima 7 due to the relative unproven nature of the forward s capabilities Arsenal made its third summer signing on 22 July signing Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year Rob Holding He joined for a reported 2 million fee from the League One side 8 Arsenal played Lens later that day in their first pre season game with a late chipped goal from Alex Oxlade Chamberlain earning Arsenal a hard fought 1 1 draw 9 Arsenal then flew out to California for two more pre season fixtures against the MLS All Stars and Chivas Guadalajara Wenger would state that Per Mertesacker would not be on the tour after picking up an injury against Lens He would later confirm that Mertesacker had surgery in his native Germany and would be out for months 10 Arsenal beat the All Stars 2 1 on 28 July July 29 BST with a Joel Campbell penalty and a Chuba Akpom close range finish coming either side of a goal from Didier Drogba 11 Arsenal concluded their tour on 31 July 1 August BST with a 3 1 win over Chivas Oxlade Chamberlain and Akpom scored their second pre season goals each with the opener scored by Holding 12 Wenger confirmed that the injury to Mertesacker meant he d need to sign a replacement ideally before the season s opener against Liverpool on 14 August 13 as talks of incoming transfers intensified August edit nbsp The 2016 Super Match versus Manchester City at Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg Sweden was Arsenal s last pre season fixture Despite the absence of key players Wenger gave positive news ahead of a trip to Scandinavia Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey would join the team for the tour and would likely be fit for the season s opener against Liverpool Gabriel also returned after missing the US tour with tonsillitis 14 Arsenal s pre season continued in Norway against Viking FK The Gunners were 8 0 winners Joel Campbell continued his pre season form with a double while Chuba Akpom added his third goal in as many pre season games Alex Iwobi also scored a late double with the remaining goals coming from Theo Walcott Santi Cazorla although the Spaniard missed a third minute penalty and an own goal from defender Michael Haukas 15 In a post match interview Wenger confirmed that Mesut Ozil Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud would not be fit for the game against Liverpool in nine days with the trio returning to training on 8 August due to their extended exploits at Euro 2016 He stated that Jack Wilshere would be in training after a knee injury but he could also miss the opening game and that Mertesacker would not be available for four months 16 Arsenal concluded their pre season with a 3 2 win over Manchester City Akpom scored for the fourth game running while Walcott and Iwobi scored for the second successive game Sergio Aguero and Kelechi Iheanacho scored either side of the Arsenal goals The game ended on a sour note however with Gabriel sustaining a serious injury The Brazilian was stretchered off meaning Arsenal was left with Koscielny acting as the club s only available senior centre back 17 Wenger s pre match press conference ahead of the opening day clash with Liverpool was that Gabriel would be back by October and that Carl Jenkinson returning from a loan at West Ham United would be fit in November after a knee injury suffered on loan in January 18 Similar to last season Arsenal could not carry on its pre season form when the league season started Despite goals from Walcott Oxlade Chamberlain and Calum Chambers Arsenal lost 4 3 at home to Liverpool The club s opening day defeat was the second in succession and the third in four years after defeats to Aston Villa and West Ham in 2013 14 and 2015 16 respectively Walcott gave Arsenal the lead after missing a penalty but a Philippe Coutinho free kick drew the sides level before half time An Adam Lallana finish a second for Coutinho and a goal for debutant Sadio Mane saw Arsenal go behind 4 1 after 63 minutes Alex Oxlade Chamberlain pulled one back with a solo finish and Calum Chambers headed in a Cazorla free kick However the Gunners failed to force a fourth in the final 15 minutes Arsenal also had Ramsey limp off making him Arsenal s fifth injured player in the senior team alongside Jenkinson Gabriel Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck Xhaka and Holding were given their debuts Xhaka came off the bench in the second half while the latter started alongside Chambers in defence 19 Arsenal went to the King Power Stadium on the second matchday facing champions Leicester City Both teams were aiming to bounce back from opening weekend losses and while both squads had opportunities of their own Arsenal enjoyed the better of the first half with Oxlade Chamberlain shooting narrowly wide Despite various attacking exploits from either side in both halves neither could not find a breakthrough in a fiercely contested game as it concluded 0 0 The result left the Gunners 12th with one point from their first two games 20 Arsenal would then travel away to Watford with both sides aiming to achieve their first wins of the campaign after sustaining a defeat and a draw from the opening two league matches Arsenal would gain the lead after Cazorla converted a penalty following a challenge from Nordin Amrabat on Sanchez who would later score from a Walcott cross Ozil clinched Arsenal s third on the stroke of half time heading in from Sanchez s crisp pass into the box Roberto Pereyra would also score for the Hornets on his debut midway through the second half as Arsenal won 3 1 21 Arsenal would then announce the signings of Lucas Perez on 28 August with the forward joining from Deportivo de La Coruna after the Gunners activated the Spaniard s reported 17 1 million release clause 22 The deal proceeded Arsenal confirming the signing of German defender Shkodran Mustafi from Valencia on 30 August Mustafi joined the Gunners for 35 million making him the club s joint second most expensive player with him commanding the same fee as Sanchez three seasons prior 23 24 September edit Following the international break Arsenal resumed their Premier League campaign with a hard fought 2 1 home victory over Southampton Despite an unfortunate own goal by Petr Cech the Gunners responded with two unanswered goals to ensure the win In the first half Laurent Koscielny equalised through a bicycle kick whilst Santi Cazorla struck a penalty in the dying minutes of the match to lead Arsenal to victory Furthermore the match saw the debuts of Shkodran Mustafi and Lucas Perez with the former making the most clearances and interceptions in the match 25 Arsenal would begin its 19th consecutive season in the UEFA Champions League three days later with a 1 1 away draw against Paris Saint Germain Despite going behind after 42 seconds following an Edinson Cavani header Arsenal bounced back in the latter stages of the game with Alexis Sanchez rifling in Arsenal s first shot on target Olivier Giroud who was brought on as a substitute picked up two yellow cards in his 27 minutes thus causing him to miss the home match against Basel on 28 September 26 Arsenal would then travel to newly promoted Hull City on 17 September The Gunners took the lead through Sanchez who deflected in Alex Iwobi s shot Sanchez had a penalty saved before half time after a handball by Jake Livermore who received a red card as a result In the second half Arsenal went 2 0 up through a Theo Walcott chip before Hull got a goal back with Robert Snodgrass converting his penalty when Cech took down Dieumerci Mbokani Sanchez got his second goal of the game with four minutes later to restore the two goal lead Substitute Granit Xhaka scored his first goal in the last minute of stoppage time with his 25 yard drive wrapping up a 4 1 win 27 The club s next match saw Arsenal kick off their EFL Cup campaign away to Nottingham Forest Xhaka opened the scoring with his second long range goal in the space of a week and new signing Perez scored a double before Oxlade Chamberlain scored in stoppage time as Arsenal won 4 0 with Nicklas Bendtner making his first competitive appearance against his former side having played an Emirates Cup friendly a year prior with VfL Wolfsburg 28 Arsenal were then drawn at home to Reading in the fourth round of the competition 29 Arsenal s next game saw them host Chelsea a team the club had not beaten in the League since 2011 Arsenal ran riot in the first half with Sanchez Walcott and Mesut Ozil all finding the back of the net The half time score of 3 0 remained unchanged at the final whistle 30 Arsenal s final game of September saw them host Basel in the Champions League which was the first ever meeting between the clubs in European competition Xhaka started against the team he began his career with and also faced his brother Taulant for the first time in club football while Mohamed Elneny was also brought on as a substitute against his former side Walcott scored a first half double with a brace in assists from Sanchez securing a 2 0 win 31 October edit Arsenal resumed Premier League action on 2 October facing Burnley at Turf Moor Burnley often chose to sit back during the game allowing Arsenal to apply attacking pressure although both had chances to win the match Arsenal s pressure finally got to a resistant Burnley side with Laurent Koscielny scoring at a last minute corner The controversial goal had claims off both handball and offside after the defender knocked the ball in with his elbow on the goal line Burnley manager Sean Dyche questioned referee Craig Pawson following the game as the referee had a clear sight of the incident 32 Retired referee Dermot Gallagher however stood by the ruling claiming it was not an intentional handball 33 Arsenal hosted Swansea City after the international break looking for its first home win against the Swans since September 2011 Theo Walcott scored his fourth and fifth league goals early on giving Arsenal a two goal lead before Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back before the break Mesut Ozil added a third on his 28th birthday before Borja reduced the deficit once more A controversial red card for a cynical Granit Xhaka challenge on Modou Barrow set up a dramatic finale but Arsenal prevailed winning 3 2 This allowed the Gunners to move joint top with league leaders Manchester City 34 Arsenal would resume its Champions League campaign on 19 October with a home game against Bulgarian champions Ludogorets Razgrad Goals from Sanchez Walcott Oxlade Chamberlain and a career first hat trick for Ozil saw Arsenal to a resounding 6 0 win over the Bulgarians The victory took the Gunners to seven wins in a row in all competitions 35 Arsenal s next game would be at home to Middlesbrough in the Premier League In an end to end clash Arsenal were denied a late goal from Ozil due to an offside and the match finished 0 0 It was Arsenal s first draw at home since April and their second of the season It also ended a run of six consecutive league wins 36 Arsenal s next match was a home tie in the EFL Cup against Reading The sides met nearly four years after a famous 7 5 Arsenal win at the same stage of the competition Oxlade Chamberlain continued his fine form with a double to give Arsenal a 2 0 win and set up a quarter final clash with Southampton on 30 November 37 38 Oxlade Chamberlain s form saw him awarded with a Premier League start against basement side Sunderland The winger provided an assist as doubles from Olivier Giroud his first goals of the season and from Sanchez saw Arsenal convincingly win 4 1 A Jermain Defoe penalty helped the Black Cats get onto the scoresheet 39 Arsenal s next game would be away at Ludogorets in the Champions League on 1 November November edit nbsp Kieran Gibbs attempts evasion of a challenge at Ludogorets Razgrad in the UEFA Champions League Arsenal started November with a Champions League game away to Ludogorets Razgrad Despite the Bulgarian side going into a shock 2 0 lead early on Arsenal eventually came back with goals through Granit Xhaka Olivier Giroud and a late Mesut Ozil goal to win 3 2 and qualify for the knockout stages This took Arsenal s unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions 40 41 Arsenal then participated in the North London derby hosting Tottenham Hotspur in Premier League action on 6 November Arsenal gained the lead just prior to the half time break with Kevin Wimmer glancing Ozil s free kick past Hugo Lloris before Spurs responded with a Harry Kane spot kick following a tangle between Laurent Koscielny and Mousa Dembele Despite presses from either side late on the game ended 1 1 and left Arsenal fourth in the Premier League going into the international break 42 Arsenal returned to Premier League action against Manchester United at Old Trafford on 19 November During the match Arsenal had not had an effort on goal and often conceded to allow United to control the game for long periods and their advances toward goal were rewarded through a Juan Mata left foot finish after 68 minutes During the dying moments of the game however a substitute Giroud rose at the far post to head home an Alex Oxlade Chamberlain cross 43 nbsp The rivals share the points as the Gunners celebrate Olivier Giroud s late leveller against Manchester United at Old Trafford Arsenal then continued in their Champions League campaign with a home game to Paris Saint Germain with Arsenal requiring a win to secure top spot in their group as the first round concludes finishing second in six consecutive seasons Early on Edinson Cavani slide home from a Blaise Matuidi cross before Arsenal gained one back through a penalty from Giroud after a Grzegorz Krychowiak tackle on Alexis Sanchez Midway through the second half Arsenal obtained the lead when a penalty box rebound struck Marco Verratti before PSG responded through a ricocheted Lucas header off Alex Iwobi 13 minutes from time as the game ended 2 2 The French champions now have an advantage on head to head away goals with one round of games left after a 1 1 draw earlier in the competition 44 The Gunners then hosted AFC Bournemouth on 27 November and were gifted the lead when Steve Cook s poor backpass allowed Sanchez to calmly side foot past Adam Federici Despite Callum Wilson s penalty equaliser Walcott managed to score after a Nacho Monreal cross in the 53rd minute before Sanchez secured the victory after slotting in Giroud s cross moving the Gunners to fourth three points behind leaders Chelsea 45 To conclude November Arsenal welcomed Southampton to play in the quarter finals of EFL Cup hoping to win the competition for the first time in Wenger s tenure at the club The Gunners fielded a side with 10 changes to the previous game and saw Jordy Clasie and Ryan Bertrand secure victory and inflict the first defeat on Arsenal since the opening day of the season as Arsenal bowed out of the competition 46 December edit Arsenal responded to the midweek League Cup defeat with a dominant 5 1 win at West Ham United Mesut Ozil opened the scoring before Alexis Sanchez scored two goals in eight minutes Substitute Andy Carroll headed home to give the hosts hope but it was determined for three points to go Arsenal s favour as Alex Oxlade Chamberlain struck a 25 yard strike before Sanchez completed his hat trick sprinting through the West Ham defence and chipping in 47 Three days later was the Gunners final Champions League group match against Basel in Switzerland Arsenal who started a few of the fringe players for this match prevailed 4 1 with Lucas Perez scoring a hat trick as well as Alex Iwobi tapping in his first goal of the season 48 On 10 December Arsenal continued the Premier League campaign as they faced Stoke City at the Emirates Charlie Adam s penalty gave the visitors a shock lead but Arsenal replied with Theo Walcott equalising before second half goals by Ozil and Iwobi as the Gunners ultimately won 3 1 49 A run of 14 league matches unbeaten were responded bitterly by back to back away defeats just before Christmas First Arsenal took on Everton at Goodison Park but lost 2 1 Despite the Gunners taking the lead through Alexis Sanchez s deflected free kick the hosts equalised before half time through Seamus Coleman before Ashley Williams headed home a late winner Phil Jagielka was then sent off as Arsenal pressed on to find an equaliser and had two shots cleared off the line Everton held on to win and end Arsenal s unbeaten run in the Premier League 50 It got worse for them five days later as they lost against Manchester City at the Etihad Theo Walcott scored early in the first half but City responded during the second Leroy Sane netted the equaliser on 47 minutes before Raheem Sterling scored the winner from a tight angle The match ended 2 1 to Manchester City inflicting a second consecutive league defeat on Arsenal 51 However Arsenal went on to win the next Premier League match against West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates Olivier Giroud who made his first league start of the season scored the winner to revive Arsenal s title hopes The Gunners final match of the year ended in relieving victory 52 January edit On New Year s Day Arsenal continued the league campaign and played against Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace Arsenal won the match 2 0 On 17 minutes Olivier Giroud established the lead in tremendous fashion meeting Alexis Sanchez s cross and reaching the ball with his left foot from behind his head ergo a scorpion kick which brought the ball off the underside of the bar and into the net a response originally to Henrikh Mkhitaryan s scorpion goal for Manchester United against Sunderland on Boxing Day Alex Iwobi scored the second goal tamely heading the ball towards the back of the net via a desperate attempt by Palace defender Joel Ward to head it off the goal line only to head it onto his own bar ricocheting it into the net 53 Next only two days later Arsenal took the trip to the South Coast as they faced Bournemouth Arsenal were very shaky throughout the first half and early stages of the second and goals by Charlie Daniels Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser helped Bournemouth take a shock 3 0 lead However during the final 20 minutes the Gunners mounted an emphatic comeback with Alexis Sanchez and Lucas Perez both scoring before Simon Francis was sent off Giroud then netted the equaliser in stoppage time to ensure a dramatic 3 3 draw 54 On 7 January Arsenal started their FA Cup campaign in the third round against Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale Once more Arsenal were shoddy in the early minutes and fell behind in the seventh minute through poor defending but the Gunners responded in the second half Aaron Ramsey made it 1 1 in the very first minute of the half and Giroud s goalscoring form continued tapping home an 89th minute winner 55 On 14 January Arsenal went to South Wales for the next Premier League match and won 4 0 at Swansea Olivier Giroud scored his fifth goal in five matches followed by own goals by Jack Cork and Kyle Naughton before the fourth goal was fired home by Alexis Sanchez 56 Eight days later Arsenal faced Burnley at the Emirates Following a goalless first half Shkodran Mustafi scored his first Arsenal goal heading home from a corner on 59 minutes Granit Xhaka was then unusually sent off by referee Jonathan Moss and in stoppage time it got much more dramatic in the 93rd minute Burnley were awarded a penalty through which Andre Gray scored A cruel hammer blow for Arsenal meant that it was destined for the visitors to bring back a point but then in the 97th minute the Gunners themselves were handed a penalty despite an offside appeal Sanchez scored from the spot in the final minute of stoppage time to keep the three points in North London The match moreover saw Arsene Wenger get sent off for complaining to the fourth official about the Burnley penalty decision For this offense Wenger was given a domestic four match ban which made him sit on the naughty step and watch assistant manager Steve Bould do the touchline duties for the next four matches 57 On 28 January Arsenal played in the FA Cup fourth round at Southampton A brace by Danny Welbeck and a hat trick by Theo Walcott made them cruise into the fifth round with a comfortable 5 0 win 58 Two days later Arsenal continued the Premier League campaign but they suffered a shock 2 1 home defeat by Watford Former Tottenham defender Younes Kaboul gave the visitors the lead through a deflected strike from outside the box early in the first half and three minutes later Troy Deeney doubled Watford s advantage In the second half Arsenal were back into it as Alex Iwobi gave the Gunners hope Arsenal piled on the pressure for the remaining minutes and Lucas Perez hit the bar but they were unable to get the equaliser The match ended 2 1 to Watford as the month of January ended harshly for the Gunners 59 February edit nbsp Midfielders N Golo Kante and Mesut Ozil at Stamford Bridge as the Arsenal renew their rivalry against Chelsea Arsenal s Premier League setback continued as they were beaten by Chelsea 3 1 at Stamford Bridge Marcos Alonso scored the only goal of the first half before Eden Hazard wrapped up a fine solo goal Cesc Fabregas scored against his old club for Chelsea s third before Olivier Giroud netted a late consolation goal 60 On 11 February however the Gunners bounced back as they eased past Hull at the Emirates In the first half Alexis Sanchez bundled home the opening goal despite replays showing the ball hit his hand before it went into the back of the net Arsenal grabbed a second in stoppage time as Sanchez converted a 93rd minute penalty following handball by Sam Clucas which resulted into his dismissal 61 Four days later Arsenal played in the knockout stage of the Champions League against German giants and five times European champions Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena The Gunners were undone and under pressure by the Bayern possession and fell behind on 11 minutes through Arjen Robben s 20 yard screamer However in the 30th minute Arsenal were handed a penalty and Sanchez slotted home the rebound following his initial spot kick being saved by Manuel Neuer as the first half ended 1 1 with much cherished positivity for the Gunners Unfortunately in the second half Arsenal collapsed horrendously first they lost captain Laurent Koscielny through injury which proved to be the catalyst for Arsenal s capitulation as they conceded three goals in ten minutes Bayern Munich went back in front in the 53rd minute as Robert Lewandowski mismatched Shkodran Mustafi to head home Philipp Lahm s cross Then only three minutes later Spanish midfielder Thiago made it 3 1 and sooner Bayern Munich were 4 1 up through Thiago s deflected shot from outside the penalty area following a scramble in the box Finally in the 88th minute Thomas Muller who had only scored four goals this season before the match went off the bench and scored a fifth goal for Bayern Munich to put Arsenal s hopes of reaching the quarter final of the Champions League beyond them The match ended 5 1 to Bayern Munich putting Arsene Wenger under huge pressure 62 On 20 February Arsenal resumed the FA Cup campaign as they took the trip to non league team Sutton United The Gunners comfortably won 2 0 with Lucas Perez scoring his 7th goal of the season and Theo Walcott scoring his 100th Arsenal goal as they progressed into the FA Cup quarter final 63 March edit Arsenal started March away to Liverpool and suffered a 3 1 defeat with goals from Roberto Firmino Sadio Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum Arsene Wenger drew much criticism from supporters following his decision to leave Alexis Sanchez out of the starting lineup Three days later Bayern Munich already 5 1 up from the first leg of the Champions League knockout stage came to the Emirates for the second leg Arsenal started brightly and went into half time winning 1 0 courtesy of Theo Walcott However early on in the second half Laurent Koscielny gave away a penalty for a foul on Robert Lewandowski and was shown a yellow card However referee Anastasios Sidiropoulos then changed his mind and sent off Koscielny Lewandowski scored the penalty and then Bayern proceeded to run riot against 10 man Arsenal and goals from Arjen Robben Douglas Costa and a brace from Arturo Vidal ensured Bayern again won 5 1 Arsenal lost 10 2 on aggregate and Wenger had to endure increasing calls for him to be sacked or resign At the weekend though Arsenal beat non league Lincoln City 5 0 in the FA Cup to set up a semi final against Manchester City at Wembley However Arsenal s poor form throughout 2017 continued in the league as they were soundly beaten 3 1 away to West Bromwich Albion putting their hopes of a top four finish in serious doubt April edit After the international break Arsenal returned to action with an exciting 2 2 draw at home to Manchester City After the game there was an outbreak of violence between supporters who wanted Wenger to remain as manager and supporters who wanted him to leave In the next fixture against West Ham three second half goals from Mesut Ozil Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal their first league win since February This was undone however the following week when they lost 3 0 away to Crystal Palace who were fighting for Premier League survival The result put Arsenal seven points off fourth place and fans chanted you re not fit to wear the shirt at the team To rectify the decline for the next match away to Middlesbrough Wenger decided to change the formation to 3 4 3 which eventual champions Chelsea had been playing with for almost the whole season It worked as Arsenal won 2 1 with goals from Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil Arsenal s next outing would be against Manchester City at Wembley in the semi final of the FA Cup Manchester City came into the match as favourites and Sergio Aguero put them in front after the hour 10 minutes later wing back Nacho Monreal equalised and the game went to extra time where Alexis Sanchez scored the winning goal to book Arsenal s place in the final against Chelsea Their improvement in form was highlighted three days later when they beat Leicester 1 0 with a late Robert Huth own goal However their decline was also shown when they lost 2 0 to Spurs in the last ever North London Derby to take place at White Hart Lane before its demolition The result meant Spurs would finish above Arsenal for the first time in over 20 years May edit After the morale sapping defeat at White Hart Lane the Gunners played host to Manchester United in a critical match at the Emirates Stadium After a goalless first period Granit Xhaka s wildly deflected effort soared into the net before Danny Welbeck nodded home three minutes later to seal a vital 2 0 victory and subsequently end United s 25 match unbeaten run in all competitions The Gunners next match was away to Southampton and second half goals from Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud earned Arsenal a routine 2 0 victory before Giroud scored a brace to lay the foundations for a convincing 4 1 win at Stoke City with Sanchez and Ozil also scoring either side of a Peter Crouch goal With the top four still a valid hope Arsenal played host to Sunderland and despite winning the match 2 0 had to work hard for the three points earned with Alexis Sanchez s late brace Coming into the final matchday Arsenal were tipped to fail in their top four bids as they were relying on slip ups from Liverpool or Manchester City who were playing Middlesbrough at home and Watford away respectively Nonetheless the Gunners made the perfect start with Hector Bellerin rifling home after just eight minutes against Everton However a red card for Laurent Koscielny hindered Arsenal s progress but Sanchez nonetheless managed to extend the lead before the break Despite Romelu Lukaku s penalty cutting the deficit to 2 1 a fine curling finish from Aaron Ramsey in stoppage time sealed a 3 1 win but it was all in vain as Liverpool s 3 0 triumph over Middlesbrough and Manchester City s 5 0 drubbing of Watford meant Arsenal finished outside of the top four for the first time in Arsene Wenger s reign Despite missing out on Champions League qualification Arsenal still had the FA Cup final at Wembley to look forward to and Alexis Sanchez gave them the perfect start after just four minutes against Chelsea who were looking to win the Double However despite being reduced to ten men after Victor Moses s red card early in the second half Chelsea managed to equalise on 76 minutes through an improvised Diego Costa volley However just three minutes later Aaron Ramsey powered home Olivier Giroud s cross with a solid header to seal a 2 1 win and with it a record 13th FA Cup for Arsenal and Arsene Weneger s seventh winners medal as a turbulent and difficult season ended on a high Players editSquad information edit Further information Arsenal F C Players N Pos Nat Name Age EU Since App Goals Ends Transfer fee Notes 1 GK nbsp Wojciech Szczesny 27 EU 2009 Winter 181 0 undisclosed 64 Youth system On loan to Roma 2 DF nbsp Mathieu Debuchy 31 EU 2014 23 1 undisclosed 12 0M 65 3 DF nbsp Kieran Gibbs 27 EU 2007 230 6 undisclosed 66 Youth system 4 DF nbsp Per Mertesacker 32 EU 2011 210 8 undisclosed 67 8 0M 68 5 DF nbsp Gabriel Paulista 26 Non EU 2015 Winter 65 1 undisclosed 69 11 3M 70 6 DF nbsp Laurent Koscielny 31 EU 2010 291 22 undisclosed 71 8 5M 72 7 FW nbsp Alexis Sanchez 28 Non EU 2014 145 72 undisclosed 73 30 0M 74 8 MF nbsp Aaron Ramsey 26 EU 2008 297 47 undisclosed 75 4 8M 76 9 FW nbsp Lucas Perez 28 EU 2016 21 7 undisclosed 17 1M 77 10 MF nbsp Jack Wilshere 25 EU 2008 159 12 2018 78 Youth system On loan to AFC Bournemouth 11 MF nbsp Mesut Ozil 28 EU 2013 162 32 undisclosed 79 42 5M 80 81 82 12 FW nbsp Olivier Giroud 30 EU 2012 227 98 undisclosed 83 12 8M 84 13 GK nbsp David Ospina 28 Non EU 2014 50 0 undisclosed 85 3 2M EUR 4m 86 14 FW nbsp Theo Walcott 28 EU 2006 Winter 381 104 2019 87 9 0M 88 15 MF nbsp Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 23 EU 2011 194 20 undisclosed 89 12 0M 90 16 DF nbsp Rob Holding 21 EU 2016 18 0 undisclosed 2 0M 91 17 FW nbsp Alex Iwobi 21 EU 2015 59 6 undisclosed Youth system 18 DF nbsp Nacho Monreal 31 EU 2013 Winter 174 3 undisclosed 92 8 5M 93 19 MF nbsp Santi Cazorla 32 EU 2012 180 29 undisclosed 75 12 0M 94 20 DF nbsp Shkodran Mustafi 25 EU 2016 37 2 undisclosed 35 0M 95 21 DF nbsp Calum Chambers 22 EU 2014 60 3 undisclosed 96 16 0m 97 On loan to Middlesbrough 22 FW nbsp Yaya Sanogo 24 EU 2013 20 1 undisclosed 98 Free 98 23 FW nbsp Danny Welbeck 26 EU 2014 69 17 2019 16 0M 24 DF nbsp Hector Bellerin 22 EU 2013 115 4 undisclosed Youth system 25 DF nbsp Carl Jenkinson 25 EU 2011 62 1 undisclosed 99 1 0M 100 26 GK nbsp Emiliano Martinez 24 Non EU 2012 13 0 undisclosed Youth system 28 FW nbsp Joel Campbell 24 Non EU 2011 41 4 undisclosed 101 0 9M 102 On loan to Sporting CP 29 MF nbsp Granit Xhaka 24 Non EU 2016 46 4 undisclosed 30 0M 103 31 MF nbsp Jeff Reine Adelaide 19 EU 2016 8 0 undisclosed Youth system 32 FW nbsp Chuba Akpom 21 EU 2013 10 0 undisclosed Youth system On loan to Brighton amp Hove Albion 33 GK nbsp Petr Cech 35 EU 2015 79 0 2019 104 10 0M 104 34 MF nbsp Francis Coquelin 26 EU 2008 148 0 undisclosed 105 Youth system 35 MF nbsp Mohamed Elneny 24 Non EU 2016 Winter 41 1 undisclosed 7 4M 106 107 FW nbsp Takuma Asano 22 Non EU 2016 0 0 undisclosed 0 8M 108 On loan to VfB Stuttgart Last updated 27 May 2017 Source Arsenal F C and footballdatabase com for EU passport country as international player contract ending and transfer fee Ordered by squad number Transfers editTransfers in edit Arsenal started its transfer business early acquiring Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported 30 million from Borussia Monchengladbach on 25 May 4 Arsenal continued their recruitment in July signing young forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima for an undisclosed fee widely believed to be 800 000 7 On 22 July Arsenal confirmed their third summer signing in Rob Holding with the defender joining from Bolton Wanderers for a reported fee of 2 million 8 The club would later sign Nigerian prospect Kelechi Nwakali who joined the Arsenal reserve team on a five year deal 109 Arsenal would move for Lucas Perez and Shkodran Mustafi late in the transfer window with the La Liga duo eventually joining for a reported 17 1 million 77 and 35 million respectively 95 Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Team Source 29 MF nbsp Granit Xhaka nbsp Borussia Monchengladbach Undisclosed 30 000 000 103 25 May 2016 First team 4 FW nbsp Takuma Asano nbsp Sanfrecce Hiroshima Undisclosed 800 000 108 3 July 2016 First team 7 16 DF nbsp Rob Holding nbsp Bolton Wanderers Undisclosed 2 000 000 91 22 July 2016 First team 8 MF nbsp Kelechi Nwakali nbsp Diamond Football Academy Undisclosed 3 000 000 110 5 August 2016 Reserves 109 9 FW nbsp Lucas Perez nbsp Deportivo La Coruna Undisclosed 17 100 000 77 30 August 2016 First team 111 20 DF nbsp Shkodran Mustafi nbsp Valencia Undisclosed 35 000 000 95 30 August 2016 First team 112 85 DF nbsp Cohen Bramall nbsp Hednesford Town Undisclosed 40 000 113 10 January 2017 Reserves 114 Total spending nbsp Undisclosed 87 940 000 Transfers out edit Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Team Source 8 MF nbsp Mikel Arteta Retired a n a 30 June 2016 First team 116 20 MF nbsp Mathieu Flamini nbsp Crystal Palace b Free transfer Released 30 June 2016 First team 116 7 MF nbsp Tomas Rosicky nbsp Sparta Prague c Free transfer Released 30 June 2016 First team 116 42 DF nbsp Isaac Hayden nbsp Newcastle United Undisclosed 2 500 000 119 11 July 2016 First team 120 MF nbsp Wellington Silva nbsp Fluminense Undisclosed 18 July 2016 Reserves 121 DF nbsp Ilias Chatzitheodoridis nbsp Brentford Free transfer 6 August 2016 Reserves 122 27 MF nbsp Serge Gnabry nbsp Werder Bremen Undisclosed 5 000 000 123 31 August 2016 First team 124 MF nbsp Tyrell Robinson nbsp Bradford City d Free transfer Released 2 February 2017 Reserves 126 Total incoming nbsp Undisclosed 7 500 000 Upon the expiry of Arteta s contract he retired and joined Manchester City in a coaching position 115 Upon the expiry of Flamini s contract he joined Crystal Palace 117 Upon the expiry of Rosicky s contract he signed for Sparta Prague 118 Upon the expiry of Robinson s contract he joined Bradford City 125 Loans in edit Position Player Loaned from Date Loan expires Team Source Loans out edit Position Player Loaned to Date Loan expires Team Source 38 MF nbsp Daniel Crowley nbsp Oxford United 1 July 2016 1 December 2016 a Reserves 128 43 GK nbsp Ryan Huddart nbsp Eastleigh 1 July 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves 129 57 MF nbsp Jon Toral nbsp Granada 15 July 2016 10 January 2017 b Reserves 131 1 GK nbsp Wojciech Szczesny nbsp Roma 4 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team 132 52 DF nbsp Stefan O Connor nbsp Maastricht 5 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves 133 53 DF nbsp Julio Pleguezuelo nbsp Mallorca 5 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves 134 59 DF nbsp Tafari Moore nbsp Jong FC Utrecht 17 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves 135 28 FW nbsp Joel Campbell nbsp Sporting CP 21 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team 136 FW nbsp Takuma Asano nbsp Stuttgart 26 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team 137 21 DF nbsp Calum Chambers nbsp Middlesbrough 30 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team 138 MF nbsp Kelechi Nwakali nbsp Maastricht 31 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves 139 52 MF nbsp Glen Kamara nbsp Colchester United 31 August 2016 1 January 2017 Reserves 140 10 MF nbsp Jack Wilshere nbsp AFC Bournemouth c 31 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team 142 143 38 MF nbsp Daniel Crowley nbsp Go Ahead Eagles 10 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 144 57 MF nbsp Jon Toral nbsp Rangers 12 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 145 40 MF nbsp Gedion Zelalem nbsp VVV Venlo 24 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 146 32 FW nbsp Chuba Akpom nbsp Brighton amp Hove Albion 30 January 2017 30 June 2017 First team 147 37 DF nbsp Krystian Bielik nbsp Birmingham City 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 148 38 DF nbsp Marc Bola nbsp Notts County 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 149 44 DF nbsp Aaron Eyoma nbsp Volendam 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 150 48 FW nbsp Kaylen Hinds nbsp Stevenage 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 151 54 GK nbsp Matt Macey nbsp Luton Town 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 152 57 FW nbsp Stephy Mavididi nbsp Charlton Athletic 31 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves 153 On 1 December 2016 Oxford United chose to cut short Daniel Crowley s loan deal 127 On 10 January 2017 Jon Toral was recalled from his loan at Granada 130 AFC Bournemouth paid a 2 000 000 loan fee 141 Overall transfer activity edit SpendingSummer nbsp Undisclosed 87 900 000 Winter nbsp Undisclosed 40 000 Total nbsp Undisclosed 87 940 000 IncomeSummer nbsp Undisclosed 7 500 000 Winter nbsp 0Total nbsp Undisclosed 7 500 000 Net expenditureSummer nbsp Undisclosed 80 400 000 Winter nbsp Undisclosed 40 000 Total nbsp Undisclosed 80 440 000 Club editCoaching staff edit nbsp This was Arsene Wenger s 21st season with Arsenal Position Staff Manager nbsp Arsene Wenger Assistant manager nbsp Steve Bould First team coach nbsp Boro Primorac nbsp Neil Banfield Goalkeeping coach nbsp Gerry Peyton Head of athletic performance enhancement nbsp Shad Forsythe Fitness coach nbsp Tony Colbert nbsp Craig Gant Physiotherapist nbsp Colin Lewin nbsp Ben Ashworth nbsp Andrew Rolls Club doctor nbsp Gary O Driscoll Head of academy nbsp Andries Jonker Masseur nbsp Darren Page nbsp Chris Harvey nbsp Chris Senior Kit manager nbsp Vic Akers Assistant Kit manager nbsp Paul Akers Equipment manager nbsp Paul Johnson Performance nutritionist nbsp James Collins Football analyst nbsp Ben Knapper Last updated 1 July 2015Source Arsenal F C Kit edit Supplier Puma Sponsor Fly Emirates nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Home 154 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Away 155 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Third 155 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Third alt 1 156 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Third alt 2 157 Kit information edit This is third consecutive season Puma has supplied Arsenal with kits Home The home kit features Arsenal s traditional colours of red and white with the addition of a dark trim around the lowered neck line on the sleeve hooped and along the red stripe on the shorts The distinguishing feature of the kit is the darkened vertical red stripe across the centre of the kit It also features predominantly red socks for the first time since the 2004 05 season as opposed to only featuring on the alternate kits Away The away kit is predominantly yellow following the trend of recent Arsenal away kits The contrasting colour is gunmetal grey 158 which appears on the collar alongside a thin centred yellow line as a trim on the v shaped neck line and on the sleeve separated by a large yellow strip across the shoulders and multiple hooped yellow lines across the bottom section of the sleeve The shorts are predominantly gunmetal grey with a yellow trim along the sides The socks are yellow with multiple gunmetal grey hooped lines on the upper section Third The third kit is an abstraction from previous alternate kits for Arsenal as it predominantly features a single colour of dark blue A vibrant neon yellow forms the detail across a wide strip on the shoulder and on the cuffs of the sleeves The shorts are also dark blue with neon yellow detail along the sides and the kit is completed with single colour neon yellow socks with a single dark blue hoop on the upper section Other information edit nbsp The Emirates Stadium is the second largest stadium in the Premier League Chairman nbsp Sir Chips Keswick Ground capacity and dimensions Emirates Stadium 60 355 113x76 metres Updated to match played 30 May 2014Source Arsenal F C Squad statistics editAppearances and goals edit Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute No Pos Nat Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals 2 DF nbsp FRA Mathieu Debuchy 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 DF nbsp ENG Kieran Gibbs 8 3 0 2 0 3 0 5 1 0 18 4 0 4 DF nbsp GER Per Mertesacker 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 5 DF nbsp BRA Gabriel Paulista 15 4 0 3 0 3 0 1 1 0 22 5 0 6 DF nbsp FRA Laurent Koscielny 33 2 2 0 0 0 8 0 43 2 7 FW nbsp CHI Alexis Sanchez 36 2 24 3 2 3 0 0 8 3 47 4 30 8 MF nbsp WAL Aaron Ramsey 13 10 1 4 3 1 0 4 0 22 10 4 9 FW nbsp ESP Lucas Perez 2 9 1 3 1 1 3 2 1 2 3 9 12 7 11 MF nbsp GER Mesut Ozil 32 1 8 2 1 0 0 0 7 1 4 41 3 12 12 FW nbsp FRA Olivier Giroud 11 18 12 3 1 2 0 1 0 3 3 2 17 23 16 13 GK nbsp COL David Ospina 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 8 0 13 1 0 14 FW nbsp ENG Theo Walcott 23 5 10 3 5 0 0 3 3 4 29 8 19 15 MF nbsp ENG Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 16 13 2 5 1 0 2 3 4 3 1 27 18 6 16 DF nbsp ENG Rob Holding 9 0 4 1 0 3 0 1 0 17 1 0 17 FW nbsp NGA Alex Iwobi 18 8 3 2 1 0 2 0 5 2 1 27 11 4 18 DF nbsp ESP Nacho Monreal 35 1 0 4 1 0 0 3 0 42 1 1 19 MF nbsp ESP Santi Cazorla 7 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 10 1 2 20 DF nbsp GER Shkodran Mustafi 26 2 4 0 0 0 7 0 37 2 23 FW nbsp ENG Danny Welbeck 8 8 2 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 10 10 4 24 DF nbsp ESP Hector Bellerin 28 6 1 4 0 0 0 5 0 35 7 1 25 DF nbsp ENG Carl Jenkinson 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 5 0 26 GK nbsp ARG Emiliano Martinez 2 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 0 29 MF nbsp SUI Granit Xhaka 28 4 2 5 0 1 1 1 5 2 1 39 7 4 31 MF nbsp FRA Jeff Reine Adelaide 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 5 1 0 33 GK nbsp CZE Petr Cech 35 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 37 0 34 MF nbsp FRA Francis Coquelin 22 7 0 0 3 0 1 0 5 1 0 28 11 0 35 MF nbsp EGY Mohamed Elneny 8 6 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 5 0 12 12 0 55 MF nbsp ENG Ainsley Maitland Niles 0 1 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 4 3 0 68 MF nbsp ENG Chris Willock 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Players out on loan for rest of the season 10 MF nbsp ENG Jack Wilshere 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 21 DF nbsp ENG Calum Chambers 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 32 FW nbsp ENG Chuba Akpom 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 37 DF nbsp POL Krystian Bielik 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 40 MF nbsp USA Gedion Zelalem 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 Goalscorers edit As of 27 May 2017 nbsp Alexis Sanchez was Arsenal s top scorer with 30 goals in all competitions Rank Position Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total 1 FW nbsp Alexis Sanchez 24 3 0 3 30 2 FW nbsp Theo Walcott 10 5 0 4 19 3 FW nbsp Olivier Giroud 12 2 0 2 16 4 MF nbsp Mesut Ozil 8 0 0 4 12 5 FW nbsp Lucas Perez 1 1 2 3 7 6 MF nbsp Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 2 0 3 1 6 7 FW nbsp Alex Iwobi 3 0 0 1 4 MF nbsp Aaron Ramsey 1 3 0 0 4 FW nbsp Danny Welbeck 2 2 0 0 4 MF nbsp Granit Xhaka 2 0 1 1 4 11 MF nbsp Santi Cazorla 2 0 0 0 2 DF nbsp Laurent Koscielny 2 0 0 0 2 DF nbsp Shkodran Mustafi 2 0 0 0 2 14 DF nbsp Hector Bellerin 1 0 0 0 1 DF nbsp Calum Chambers 1 0 0 0 1 DF nbsp Nacho Monreal 0 1 0 0 1 Own goals 4 1 0 1 6 Total 77 18 6 20 121 Disciplinary record edit As of 27 May 2017 Rank Position Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 1 MF nbsp Granit Xhaka 5 2 4 0 0 0 3 0 12 2 2 DF nbsp Laurent Koscielny 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 6 2 3 FW nbsp Olivier Giroud 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 4 DF nbsp Shkodran Mustafi 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11 0 5 MF nbsp Francis Coquelin 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 8 0 FW nbsp Alexis Sanchez 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 7 DF nbsp Gabriel Paulista 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 8 DF nbsp Rob Holding 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 MF nbsp Aaron Ramsey 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 10 DF nbsp Hector Bellerin 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 DF nbsp Kieran Gibbs 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 DF nbsp Nacho Monreal 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 13 MF nbsp Santi Cazorla 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 GK nbsp Petr Cech 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 DF nbsp Mohamed Elneny 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 FW nbsp Alex Iwobi 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 DF nbsp Alex Oxlade Chamberlain 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 MF nbsp Mesut Ozil 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 DF nbsp Theo Walcott 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 20 DF nbsp Carl Jenkinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 FW nbsp Lucas Perez 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 MF nbsp Jeff Reine Adelaide 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 MF nbsp Jack Wilshere 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 Total 67 3 10 0 4 0 13 2 94 5 Clean sheets edit As of 27 May 2017 Rank Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total 1 nbsp Petr Cech 12 1 0 0 13 2 nbsp David Ospina 0 2 0 2 4 nbsp Emiliano Martinez 1 0 2 0 3 Total 13 3 2 2 20Pre season edit nbsp Arsenal facing Lens at the Stade Bollaert Delelis In February 2016 it was announced that Arsenal would play in the Major League Soccer All Star Game at Avaya Stadium in San Jose California in addition to a friendly against Mexican side Guadalajara three days later 159 However Arsenal later announced that the annual Emirates Cup would be cancelled for the second time in its history due to the extended absence of international players participating in Euro 2016 and essential pitch reconstruction works at the Emirates Stadium 160 Arsenal confirmed their final pre season fixtures before the Premier League campaign in early June 2016 as Scandinavian trips against Viking in Stavanger and Premier League rivals Manchester City in Gothenburg completed the line up 161 It is the third time in four years that Arsenal and Manchester City will meet in a pre season fixture outside of England 162 To complete Arsenal s pre season calendar in early July Arsenal announced their pre season opening fixture against RC Lens of Ligue 2 to be played 15 days after the announcement date It was hence confirmed that the club s pre season fixture list would stretch from 22 July to 7 August 2016 six days before the start of the Premier League season Win Draw Loss Lens nbsp v nbsp Arsenal 22 July 2016 FriendlyLens nbsp 1 1 nbsp ArsenalLens France20 00 CEST Autret nbsp 38 Report Debuchy nbsp 43 Oxlade Chamberlain nbsp 81 Stadium Stade Bollaert Delelis Attendance 30 149 163 Guadalajara nbsp v nbsp Arsenal 31 July 2016 FriendlyGuadalajara nbsp 1 3 nbsp ArsenalCarson United States18 00 PDT Zaldivar nbsp 74 pen Report Holding nbsp 34 Oxlade Chamberlain nbsp 50 Akpom nbsp 56 Stadium StubHub Center Attendance 24 168 164 Referee Kevin Terry Jr 165 Viking nbsp v nbsp Arsenal 5 August 2016 FriendlyViking nbsp 0 8 nbsp ArsenalStavanger Norway20 30 CEST Report Campbell nbsp 33 59 Cazorla nbsp 50 Walcott nbsp 52 Haukas nbsp 55 o g Iwobi nbsp 71 81 Akpom nbsp 89 Stadium Viking Stadion Referee Tore Hansen MLS All Star Game edit MLS All Stars nbsp nbsp v nbsp Arsenal 28 July 2016 MLS All Star GameMLS All Stars nbsp nbsp 1 2 nbsp ArsenalSan Jose United States17 01 PDT Ciman nbsp 10 Drogba nbsp 45 2 Report Campbell nbsp 11 pen Akpom nbsp 87 Stadium Avaya Stadium Attendance 18 000 166 Referee Chris Penso 167 Super Match edit Manchester City nbsp v nbsp Arsenal 7 August 2016 Super MatchManchester City nbsp 2 3 nbsp ArsenalGothenburg Sweden17 00 CEST Fernando nbsp 2 Aguero nbsp 30 nbsp 55 Iheanacho nbsp 88 Report Iwobi nbsp 50 Walcott nbsp 73 Akpom nbsp 85 Stadium Ullevi Referee Martin Strombergsson Sweden Competitions editOverview edit Competition Record Pld W D L GF GA GD Win Premier League 38 23 6 9 77 44 33 0 60 53 FA Cup 6 6 0 0 18 3 15 100 00 EFL Cup 3 2 0 1 6 2 4 0 66 67 Champions League 8 4 2 2 20 16 4 0 50 00 Total 55 35 8 12 121 65 56 0 63 64 Source Competitions Premier League edit Main article 2016 17 Premier League League table edit Pos Teamvte Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation 3 Manchester City 38 23 9 6 80 39 41 78 Qualification for the Champions League group stage 4 Liverpool 38 22 10 6 78 42 36 76 Qualification for the Champions League play off round 5 Arsenal 38 23 6 9 77 44 33 75 Qualification for the Europa League group stage a 6 Manchester United 38 18 15 5 54 29 25 69 Qualification for the Champions League group stage b 7 Everton 38 17 10 11 62 44 18 61 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round c Source Premier LeagueRules for classification 1 Points 2 Goal difference 3 Goals scored 4 Play offs only if needed to decide champion teams for relegation or teams for UEFA competitions 168 169 Notes Arsenal qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2016 17 FA Cup As they had also qualified there by the virtue of their league position 5th this spot was passed to the next highest ranked team 6th Manchester United Manchester United qualified for the Champions League group stage by winning the 2016 17 UEFA Europa League Based on their league position 6th they would have received the spot above to enter the Europa League group stage This spot was vacated without replacement as per UEFA regulations Manchester United winners of the 2016 17 EFL Cup initially attained a spot in the Europa League third qualifying round That was passed to the next highest ranked team in the league not already qualified for UEFA competitions 7th placed Everton Results summary edit Overall Home Away Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD 38 23 6 9 77 44 33 75 14 3 2 39 16 23 9 3 7 38 28 10 Source Premier League Results by matchday edit Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738GroundHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAAHHResultLDWWWWWWDWDDWWWLLWWDWWLLWLLDWLWWLWWWWWPosition1512764332124442124434323335565666665555Source Statto comA Away H Home W Win D Draw L Loss Matches edit On 15 June 2016 the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced 170 Win Draw Loss Arsenal v Liverpool 14 August 2016 2016 08 14 1Arsenal3 4LiverpoolHolloway London16 00 BST Walcott nbsp 30 nbsp 31 Coquelin nbsp 37 Iwobi nbsp 58 Oxlade Chamberlain nbsp 64 Chambers nbsp 75 Xhaka nbsp 86 Arsenal reportBBC report Lallana nbsp 26 nbsp 49 Moreno nbsp 29 Lovren nbsp 41 Coutinho nbsp 45 1 56 Mane nbsp 63 Stadium Emirates Stadium Attendance 60 033Referee Michael Oliver Leicester City v Arsenal 20 August 2016 2016 08 20 2Leicester City0 0ArsenalLeicester17 30 BST Mendy nbsp 45 Arsenal reportBBC report Coquelin nbsp 24 Holding nbsp 90 2 Stadium King Power Stadium Attendance 32 008Referee Mark Clattenburg Watford v Arsenal 27 August 2016 2016 08 27 3Watford1 3ArsenalWatford15 00 BST Prodl nbsp 16 Ighalo nbsp 45 2 Pereyra nbsp 57 Deeney nbsp 60 Amrabat nbsp 77 Behrami nbsp 83 Holebas nbsp 89 Arsenal reportBBC report Cazorla nbsp 9 pen Sanchez nbsp 40 Ozil nbsp 45 1 Wilshere nbsp 90 2 Stadium Vicarage Road Attendance 20 545Referee Kevin Friend Arsenal v Southampton 10 September 2016 2016 09 10 4Arsenal2 1SouthamptonHolloway London15 00 BST Monreal nbsp 16 Cazorla nbsp 26 nbsp 90 4 pen Koscielny nbsp 29 Arsenal reportBBC report Cech nbsp 18 o g Forster nbsp 54 Hojbjerg nbsp 86 Fonte nbsp 90 1 Van Dijk nbsp 90 4 Bertrand nbsp 90 4 Stadium Emirates Stadium Attendance 59 962Referee Robert Madley Hull City v Arsenal 17 September 2016 2016 09 17 5Hull City1 4ArsenalKingston upon Hull15 00 BST 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. |