2016–17 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
2016–17 season
Arsenal and Chelsea line-up before the 2017 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, May 2017
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)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours

The 2016–17 season was Arsenal's 25th in the Premier League and 97th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club participated in the Premier League, FA Cup, EFL Cup and the UEFA Champions League.

Arsenal finished outside the top four of the Premier League for the first time since the 1995–96 season, but they 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

Pre-season

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.[1] In the following weeks, the Gunners activated the release clause of Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy.[2] 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.[3] 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,[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] 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".[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] Wenger confirmed that the injury to Mertesacker meant he'd need to sign a replacement ideally or before the season opener against Liverpool on 14 August,[10] as talks of incoming transfers intensified.

August

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 Sánchez and Aaron Ramsey would join the team for the tour and would likely be fit for the season opener against Liverpool. Gabriel also returned after missing the US tour with tonsillitis.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] 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.[15]

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 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.[16]

Arsenal went to the King Power Stadium on the second match day, 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.[17] Arsenal would then travel away to Watford, with both sides aiming to achieve their first win 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.[18] 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.[19] 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.[20] The duo are expected to join up with the first team following the completion of the international break.[21]

September

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.[22] 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.[23] 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.[24]

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).[25] Arsenal were then drawn at home to Reading in the fourth round of the competition.[26] 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.[27] 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.[28]

October

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.[29] Retired referee Dermot Gallagher, however, stood by the ruling, claiming it was not an intentional handball.[30] 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.[31] 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.[32]

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.[33] 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.[34][35] 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.[36] Arsenal's next game would be away at Ludogorets in the Champions League on 1 November.

November

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 Özil goal to win 3–2 and qualify for the knockout stages. This took Arsenal's unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions.[37][38] 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.[39] 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.[40]

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 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.[41] 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 58th minute, before Sánchez secured the victory after slotting in Giroud's cross, moving the Gunners to fourth, three points behind leaders Chelsea.[42] 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.[43]

December

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.[44] 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.[45] 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.[46]

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.[47] 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.[48] 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.[49]

January

On New Year's Day Arsenal continued the league campaign and played against Premier League strugglers Crystal Palace and won 2–0 – a sufficient way to begin 2017. 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, hence 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.[50] 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.[51] On 7 January Arsenal started the FA Cup campaign in the third round against Championship side Preston North End away from home. Once more Arsenal were shoddy in the early minutes and embarrassingly fell behind through poor defending which made them concede the opening goal on 7 minutes. But in the second half Arsenal responded: 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.[52]

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 and the fourth goal was fired home by Alexis Sánchez.[53] 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.[54] On 28 January Arsenal played in the FA Cup fourth round at Southampton and won 5–0. A brace by Danny Welbeck and a hat trick by Theo Walcott made them cruise into the fifth round in comfortable fashion.[55] 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.[56]

February

Midfielders N'Golo Kanté and Mesut Özil 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 Fàbregas scored against his old club for Chelsea's third before Olivier Giroud netted a late consolation goal.[57] 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.[58] 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 Skhodran 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.[59] 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.[60]

March

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 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 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

After an 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 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.

Players

Squad information

N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
EU
Since
App
Goals
Ends
Transfer fee
Notes
1 GK Poland Wojciech Szczęsny27EU 2007 181 0 undisclosed[61] Youth system On loan to Roma
2 DF France Mathieu Debuchy31EU 2014 23 1 undisclosed £12.0M[62]
3 DF England Kieran Gibbs27EU 2007 230 6 undisclosed[63] Youth system
4 DF Germany Per Mertesacker32EU 2011 210 8 undisclosed[64] £8.0M[65]
5 DF Brazil Gabriel26Non-EU 2015 (Winter) 65 1 undisclosed[66] £11.3M[67]
6 DF France Laurent Koscielny31EU 2010 291 22 undisclosed[68] £8.5M[69]
7 FW Chile Alexis Sánchez28Non-EU 2014 145 72 undisclosed[70] £30.0M[71]
8 MF Wales Aaron Ramsey26EU 2008 297 47 undisclosed[72] £4.8M[73]
9 FW Spain Lucas Pérez28EU 2016 21 7 undisclosed £17.1M[74]
10 MF England Jack Wilshere25EU 2008 159 12 2018[75] Youth system On loan to AFC Bournemouth
11 MF Germany Mesut Özil28EU 2013 162 32 undisclosed[76] £42.5M[77][78][79]
12 FW France Olivier Giroud30EU 2012 227 98 undisclosed[80] £12.8M[81]
13 GK Colombia David Ospina28Non-EU 2014 50 0 undisclosed[82] £3.2M[83]
14 FW England Theo Walcott28EU 2006 (Winter) 381 104 2019[84] £9.0M[85]
15 MF England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain23EU 2011 194 20 undisclosed[86] £12.0M[87]
16 DF England Rob Holding21EU 2016 18 0 undisclosed £2.0M[88]
17 FW Nigeria Alex Iwobi21EU 2015 59 6 undisclosed Youth system
18 DF Spain Nacho Monreal31EU 2013 (Winter) 174 3 undisclosed[89] £8.5M[90]
19 MF Spain Santi Cazorla32EU 2012 180 29 undisclosed[72] £12.0M[91]
20 DF Germany Shkodran Mustafi25EU 2016 37 2 undisclosed £35.0M[92]
21 DF England Calum Chambers22EU 2014 60 3 undisclosed[93] £16.0m[94] On loan to Middlesbrough
22 FW France Yaya Sanogo24EU 2013 20 1 undisclosed[95] Free[95]
23 FW England Danny Welbeck26EU 2014 69 17 2019 £16.0M
24 DF Spain Héctor Bellerín22EU 2013 115 4 undisclosed Youth system
25 DF England Carl Jenkinson25EU 2011 62 1 undisclosed[96] £1.0M[97]
26 GK Argentina Emiliano Martínez24Non-EU 2010 13 0 undisclosed Youth system
28 FW Costa Rica Joel Campbell24Non-EU 2011 41 4 undisclosed[98] £0.9M[99] On loan to Sporting CP
29 MF Switzerland Granit Xhaka24Non-EU 2016 46 4 undisclosed £30.0M[100]
31 MF France Jeff Reine-Adélaïde19EU 2016 8 0 undisclosed Youth system
32 FW England Chuba Akpom21EU 2013 10 0 undisclosed Youth system On loan to Brighton & Hove Albion
33 GK Czech Republic Petr Čech35EU 2015 79 0 2019[101] £10.0M[101]
34 MF France Francis Coquelin26EU 2008 148 0 undisclosed[102] Youth system
35 MF Egypt Mohamed Elneny24Non-EU 2016 (Winter) 41 1 undisclosed £7.4M[103][104]
FW Japan Takuma Asano22Non-EU 2016 0 0 undisclosed £0.8M[105] 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

Transfers in

Arsenal started its transfer business early, acquiring Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported £30 million from Borussia Mönchengladbach on 25 May.[1] Arsenal continued their recruitment in July, signing young forward Takuma Asano from Sanfrecce Hiroshima for an undisclosed fee, widely believed to be £800,000.[4] 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.[5] The club would later sign Nigerian prospect Kelechi Nwakali, who joined the Arsenal reserve team on a five-year deal.[106] 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[74] and £35 million respectively.[92]

# Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Team Source
29 MF Switzerland Granit Xhaka Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach Undisclosed (~£30,000,000)[100] 21 May 2016 First team [1]
FW Japan Takuma Asano Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima Undisclosed (~£800,000)[105] 3 July 2016 First team [4]
16 DF England Rob Holding England Bolton Wanderers Undisclosed (~£2,000,000)[88] 22 July 2016 First team [5]
MF Nigeria Kelechi Nwakali Nigeria Diamond Football Academy Undisclosed (~£3,000,000)[107] 5 August 2016 Reserves [106]
9 FW Spain Lucas Pérez Spain Deportivo La Coruña Undisclosed (~£17,100,000)[74] 30 August 2016 First team [108]
20 DF Germany Shkodran Mustafi Spain Valencia Undisclosed (~£35,000,000)[92] 30 August 2016 First team [109]
85 DF England Cohen Bramall England Hednesford Town Undisclosed (~£40,000)[110] 10 January 2017 Reserves [111]

Total spending: Decrease Undisclosed (~£87,940,000)

Transfers out

# Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Team Source
8 MF Spain Mikel Arteta Retired[lower-alpha 1] n/a 30 June 2016 First team [113]
20 MF France Mathieu Flamini England Crystal Palace[lower-alpha 2] Free transfer (Released) 30 June 2016 First team [113]
7 MF Czech Republic Tomáš Rosický Czech Republic Sparta Prague[lower-alpha 3] Free transfer (Released) 30 June 2016 First team [113]
42 DF England Isaac Hayden England Newcastle United Undisclosed (~£2,500,000)[116] 11 July 2016 First team [117]
MF Brazil Wellington Silva Brazil Fluminense Undisclosed 18 July 2016 Reserves [118]
DF Greece Ilias Chatzitheodoridis England Brentford Free transfer 6 August 2016 Reserves [119]
27 MF Germany Serge Gnabry Germany Werder Bremen Undisclosed (~£5,000,000)[120] 31 August 2016 First team [121]
MF England Tyrell Robinson England Bradford City[lower-alpha 4] Free transfer (Released) 2 February 2017 Reserves [123]

Total incoming: Increase Undisclosed (~£7,500,000+)

  1. Upon the expiry of Arteta's contract, he retired and joined Manchester City in a coaching position.[112]
  2. Upon the expiry of Flamini's contract, he joined Crystal Palace.[114]
  3. Upon the expiry of Rosický's contract, he signed for Sparta Prague.[115]
  4. Upon the expiry of Robinson's contract, he joined Bradford City.[122]

Loans in

# Position Player Loaned from Date Loan expires Team Source

Loans out

# Position Player Loaned to Date Loan expires Team Source
38 MF England Daniel Crowley England Oxford United 1 July 2016 1 December 2016 [lower-alpha 1] Reserves [125]
43 GK England Ryan Huddart England Eastleigh 1 July 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves [126]
57 MF Spain Jon Toral Spain Granada 15 July 2016 10 January 2017 [lower-alpha 2] Reserves [128]
1 GK Poland Wojciech Szczęsny Italy Roma 4 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team [129]
52 DF England Stefan O'Connor Netherlands Maastricht 5 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves [130]
53 DF Spain Julio Pleguezuelo Spain Mallorca 5 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves [131]
59 DF England Tafari Moore Netherlands Jong FC Utrecht 17 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves [132]
28 FW Costa Rica Joel Campbell Portugal Sporting CP 21 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team [133]
FW Japan Takuma Asano Germany Stuttgart 26 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team [134]
21 DF England Calum Chambers England Middlesbrough 30 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team [135]
MF Nigeria Kelechi Nwakali Netherlands Maastricht 31 August 2016 30 June 2017 Reserves [136]
52 MF Finland Glen Kamara England Colchester United 31 August 2016 1 January 2017 Reserves [137]
10 MF England Jack Wilshere England AFC Bournemouth[lower-alpha 3] 31 August 2016 30 June 2017 First team [139][140]
38 MF England Daniel Crowley Netherlands Go Ahead Eagles 10 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves [141]
57 MF Spain Jon Toral Scotland Rangers 12 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves [142]
40 MF United States Gedion Zelalem Netherlands VVV Venlo 24 January 2017 30 June 2017 Reserves [143]
32FWEngland Chuba AkpomEngland Brighton & Hove Albion30 January 201730 June 2017First team[144]
37DFPoland Krystian BielikEngland Birmingham City31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves[145]
38DFEngland Marc BolaEngland Notts County31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves[146]
44DFEngland Aaron EyomaNetherlands Volendam31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves [147]
48FWEngland Kaylen HindsEngland Stevenage31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves[148]
54GKEngland Matt MaceyEngland Luton Town31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves[149]
57FWEngland Stephy MavididiEngland Charlton Athletic31 January 201730 June 2017Reserves[150]
  1. On 1 December 2016, Oxford United chose to cut short Daniel Crowley's loan deal.[124]
  2. On 10 January 2017, Jon Toral was recalled from his loan at Granada.[127]
  3. AFC Bournemouth paid a £2,000,000 loan fee.[138]

Overall transfer activity

Club

Coaching staff

This is Arsène Wenger's 21st season with Arsenal.
Position Staff
Manager France Arsène Wenger
Assistant manager England Steve Bould
First team coach Bosnia and Herzegovina Boro Primorac
England Neil Banfield
Goalkeeping coach Republic of Ireland Gerry Peyton
Head of athletic performance enhancement United States Shad Forsythe
Fitness coach England Tony Colbert
England Craig Gant
Physiotherapist England Colin Lewin
England Ben Ashworth
England Andrew Rolls
Club doctor Republic of Ireland Gary O'Driscoll
Head of academy Netherlands Andries Jonker
Masseur England Darren Page
England Chris Harvey
England Chris Senior
Kit manager England Vic Akers
Assistant Kit manager England Paul Akers
Equipment manager England Paul Johnson
Performance nutritionist England James Collins
Football analyst England Ben Knapper

Last updated: 1 July 2015
Source: Arsenal F.C.

Kit

Supplier: Puma / Sponsor: Fly Emirates

Home[151]
Away[152]
Third[152]
Third alt. 1[153]
Third alt. 2[154]

Kit information

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"[155] 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

The Emirates Stadium is the second largest stadium in the Premier League.
Chairman England Sir Chips Keswick
Ground (capacity and dimensions) Emirates Stadium (60,355 / 113x76 metres)

Last updated: 30 May 2014
Source:Arsenal F.C.

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 27 May 2017

Numbers in parenthesis 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 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

As of 27 May 2017
Alexis Sánchez 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 Chile Alexis Sánchez 24 3 0 3 30
2 FW England Theo Walcott 10 5 0 4 19
3 FW France Olivier Giroud 12 2 0 2 16
4 MF Germany Mesut Özil 8 0 0 4 12
5 FW Spain Lucas Pérez 1 1 2 3 7
6 MF England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 2 0 3 1 6
7 FW Nigeria Alex Iwobi 3 0 0 1 4
MF Wales Aaron Ramsey 1 3 0 0 4
FW England Danny Welbeck 2 2 0 0 4
MF Switzerland Granit Xhaka 2 0 1 1 4
11 MF Spain Santi Cazorla 2 0 0 0 2
DF France Laurent Koscielny 2 0 0 0 2
DF Germany Shkodran Mustafi 2 0 0 0 2
14 DF Spain Héctor Bellerín 1 0 0 0 1
DF England Calum Chambers 1 0 0 0 1
DF Spain Nacho Monreal 0 1 0 0 1
Own goals 4 1 0 1 6
Total 77 18 6 20 121

Disciplinary record

As of 27 May 2017
Rank Position Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total
Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card Yellow card Red card
1 MF Switzerland Granit Xhaka 6 2 4 0 0 0 3 0 13 2
2 DF France Laurent Koscielny 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 6 2
3 FW France Olivier Giroud 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1
4 DF Germany Shkodran Mustafi 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 11 0
5 MF France Francis Coquelin 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 8 0
FW Chile Alexis Sánchez 6 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 8 0
7 DF Brazil Gabriel 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
8 DF England Rob Holding 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0
MF Wales Aaron Ramsey 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
10 DF Spain Héctor Bellerín 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
DF England Kieran Gibbs 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0
DF Spain Nacho Monreal 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
13 MF Spain Santi Cazorla 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
GK Czech Republic Petr Čech 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
DF Egypt Mohamed Elneny 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
FW Nigeria Alex Iwobi 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0
DF England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
MF Germany Mesut Özil 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
DF England Theo Walcott 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
20 DF England Carl Jenkinson 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0
FW Spain Lucas Pérez 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
MF France Jeff Reine-Adélaïde 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
MF England Jack Wilshere 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Total67310040132945

Clean sheets

As of 27 May 2017
Rank Name Premier League FA Cup EFL Cup Champions League Total
1 Czech Republic Petr Čech 12 1 0 0 13
2 Colombia David Ospina 0 2 0 2 4
Argentina Emiliano Martínez 1 0 2 0 3
Total1332220

Pre-season

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.[156] 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.[157] 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.[158] It is the third time in four years that Arsenal and Manchester City will meet in a pre-season fixture outside of England.[159] 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 (6 days before the start of the Premier League season).

  Win   Draw   Loss

MLS All-Star Game

Super Match

Competitions

Overview

Competition Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Premier League 38 23 6 9 77 44 +33 060.53
FA Cup 6 6 0 0 18 3 +15 100.00
EFL Cup 3 2 0 1 6 2 +4 066.67
Champions League 8 4 2 2 20 16 +4 050.00
Total 55 35 8 12 121 65 +56 063.64

Last updated: 27 May 2017
Source: Competitions

Premier League

League table

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[lower-alpha 1]
6 Manchester United 38 18 15 5 54 29 +25 69 Qualification for the Champions League group stage[lower-alpha 2]
7 Everton 38 17 10 11 62 44 +18 61 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[lower-alpha 3]
Source: Premier League
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).[165][166]
Notes:
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 23 6 9 77 44  +33 75 14 3 2 39 16  +23 9 3 7 38 28  +10

Last updated: 21 May 2017.
Source: Premier League

Results by matchday

Matchday1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundHAAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAAHHAAHAHAAHH
ResultLDWWWWWWDWDDWWWLLWWDWWLLWLLDWLWWLWWWWW
Position1512764332124442124434323335565666665555

Updated to match(es) played on 21 May 2017. Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

On 15 June 2016, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.[167]

  Win   Draw   Loss

FA Cup

The FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City at the national stadium.

  Win   Draw   Loss

EFL Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

UEFA Champions League

Arsenal qualified for the group stage of the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League due to finishing second in the 2015–16 Premier League. This meant that Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 19th consecutive season.

Group stage

The Gunners were drawn against French side Paris Saint-Germain, Swiss club Basel and Bulgarian team Ludogorets Razgrad.[168][169]

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ARS PAR LUD BSL
1 England Arsenal 6 4 2 0 18 6 +12 14 Advance to knockout phase 2–2 6–0 2–0
2 France Paris Saint-Germain 6 3 3 0 13 7 +6 12 1–1 2–2 3–0
3 Bulgaria Ludogorets Razgrad 6 0 3 3 6 15 9 3 Transfer to Europa League 2–3 1–3 0–0
4 Switzerland Basel 6 0 2 4 3 12 9 2 1–4 1–2 1–1
Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

  Win   Draw   Loss

Knockout phase

Round of 16

The draw was held on 12 December 2016, with Arsenal amongst the seeded teams (as group winners) drawn against one of the unseeded runners-up, Bayern Munich.[176] The first leg was played away on 15 February, and the second leg was played at home on 7 March 2017.

  Win   Draw   Loss

Awards

Arsenal Player of the Month award

Awarded monthly to the player that was chosen by fan voting on Arsenal.com

Month Player Votes
August France Laurent Koscielny 35.6%[178]
September Chile Alexis Sánchez 39.4%[179]
October Germany Mesut Özil 45%[180]
November Chile Alexis Sánchez (2) 54.7%[181]
December Chile Alexis Sánchez (3) 80.4%[182]
January France Olivier Giroud 60.4%[183]
February Chile Alexis Sánchez (4) 38%[184]
March Chile Alexis Sánchez (5) 63.3%[185]
April England Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 56.7%[186]

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