2009–10 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal made one outfield signing during the summer, defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax in a deal estimated at £10 million.[2] Several players were let go, including Amaury Bischoff who joined in 2008 and played the majority of his football in the reserves and Rui Fonte.[2] Striker Emmanuel Adebayor was sold to Manchester City for a fee of £25 million and Kolo Touré soon joined him, ending a seven-year association with Arsenal. His former teammate Sol Campbell rejoined the club during the winter transfer window, having been a free agent.[3] Wenger, who signed him to bolster the squad's defensive options, said: "He has a fantastic attitude and good fitness. Of course he is not the youngest but he is in a very good shape. He can still play in the Premier League. He is important in the dressing room as well. He's positive with the young players."[3]

A number of players were loaned out during the season for game time and career development. Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny joined Brentford in November 2009 and stayed their for the remainder of the season, while in the January window Jack Wilshere and Philippe Senderos moved to Bolton Wanderers and Everton respectively.

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Fly Emirates

Home

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Away

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Third

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Nike released two new kit for Arsenal this season.

• Home: The home kit from last season was unchanged.
• Away: The away kit including a pinstripe in the kit and a polo collar inspired by the shirts worn by the all-conquering side of the 1930s. Along with the midnight blue shirt, the kit features midnight blue shorts with a photo blue stripe and midnight blue socks with a photo blue stripe on the top band.
• Third: The third kit include a panel of horizontal stripes at the back of the shirt, to mirror the craftsmanship of a fine English shirt. The third shorts are anthracite grey with a redcurrant stripe along the side. The socks are white with vertical redcurrant pinstripes and an anthracite stripe on the top band.
• Keeper: The home goalkeeper kit are jade blue. The sleeves are a darker shade of jade blue than the body. The shirt will be worn with jade blue shorts and socks. The away goalkeeper kit are yellow. The sleeves are a darker shade of yellow than the body. The shirt will be worn with black shorts and yellow socks and The third goalkeeper kit are grey. The sleeves are a darker shade of grey than the body. The shirt will be worn with grey shorts and socks

The Emirates Stadium is the second largest stadium in the Premier League.

Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Ground (capacity and dimensions)	Emirates Stadium (60,355 / 113x76 metres)

Updated to match played 11 May 2010
Source: Arsenal F.C.

Emmanuel Adebayor scored against Arsenal and reacted by celebrating in front of the visiting supporters.

The league campaign began for Arsenal with a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton on 15 August 2009. Denílson scored the opening goal four minutes before the half-hour and Vermaelen doubled Arsenal’s lead, heading the ball in from a Robin van Persie cross.[30] Everton’s failure to mark Gallas brought about the visitors' third just before the break.[30] Fàbregas scored two goals in the second half and substitute Eduardo added Arsenal's sixth, before Saha scored for Everton in stoppage time.[30] The game marked Vermaelen’s league debut and the player was described by The Guardian's match correspondent Andy Hunter as "comfortably the finest defender on display," having limited his counterpart Marouane Fellaini to so few chances while "anticipating danger expertly".[31] The following week Abou Diaby scored two goals as Arsenal beat Portsmouth 4–1.[32] Arsenal then travelled to play the incumbent champions Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arshavin's goal in the 40th minute gave Arsenal the lead, but Manuel Almunia conceded a penalty in the second half, as he adjusted to have fouled striker Wayne Rooney in the penalty box.[33] Rooney converted the spot kick to level the scoreline, before Diaby headed the ball into his own net from a United free-kick.[33] Late on, Wenger was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle after Van Persie's equaliser was correctly disallowed.[33] He felt the defeat was an "undeserved" one, going further to criticise his opponents' tactics: "I have seen a player make 20 fouls without getting a yellow card. If you have seen the game, you don't need me to tell you who but their player gets away without a yellow card. It's quite amazing."[34]

Arsenal did not play another game for a fortnight because of the international football break. On the resumption of club football, they faced Manchester City. At the City of Manchester Stadium, Arsenal lost for the second league match in succession, this time by a two-goal margin.[35] Adebayor scored against his former club and caused controversy by running towards the Arsenal section and celebrating in front of them.[36] Television replays also caught the striker attempting to stamp Van Persie’s face.[37] At home, Arsenal responded with a 4–0 win against Wigan Athletic and a single Van Persie’s goal was enough to beat Fulham away in the team’s final match of September.[38][39] Vito Mannone's performance at Craven Cottage was praised; he stood in for the injured Almunia.[39] After six games, Arsenal garnered 12 points and stood in fifth position, having played a game less than each of the teams occupying the top four.[40]

The visit of Blackburn Rovers to the Emirates Stadium in early October coincided with the start of Wenger's 13th year at the club.[41] Six different players (Vermaelen, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fàbregas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner) scored in the team's 6–2 win.[41] Arsenal defeated Birmingham City 3–1 at home before conceding twice away to West Ham United on 25 October 2009 to draw.[42] Arsenal's final game of October was a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Van Persie scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute, before Fàbregas added a second immediately – he won the ball straight from the kick-off and went past Tottenham’s static defence, before shooting past Heurelho Gomes.[43] Van Persie scored Arsenal’s third in the second half and the 3–0 win moved Arsenal into third position, five points behind Chelsea in first who played a game more.[43]

Aaron Ramsey made his breakthrough into the first eleven for Arsenal during the 2009–10 season.

Arsenal's first fixture of November was against Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium. The team moved into second place as a result of a 4–1 win.[44] Wenger was sceptical of whether his team could reach a century of goals in the league, but was overjoyed at Arsenal's goal tally of 36 in 11 league matches: "[It] shows that the way we play football, the way we are organised and the way we go forward suits our players."[45] Following the international football break, Arsenal played Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Eduardo deputised for Van Persie, who injured himself whilst playing for the Netherlands. Darren Bent's goal in the 71st minute won the match for Sunderland, who became the first team to prevent Arsenal from scoring in a league match.[46] Manchester United's defeat of Everton moved Arsenal down into third position in the league table, three points ahead. At home to league leaders Chelsea on 29 November 2009, Arsenal lost 3–0; striker Didier Drogba scored two goals in either interval of the game. When asked if Arsenal's title chances were over, Wenger replied, "It is not over and I believe, on what I have seen of Chelsea, that the team can drop points."[47]

December saw Arsenal win five out of six league matches. Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey each scored against Stoke City at home, and the team came from behind to beat Liverpool at Anfield – a ground where they were winless in five years.[48] The victory was attributed to Wenger's half-time team talk where he uncharacteristically shouted at his players and told them they were "not fit to wear the shirt" after a poor first-half performance.[49] "Of course it can always go the other way and you can lose 6–1. Then it's a crisis; it is like that." he told reporters.[49] Arsenal were then held to a 1–1 draw at Burnley which meant they remained in third spot, with the gap between themselves and Chelsea ever increasing.[50] The team returned to winning ways at home to Hull City as Denílson, Eduardo and Diaby got on the scoresheet in a 3–0 victory.[51] A day after Boxing Day, Arsenal beat Aston Villa by the same scoreline; Fàbregas came off the substitutes' bench and scored twice.[52] The Arsenal captain however injured himself in the closing stages of the match and was ruled out for their next game, away to Portsmouth. Nevertheless, the team recorded a 4–1 victory to move four points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand.[53]

Tomáš Rosický scored in stoppage time to deny Everton their first win at Arsenal in 14 years. The match, which saw the visitors lead twice, was played in cold conditions as a result of the "Big Freeze". Arsenal then faced Bolton Wanderers back-to-back; the home fixture was originally called off on 6 January 2010 due to heavy snow.[54] At the Reebok Stadium, goals from Fàbregas and Fran Mérida saw the visitors to victory in what was Owen Coyle's first game in charge of Bolton.[55] In the reverse fixture three days later Arsenal won again to go back in first spot, this time coming back from two goals down to win 4–2.[56] Their stay at the top of the table was brief and moved back down to third, after they were held to a goalless stalemate against Aston Villa in the midweek round, while Chelsea beat Birmingham.[57] Arsenal's best chances in the match came in the first half; Fàbregas and Rosicky both had efforts hit the post and crossbar respectively.[57]

The end of January brought the visit of Manchester United to the Emirates Stadium. Wenger described the game as an opportunity for Arsenal to prove they were "mentally prepared" to compete in the title race, but his team were outclassed by the visitors which prompted boos from the home support at the final whistle.[58] Nani opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark and was involved in the counter-attack that led to the second goal four minutes later, finished off by Rooney.[59] Park Ji-sung added a third for United in the second half, before Vermaelen scored late on to make the scoreline 3–1.[59] The defeat left Arsenal still in third with 14 games remaining, five points behind leaders Chelsea.[59]

Arsenal’s poor form against the title challengers continued: at Stamford Bridge they were unable to get the better of a Chelsea side that powered into a 2–0 lead in the first half-hour.[60] Drogba opened the scoring in the eighth minute when John Terry headed the ball across the face of goal and he tapped in at the far post.[60] The striker scored his second of the game from a counter-attack.[60] In his match report for The Guardian, Kevin McCarra opined that Arsenal were "strangled by stereotype" and a second successive defeat put end to their title bid.[60] Wenger downplayed the defeat, and told reporters "we didn't get a demonstration of football but they were efficient;” his comments on possession irked Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack.[61][62] Arsenal returned to winning ways in midweek with a narrow victory against Liverpool and then scored twice to beat Sunderland.[63][64] At the Britannia Stadium, Arsenal forged a comeback against Stoke City but their win was overshadowed by the injury to Ramsey.[65] The midfielder broke his right leg following a challenge by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross, who was immediately sent off.[65] Wenger described the tackle as "horrendous" and added "People say we don’t fancy the physical side of it, but this is the result. If you see a player getting injured like that, it’s not acceptable."[65]

A win against Burnley in March put Arsenal level on points with second-place Chelsea having played a game more.[66] The team needed a late goal against Hull City, courtesy of Bendtner in the third minute of stoppage time to get three points and move above Manchester United into second place.[67] Wenger was defiant his team could win the title after Arsenal beat West Ham to move top; it was their sixth consecutive league win and victory was ensured when Fàbregas converted a penalty late on.[68] They were without Vermaelen for the trip to St Andrew's as the defender was sent off against West Ham.[69] Arsenal were unable to hold on to their lead against Birmingham as Almunia's error gifted a stoppage-time equaliser, scored by Kevin Phillips. With six games remaining, Arsenal stood in third place, three points behind Chelsea and four on leaders Manchester United.[70]

At home against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bendtner scored the winning goal in stoppage time, rising highest inside the six-yard box and heading in Sagna's cross.[71] In the North London derby, Tottenham beat Arsenal at White Hart Lane to record their first league win against Wenger's side since November 1999.[72] Danny Rose on his debut opened the scoring with a 30-yard volley and Gareth Bale doubled the host’s lead minutes into the second half.[72] Bendtner scored with five minutes remaining of normal time but the game ended 2–1 to Tottenham, leaving Arsenal six points adrift of Chelsea at the top.[72]

Wenger was so incensed by Arsenal's response against Wigan – conceding three in the final 10 minutes to throw away a 2–0 lead – that he ordered the team bus to drop his players at Wigan railway station and told them to make their way back home.[73] With Arsenal's title bid over, the team played out a goalless draw against Manchester City and then lost to Blackburn Rovers in early May.[74][75] Arsenal secured third place on the final day, beating Fulham at home by four goals.[76]

Arsenal were drawn in Group H, along with Greek club Olympiacos, Belgian side Standard Liège and Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar.[90] The team mounted a comeback against Standard Liège on the first night of the competition, having conceded twice in the space of the first five minutes.[91] Eduardo’s deciding goal, which came nine minutes before the end marked the fifth season in the previous six that Arsenal opened their campaign with a win.[92] Late goals from Van Persie and Arshavin secured a 2–0 win at home to Olympiacos,[93] but the team were unable to make it three wins after conceding a stoppage-time goal to draw 1–1 against AZ.[94] In the reverse match, staged on matchday four, Fábregas scored twice in Arsenal's 4–1 win which put the club on 10 points in the group.[95] Victory against Standard Liège ensured qualification into the knockout stages with a match to spare.[96] That game was against Olympiacos, which Wenger made changes to his first XI. Arsenal lost 1–0 at the Karaiskakis Stadium.[97]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Arsenal	6	4	1	1	12	5	+7	13	Advance to knockout phase
2	Olympiacos	6	3	1	2	4	5	−1	10
3	Standard Liège	6	1	2	3	7	9	−2	5	Transfer to Europa League
4	AZ	6	0	4	2	4	8	−4	4

Standard Liège v Arsenal

16 September 2009 1	Standard Liège	2–3	Arsenal	Liège, Belgium
20:45 CEST	Mangala  3' Jovanović  5' (pen.) Witsel  68' Nicaise  76'	Report	Clichy  34' Bendtner  45' Vermaelen  78' Eduardo  81'	Stadium: Stade Maurice Dufrasne Attendance: 23,022 Referee: Eduardo Iturralde González (Spain)

Arsenal v Olympiacos

29 September 2009 2	Arsenal	2–0	Olympiacos	London, England
19:45 BST	Van Persie  52',  78' Arshavin  86' Fàbregas  90'	Report	Żewłakow  52' Dudu  66' Torosidis  80' Bravo  89'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,884 Referee: Stéphane Lannoy (France)

AZ v Arsenal

20 October 2009 3	AZ	1–1	Arsenal	Alkmaar, Netherlands
20:45 CEST	Mendes da Silva  90+3' Lens  89'	Report	Fàbregas  36' Van Persie  48' Clichy  66' Vela  77'	Stadium: DSB Stadion Attendance: 16,666 Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Arsenal v AZ

4 November 2009 4	Arsenal	4–1	AZ	London, England
19:45 GMT	Fàbregas  25', 52' Nasri  43' Diaby  72'	Report	Moisander  66' Lens  82'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,345 Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg)

Arsenal v Standard Liège

24 November 2009 5	Arsenal	2–0	Standard Liège	London, England
19:45 GMT	Nasri  35' Denílson  45+2' Fàbregas  87'	Report	Mulemo  68' Mangala  70' Carcela  86'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,941 Referee: Konrad Plautz (Austria)

Olympiacos v Arsenal

9 December 2009 6	Olympiacos	1–0	Arsenal	Piraeus, Greece
21:45 EET	Leonardo  24',  47'	Report	Mérida  40'	Stadium: Karaiskakis Stadium Attendance: 30,277 Referee: Lucílio Batista (Portugal)

Arsenal faced Porto in the knockout stages. In the first leg at the Estádio do Dragão, an own goal by goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański gave Porto the lead, but Campbell scored Arsenal a crucial away goal seven minutes later when he headed in a corner.[98] Radamel Falcao restored Porto's lead in the second half and the tie finished 2–1 in their favour.[98] At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal overturned Porto’s slender advantage as Bendtner scored twice inside the first 25 minutes.[99] Nasri and Emmanuel Eboué added further goals before Bendtner converted a penalty to round off a hat-trick.[99]

Porto v Arsenal

17 February 2010 First leg	Porto	2–1	Arsenal	Porto, Portugal
19:45 WET	Fabiański  11' (o.g.) Falcao  51' Alves  34' Fucile  64' Pereira  78' Fernando  84'	Report	Campbell  18' Diaby  31'	Stadium: Estádio do Dragão Attendance: 40,717 Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)

Arsenal v Porto

9 March 2010 Second leg	Arsenal	5–0 (6–2 agg.)	Porto	London, England
19:45 GMT	Bendtner  10', 25', 90+1' (pen.),  44' Nasri  63' Eboué  66' Vermaelen  38'	Report	Falcao  24' Pereira  59'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,661 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)

In the quarter-finals, Arsenal played Barcelona which marked the return of former club captain Thierry Henry.[100] Barcelona dominated proceedings but did not find a way through the Arsenal defence until the early stages of the second half; Zlatan Ibrahimovic took advantage of Almunia leaving his box and rushing towards him by lofting the ball over the goalkeeper.[101] Ibrahimovic doubled Barcelona’s lead, to which Wenger responded by bringing Walcott on. The forward made an instant impact with his pace and acceleration, scoring past Victor Valdes.[101] Barcelona defender Carles Puyol was sent off for a second bookable offence when he fouled Fábregas in the box, and the Arsenal captain converted the penalty awarded by the referee to equalise.[101]

Walcott, who Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola described as Arsenal's biggest threat,[102] was named in the first XI for the return leg and set Bendtner up to score.[103] The joy was short lived as Messi equalised within minutes and he added a further three goals to give Barcelona a 6–3 aggregate win – 4–1 on the night.[103] Wenger was full of praise for Messi afterwards, telling reporters: "…We lost against a team that is better than us and that has the best player in the world. Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace."[104]

Arsenal v Barcelona

31 March 2010 First leg	Arsenal	2–2	Barcelona	London, England
19:45 BST	Walcott  69' Fàbregas  85' (pen.)  44' Arshavin  21' Song  40' Eboué  74' Diaby  79'	Report	Ibrahimović  46', 59' Puyol  84' Piqué  72'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,572 Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

Barcelona v Arsenal

6 April 2010 Second leg	Barcelona	4–1 (6–3 agg.)	Arsenal	Barcelona, Spain
20:45 CEST	Messi  21', 37', 42', 88'	Report	Bendtner  18' Denílson  31' Rosický  45' Eboué  67'	Stadium: Camp Nou Attendance: 93,330 Referee: Wolfgang Stark (Germany)