The 2009–10 season was Arsenal Football Club's 18th season in the Premier League and their 84th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. It began on 1 July 2009 and concluded on 30 June 2010, with competitive matches played between August and May. The club ended the Premier League campaign in third position, 11 points behind champions Chelsea. In the domestic cup competitions, Arsenal were knocked out in the fourth round of the FA Cup to Stoke City and the fifth round of the League Cup against Manchester City. They failed to progress past the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, losing to reigning champions Barcelona in a two-legged tie.
Arsenal did little business in the transfer market; their only outfield signing of the summer was defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax. Several players however left the club before the campaign got under way, including Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Touré in separate deals to Manchester City. To reinvigorate the side and benefit from Cesc Fàbregas's creativity, manager Arsène Wenger instituted a fluid 4–3–3 formation. The team made an impressive start; by November they had scored 36 goals in 11 league games and qualified for the Champions League knockout stage with a game to spare. Arsenal's defensive fragility was a recurring theme throughout the season and meant the team struggled to sustain a title challenge; they suffered back-to-back Premier League losses on four occasions.
41 different players represented Arsenal in four competitions and there were 14 different goalscorers. Arsenal's top goalscorer was Fàbregas, who scored 19 goals in 36 appearances.
Background
Transfers Arsenal made one outfield signing during the summer, defender Thomas Vermaelen from Ajax in a deal estimated at £10 million. 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. 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. 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."
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.
In No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef5DFThomas VermaelenAjax£10,000,00019 June 2009MFSamuel GalindoReal AméricaFree transfer15 January 201031DFSol CampbellFree agentFree transfer16 January 2010
Out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRef28MFAmaury BischoffAcadémica de CoimbraFree transfer (Released)30 June 200939FWRui FonteSporting CPFree transfer (Released)30 June 200949DFPaul RodgersNorthampton TownFree transfer (Released)30 June 200925FWEmmanuel AdebayorManchester City£25,000,00020 July 20095DFKolo TouréManchester City£16,000,00029 July 2009
Loan out No.PositionPlayerLoaned fromDateLoan expires RefDFPedro BotelhoCelta Vigo23 July 2009End of the seasonDFHåvard Nordtveit1. FC Nürnberg7 August 2009End of the season38MFJay Emmanuel-ThomasBlackpool17 August 200917 November 200945MFHenri LansburyWatford21 August 2009End of the season50FWJay SimpsonQueens Park Rangers27 August 2009End of the season44DFGavin HoyteBrighton & Hove Albion9 October 2009End of the season53GKWojciech SzczęsnyBrentford20 November 2009End of the season47FWRhys MurphyBrentford24 November 200924 February 201048MFMark RandallMilton Keynes Dons15 January 2010End of the season42DFKerrea GilbertPeterborough United15 January 2010End of the season6DFPhilippe SenderosEverton25 January 2010End of the season19MFJack WilshereBolton Wanderers29 January 2010End of the season54MFSanchez WattSouthend United1 February 201028 February 201034DFKyle BartleySheffield United9 February 201012 May 201051FWGilles SunuDerby County19 February 2010End of the season38MFJay Emmanuel-ThomasDoncaster Rovers27 February 2010End of the season46DFLuke AylingYeovil Town17 March 2010End of the season54MFSanchez WattLeeds United25 March 2010End of the season
Pre-season
Premier League
A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2009–10 season. Each team played 38 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top three teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; the team in fourth needed to play a qualifier.
The provisional fixture list was released on 17 June 2009, but was subject to change in the event of clashes with other competitions, inclement weather, or matches being selected for television coverage.
August–October
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. Everton's failure to mark Gallas brought about the visitors' third just before the break. Fàbregas scored two goals in the second half and substitute Eduardo added Arsenal's sixth, before Saha scored for Everton in stoppage time. The game marked Vermaelen's league debut and the player was described by The Guardians 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". The following week Abou Diaby scored two goals as Arsenal beat Portsmouth 4–1. 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. Rooney converted the spot kick to level the scoreline, before Diaby headed the ball into his own net from a United free-kick. Late on, Wenger was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle after Van Persie's equaliser was correctly disallowed. 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."
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. Adebayor scored against his former club and caused controversy by running towards the Arsenal section and celebrating in front of them. Television replays also caught the striker attempting to stamp Van Persie's face. 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. Vito Mannone's performance at Craven Cottage was praised; he stood in for the injured Almunia. 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.
The visit of Blackburn Rovers to the Emirates Stadium in early October coincided with the start of Wenger's 13th year at the club. Six different players (Vermaelen, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fàbregas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner) scored in the team's 6–2 win. Arsenal defeated Birmingham City 3–1 at home before conceding twice away to West Ham United on 25 October 2009 to draw. 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. 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.
November–January
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. 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." 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. 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."
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. 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. "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. 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. 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. A day after Boxing Day, Arsenal beat Aston Villa by the same scoreline; Fàbregas came off the substitutes' bench and scored twice. 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.