# 2015–16 Arsenal F.C. season

The 2015–16 season was Arsenal's 24th season in the Premier League and 90th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club entered the season as the FA Cup holders, and participated in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield and the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal were favourites to get their first league title since 2004, having been league-leaders towards the New Year, but a loss of form which included successive defeats to Manchester United and Swansea City saw them lose ground on eventual winners Leicester City, although they recovered to get 2nd, their highest finish in 11 years. Arsenal's attempt of winning a third consecutive FA Cup was unsuccessful, losing to Watford at the quarter-final stage, as well as exiting in the League Cup fourth round to Sheffield Wednesday. In Europe, Arsenal recovered from a poor start to qualify for the knockout-stages, but they were defeated in both legs against Barcelona. The season covers the period from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016.

## Review
### August

Arsenal began their season with the Community Shield against local rival side Chelsea. The Gunners won the match 1–0, following a goal by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored via a drive into the top corner. The trophy was Arsène Wenger's 15th in 18 years of being in charge of Arsenal, and presented Wenger with his first win against a side managed by José Mourinho after 13 attempts. Soon after, Arsenal began their 24th Premier League season at home to West Ham United, and inspired by the signing of goalkeeper Petr Čech, many believed Arsenal to be title contenders for the first time in 11 years. The club's solid pre-season form, however, fizzled out as they failed to win in their first two home games, with a 2–0 defeat to West Ham on the opening weekend, leaving them third-bottom, and a goalless draw with Liverpool, although Aaron Ramsey was falsely ruled offside for an early goal. With two tight wins at Crystal Palace and Newcastle United, Arsenal went into September with seven points. Arsenal did not make additional signings after Čech, leaving manager Wenger to come under fire from fans and critics.

### September

Arsenal started September with a nervy 2–0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates, with Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scoring. Between the Stoke clash and a trip to struggling champions Chelsea, Arsenal faced Dinamo Zagreb away in the Champions League. Despite appearing the stronger side, Arsenal slumped to a shock 2–1 defeat, with under-performing striker Giroud being sent off for two yellow cards. The week got worse as Arsenal lost 2–0 at Stamford Bridge, with Santi Cazorla (two yellows) and Gabriel being sent off, the latter incorrectly shown red by Mike Dean for a clash with Diego Costa in which the latter assaulted Laurent Koscielny. Gabriel's ban was reduced from three games to one, but Gabriel, Costa, Chelsea and Arsenal were all fined for player misconduct, with Costa suspended for three games. With the Chelsea incident resolved, Arsenal faced a tough League Cup tie with North London arch-rival club Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Mathieu Flamini became an unsung hero with a brace, the second of which was a volley from 20 yards, both goals on the other side of a Calum Chambers own goal. Arsenal, full of confidence after eliminating their rivals, visited the only unbeaten team in the league at the time, Leicester City, who were one point and one place above Arsenal. Despite a brace from Jamie Vardy, Walcott and Giroud scored either side of three goals from Sánchez, who ended a run of seven games without a goal. Arsenal ended their month on a sour note, however, as errors from second-choice goalkeeper David Ospina saw Arsenal lose 3–2 to Olympiacos at home in the Champions League, meaning they were bottom of their group with successive games against in-form Bayern Munich coming up.

### October

Arsenal started October on a high, as three early goals—two from Alexis Sánchez and one from Mesut Özil—at the Emirates saw Arsenal breeze past Manchester United to leapfrog them into second place in the league table, behind Manchester City. Arsenal travelled to Vicarage Road two weeks later to play Watford, where goals from Sánchez, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud saw Arsenal claim another 3–0 win. Arsenal hosted German heavyweights Bayern Munich in an attempt to turn around their Champions League. Despite the German team losing only once all season, Arsenal claimed a shock 2–0 win, with Giroud and Özil scoring late in the second half. Giroud's return to form saw him return to the starting lineup ahead of Theo Walcott. Giroud thanked Wenger by inspiring the Gunners to a 2–1 win over Everton at the Emirates. Arsenal's only loss in October came between the Everton win and a 3–0 victory over Swansea City, courtesy of goals from Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Joel Campbell, when they were stunned by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, going out of the League Cup in a 3–0 defeat that saw Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off injured, with goals from Ross Wallace, Lucas João and Sam Hutchinson.

### November

Arsenal were humiliated at the Allianz Arena to start November, with Bayern Munich cruising to a 5–1 win, putting Arsenal's Champions League progression in doubt. Arsenal hosted rivals Tottenham on the Sunday that followed, but with stars Héctor Bellerín, Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a list of ten injured Arsenal players, the Gunners had to struggle for a 1–1 draw. November only got worse for Arsenal, with Francis Coquelin looking at three months out, Mikel Arteta facing several weeks out after both were injured in a 2–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, with Santi Cazorla missing a vital penalty late on. Arsenal's Champions League form bounced back, with an Alexis Sánchez brace giving Arsenal a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates. With Olympiacos thrashed by Bayern, Arsenal would need a two-goal cushion or a 3–2 or higher victory in Athens to progress. Arsenal's horrid month ended with more misery, with Sánchez and Cazorla both suffering injuries in a 1–1 draw with Norwich City, with Cazorla's keeping him out for three months. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Walcott, however, all returned at the end of the month, with the crucial Olympiacos game and a match with Premier League title contenders Manchester City coming up.

### December

Arsenal returned to form in December, starting with a 3–1 win over Sunderland, with Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey scoring either side of goals at either end from Olivier Giroud. Arsenal then traveled to Olympiacos, where they had failed to win in their last three games, with their last win in Greece coming in 1998. Fears were erased by a Giroud hat-trick, putting Arsenal through and demoting Olympiacos into the Europa League, only for Arsenal to draw holders Barcelona, who had knocked Arsenal out in the 2010 quarter finals and in 2011 at the same stage. The Spanish side also beat the Gunners in the 2006 final. Arsenal recorded successive victories before Christmas, winning 2–0 at Aston Villa, before a 2–1 home win over Manchester City. As things were looking up, a Boxing Day defeat at Liverpool saw surprise leaders Leicester loosen their grip on first, giving Arsenal a chance to go top with a win against Southampton, but a Shane Long brace saw Arsenal thrashed 4–0. Despite this, Arsenal still finished 2015 top of the Premier League, after a 2–0 win against AFC Bournemouth was enough to keep Arsenal ahead of Leicester on goal difference, who drew 0–0 with Manchester City in their final game of 2015.

### January

Arsenal started 2016 with an unconvincing 1–0 win over relegation scrappers Newcastle, courtesy of a late Laurent Koscielny goal. Arsenal kicked off their FA Cup defence against Sunderland at the Emirates. Their 3–1 win mirrored the clash in December, with Joel Campbell, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey scoring Arsenal's goals in identical fashion to the league tie, despite an early Jeremain Lens goal. This was followed by two away league fixtures at Liverpool and Stoke; the former was a 3–3 draw with Giroud scoring a brace and Ramsey finding the net for Arsenal, whereas the latter finished scoreless. On 24 January, Arsenal hosted local rivals Chelsea and were defeated 1–0 after Per Mertesacker was sent off. This meant they had failed to win a league game against Chelsea for the ninth league meeting in a row, and it was the sixth consecutive time they had failed to score in the fixture. Six days later, Arsenal advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup, with Calum Chambers and Alexis Sánchez scoring in a 2–1 defeat of Championship side Burnley at home. Arsenal made one signing in January, Basel's Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny completed a £5 million move.

### February

In the beginning of February, Arsenal failed to score for the third consecutive league match, playing Southampton to a stalemate at the Emirates. Mesut Özil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain led Arsenal back to winning ways with a 2–0 away victory at AFC Bournemouth. Arsenal then won a dramatic top of the table clash with league leaders Leicester, coming back after a Jamie Vardy penalty to win 2–1 at home, with late goals from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck, reducing the gap between Arsenal and Leicester in second and first to two points. Despite a dominant performance at home, Arsenal were held to a 0–0 draw by Hull City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Arsenal subsequently returned to Champions League action by hosting title holders Barcelona. A Lionel Messi brace condemned Arsenal to a 2–0 defeat. Arsenal ended February with an away game at Manchester United, with goals from Welbeck and Özil not enough to avoid a 3–2 defeat.

### March

Arsenal started March suffering a third consecutive loss at the hands of Swansea at home; Joel Campbell's goal was cancelled out and the match finished 2–1 to Swansea. Arsenal then visited local rivals Tottenham in a make-or-break clash, as defeat would put Arsenal six points off their rivals, above Arsenal in second. Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal a crucial lead, but a Francis Coquelin sending off for two yellow cards turned the game on its head. Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane struck back to put Spurs ahead, but Alexis Sánchez helped the team rescue a point with a late goal, with the match finishing 2–2. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott scored two goals each against Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round replay to reach the quarter finals, but Arsenal went out after a 2–1 home defeat to Watford, with Danny Welbeck scoring the lone goal for the team as Arsenal's defence ended, after winning the previous two titles. Arsenal went out of their second cup competition just days later, being condemned a sixth-straight last-16 elimination from the Champions League with a 3–1 away loss to Barcelona, Mohamed Elneny's first Arsenal goal proving a mere consolation. One promising note from the defeat was the performance of Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi, and he was rewarded with his second Premier League start against Everton at the end of March. His first club goal, and a fourth goal in nine games since return for Danny Welbeck, saw Arsenal win 2–0.

### April

Arsenal got off to a flying start in the penultimate month of the season; goals from Alexis Sánchez, Héctor Bellerín and Theo Walcott, as well as a second Premier League goal on a second start for Alex Iwobi, saw Arsenal crush Watford 4–0 at Emirates Stadium. The result kept Arsenal firmly in the title race ahead of a crucial clash at sixth-placed West Ham the following weekend, having lost the reverse tie on opening day. The result saw praise for Iwobi, who was referred to as "the next Ian Wright" by Garth Crooks. Arsenal visited West Ham the following matchday, where they blew away a 2–0 lead to draw 3–3. Sánchez, Özil and Koscielny scored. Arsenal's title hopes suffered a big blow when they were held 1–1 at home by Crystal Palace despite dominating the match, with Sánchez scoring for the team. Arsenal hosted and defeated West Brom 2–0, courtesy of a brace from Sánchez. Arsenal's chances of ending a 12-year Premier League title drought became mathematically impossible after a 0–0 away draw at Sunderland, which left them 12 points behind leaders Leicester with only three matches to play. Arsenal ended April with a 1–0 win over Norwich at Emirates Stadium, with Danny Welbeck scoring the solitary goal.

### May

After Manchester City were defeated by Southampton, Arsenal stayed in third ahead of a clash with fourth placed City. Arsenal came from behind twice to recover a 2–2 draw. Olivier Giroud ended a 15-game goal drought dating back to January with the first, while Alexis Sánchez added his seventh goal in nine games for Arsenal's second. The draw failed to secure Champions League football for 2016–17, but after Manchester United lost 3–2 to West Ham two days later secured at least a place in the qualification round. Arsenal needed a point against Aston Villa to secure automatic qualification and third place. Arsenal would have to hope a win and a shock victory by already-relegated Newcastle against Tottenham for Arsenal to pip their rivals to second. Newcastle did the impossible with a 5–1 rout of Spurs, and an Olivier Giroud hat-trick powered Arsenal to a 4–0 win over Villa. Captain Mikel Arteta, who came on as a substitute in what was his final appearance before retirement, forced an own goal by shooting in off the bar and Villa goalkeeper Mark Bunn. Arteta was given a standing ovation, while second-longest-serving player Tomáš Rosický received a guard of honour, with the club confirming both would leave at the expiration of their contracts.

## Players
### Squad information

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | EU | Since | App | Goals | Ends | Transfer fee | Notes |
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | 26 | EU | 2009 | 181 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Roma |
| 2 | DF | Mathieu Debuchy | 30 | EU | 2014 | 22 | 1 | undisclosed | £12.0M | On loan to Bordeaux |
| 3 | DF | Kieran Gibbs | 26 | EU | 2007 | 209 | 6 | undisclosed | Youth system | |
| 4 | DF | Per Mertesacker | 31 | EU | 2011 | 208 | 8 | undisclosed | £8.0M | |
| 5 | DF | Gabriel Paulista | 25 | Non-EU | 2015 (Winter) | 38 | 1 | undisclosed | £11.3M | |
| 6 | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 30 | EU | 2010 | 248 | 20 | undisclosed | £8.5M | |
| 7 | MF | Tomáš Rosický | 35 | EU | 2006 | 246 | 28 | undisclosed | £6.8M | |
| 8 | MF | Mikel Arteta | 34 | EU | 2011 | 150 | 16 | 2016 | £10.0M | |
| 10 | MF | Jack Wilshere | 24 | EU | 2008 | 157 | 12 | 2018 | Youth system | |
| 11 | MF | Mesut Özil | 27 | EU | 2013 | 118 | 20 | undisclosed | £42.5M | |
| 12 | FW | Olivier Giroud | 29 | EU | 2012 | 188 | 82 | undisclosed | £12.8M | |
| 13 | GK | David Ospina | 27 | Non-EU | 2014 | 36 | 0 | undisclosed | £3.2M | |
| 14 | FW | Theo Walcott | 27 | EU | 2006 (Winter) | 344 | 85 | 2019 | £9.0M | |
| 15 | MF | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 22 | EU | 2011 | 149 | 14 | undisclosed | £12.0M | |
| 16 | MF | Aaron Ramsey | 25 | EU | 2008 | 265 | 43 | undisclosed | £4.8M | |
| 17 | FW | Alexis Sánchez | 27 | Non-EU | 2014 | 94 | 42 | undisclosed | £30.0M | |
| 18 | DF | Nacho Monreal | 30 | EU | 2013 (Winter) | 131 | 2 | undisclosed | £8.5M | |
| 19 | MF | Santi Cazorla | 31 | EU | 2012 | 169 | 27 | undisclosed | £12.0M | |
| 20 | MF | Mathieu Flamini | 32 | EU | 2013 | 246 | 13 | undisclosed | Free | |
| 21 | DF | Calum Chambers | 21 | EU | 2014 | 59 | 2 | undisclosed | £16.0m | |
| 22 | FW | Yaya Sanogo | 23 | EU | 2013 | 20 | 1 | undisclosed | Free | On loan to Charlton Athletic |
| 23 | FW | Danny Welbeck | 25 | EU | 2014 | 49 | 13 | 2019 | £16.0M | |
| 24 | DF | Héctor Bellerín | 21 | EU | 2013 | 73 | 3 | undisclosed | Youth system | |
| 25 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | 24 | EU | 2011 | 57 | 1 | undisclosed | £1.0M | On loan to West Ham United |
| 26 | GK | Emiliano Martínez | 23 | Non-EU | 2012 | 8 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 27 | FW | Serge Gnabry | 20 | EU | 2012 | 19 | 1 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to West Bromwich Albion |
| 28 | FW | Joel Campbell | 23 | Non-EU | 2011 | 41 | 4 | undisclosed | £0.9M | |
| 32 | FW | Chuba Akpom | 20 | EU | 2013 | 9 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Hull City |
| 33 | GK | Petr Čech | 33 | EU | 2015 | 42 | 0 | 2019 | £10M | |
| 34 | MF | Francis Coquelin | 25 | EU | 2008 | 109 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | |
| 35 | MF | Mohamed Elneny | 23 | Non-EU | 2016 (Winter) | 17 | 1 | undisclosed | £7.4M | |
| 37 | MF | Krystian Bielik | 18 | EU | 2015 (Winter) | 1 | 0 | undisclosed | £2.5M | |
| 42 | DF | Isaac Hayden | 21 | EU | 2013 | 2 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Hull City |
| 45 | FW | Alex Iwobi | 20 | EU | 2015 | 21 | 2 | undisclosed | Youth system | |
| – | MF | Gedion Zelalem | 19 | EU | 2014 | 2 | 0 | undisclosed | Youth system | On loan to Rangers |
* Last updated: 15 May 2016
* 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

| # | Position | Player | Transferred from | Fee | Date | Team |
| 54 | MF | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | Lens | Undisclosed (~ £3,000,000) | 21 May 2015 | Reserves |
| 68 | FW | Yassin Fortune | Lens | Undisclosed (~ £3,000,000) | 21 May 2015 | Academy |
| 66 | MF | Vlad Dragomir | Poli Timișoara | Undisclosed (~ £71,000) | 24 June 2015 | Academy |
| 72 | DF | Jordi Osei-Tutu | Reading | Undisclosed (~ £0) | 26 June 2015 | Academy |
| 33 | GK | Petr Čech | Chelsea | Undisclosed (~ £10,000,000) | 29 June 2015 | First team |
| — | FW | Donyell Malen | Ajax | Free transfer | 29 July 2015 | Academy |
| 36 | MF | Ismaël Bennacer | Arles-Avignon | Undisclosed (~ £150,000) | 30 July 2015 | Reserves |
| 35 | MF | Mohamed Elneny | Basel | Undisclosed (~ £7,400,000) | 14 January 2016 | First team |
Total spending: Undisclosed (~ £21,521,000)

#### Transfers out

| # | Position | Player | Transferred to | Fee | Date | Team |
| 24 | MF | Abou Diaby | Marseille | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | First team |
| 31 | MF | Ryo Miyaichi | FC St. Pauli | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 37 | DF | Semi Ajayi | Cardiff City | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 46 | MF | Jack Jebb | Stevenage | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 48 | FW | Austin Lipman | VCD Athletic | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 54 | DF | Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill | Swindon Town | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 57 | GK | Josh Vickers | Swansea City | Free transfer (Released) | 10 June 2015 | Reserves |
| 9 | FW | Lukas Podolski | Galatasaray | Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000) | 4 July 2015 | First team |
| 64 | DF | George Dobson | West Ham United | Undisclosed | 27 July 2015 | Reserves |
| — | MF | Jonatas Centeno | Sheffield Wednesday | Free transfer (Released) | 4 August 2015 | Reserves |
Total incoming: Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000)
* ↑ Following Diaby's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Marseille on 29 July 2015.
* ↑ Following Miyaichi's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for St. Pauli on 18 June 2015.
* ↑ Following Ajayi's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Cardiff City on 18 June 2015.
* ↑ Following Jebb's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Stevenage on 1 September 2015.
* ↑ Following Lipmans' release on 30 June 2015, he later signed for VCD Athletic on 31 July 2015.
* ↑ Following Ormonde-Ottewill's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Swindon Town on 2 July 2015.
* ↑ Following Vickers' release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Swansea City on 12 August 2015.
* ↑ The fee may eventually rise over £10 million subject to player performances and contract commitments.

#### Loans out

| # | Position | Player | Loaned to | Date | Loan expires | Team |
| 70 | MF | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | Ipswich Town | 2 July 2015 | End of season | Reserves |
| 25 | DF | Carl Jenkinson | West Ham United | 14 July 2015 | End of season | First team |
| 22 | FW | Yaya Sanogo | Ajax | 17 July 2015 | 1 February 2016 | First team |
| 1 | GK | Wojciech Szczęsny | Roma | 29 July 2015 | End of season | First team |
| 57 | MF | Jon Toral | Birmingham City | 30 July 2015 | End of season | Reserves |
| 38 | MF | Daniel Crowley | Barnsley | 31 July 2015 | 30 October 2015 | Reserves |
| 41 | DF | Isaac Hayden | Hull City | 31 July 2015 | End of season | First team |
| 32 | FW | Chuba Akpom | Hull City | 4 August 2015 | End of season | First team |
| 27 | FW | Serge Gnabry | West Bromwich Albion | 7 August 2015 | 5 January 2016 | First team |
| 26 | GK | Emiliano Martínez | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 11 August 2015 | End of season | First team |
| 58 | FW | Wellington Silva | Bolton Wanderers | 20 August 2015 | End of season | Reserves |
| 35 | MF | Gedion Zelalem | Rangers | 24 August 2015 | End of Season | Reserves |
| 47 | MF | Glen Kamara | Southend | 22 January 2016 | End of Season | Reserves |
| 2 | DF | Mathieu Debuchy | Bordeaux | 1 February 2016 | End of Season | First team |
| 22 | FW | Yaya Sanogo | Charlton Athletic | 1 February 2016 | End of Season | First team |
* ↑ Loan initially until the end of the season
* ↑ Loan initially until 3 January 2016
* ↑ Loan initially until the end of the season

#### Overall transfer activity
## Club
### Coaching staff

| 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

Supplier: Puma / Sponsor: Fly Emirates
| Home | Home alt. | Away | Away alt. | Third | Third alt. | Goalkeeper 1 | Goalkeeper 2 | Goalkeeper 3 |

### Kit information

This is Puma's second year supplying Arsenal kit, having taken over from Nike at the beginning of the 2014–15 season.
* Home: The home kit features Arsenal's traditional colours of red and white. The kit features red trim on the sleeves and a grandad collar. Additionally, golden trim features on the kit for the first time since 2006–07. The traditional white socks are returned to the kit after the club played in hooped socks last season.
* Away: The away kit features the colours gold and navy, and is similar to the away kit worn in the Double-winning 2001–02 season. The shirt has navy shoulders and a crew-neck, but the most striking feature of the kit is the subtle diamond graphic on the body of the shirt. The strip is combined with navy shorts and socks.
* Third: The third kit, which is set to be used in cup competitions, is mainly anthracite with white, gold and 'Capri Breeze' (turquoise) diagonal sashes. The kit features a monochromatic golden Arsenal badge and is combined with anthracite shorts and socks. Turquoise shorts and socks were worn in the match against Sheffield Wednesday.
* Keeper: The goalkeeper kits are based in Puma new goalkeeper template utilised by the supplier's top clubs, which feature contrasting hoops on the top half of the body. The first-choice strip is dark grey with golden hoops and a lighter grey stripe on the sleeves, while the second-choice strip is aqua with black hoops and golden detailing. The alternative strip is orange and also features black hoops.

### Other information

| Chairman | Stan Kroenke |
| Ground (capacity and dimensions) | Emirates Stadium (60,355 / 113x76 metres) |
Updated to match played 30 May 2014 Source: Arsenal F.C.

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 15 May 2016
Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute. Players with number struck through and marked † left the club during the playing season.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Community Shield | Community Shield | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 2 | DF | FRA | Mathieu Debuchy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Kieran Gibbs | 3 (12) | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 (3) | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 12 (16) | 1 |
| 4 | DF | GER | Per Mertesacker | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 (1) | 0 |
| 5 | DF | BRA | Gabriel Paulista | 18 (3) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 (3) | 1 |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Laurent Koscielny | 33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 4 |
| 7 | MF | CZE | Tomáš Rosický | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ESP | Mikel Arteta | 0 (9) | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 2 (12) | 0 |
| 10 | MF | ENG | Jack Wilshere | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 |
| 11 | MF | GER | Mesut Özil | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 45 | 8 |
| 12 | FW | FRA | Olivier Giroud | 26 (12) | 16 | 4 (1) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 (2) | 5 | 0 (1) | 0 | 37 (16) | 24 |
| 13 | GK | COL | David Ospina | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Theo Walcott | 15 (13) | 5 | 3 (2) | 2 | 0 (2) | 0 | 3 (3) | 2 | 1 | 0 | 22 (20) | 9 |
| 15 | MF | ENG | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 9 (13) | 1 | 2 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 17 (16) | 2 |
| 16 | MF | WAL | Aaron Ramsey | 29 (2) | 5 | 0 (2) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 (6) | 6 |
| 17 | FW | CHI | Alexis Sánchez | 28 (2) | 13 | 2 (1) | 1 | 0 (1) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 37 (4) | 17 |
| 18 | DF | ESP | Nacho Monreal | 36 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 (1) | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ESP | Santi Cazorla | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | FRA | Mathieu Flamini | 12 (4) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 (5) | 2 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Calum Chambers | 2 (10) | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (13) | 1 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Danny Welbeck | 7 (4) | 4 | 1 (1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 (6) | 5 |
| 24 | DF | ESP | Héctor Bellerín | 36 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 1 |
| 28 | FW | CRC | Joel Campbell | 11 (8) | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 (10) | 4 |
| 33 | GK | CZE | Petr Čech | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| 34 | MF | FRA | Francis Coquelin | 21 (5) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (2) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 (7) | 0 |
| 35 | MF | EGY | Mohamed Elneny | 9 (2) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14 (2) | 1 |
| 36 | MF | FRA | Ismaël Bennacer | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 37 | MF | POL | Krystian Bielik | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 |
| 45 | FW | NGA | Alex Iwobi | 8 (5) | 2 | 4 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 (7) | 2 |
| 47 | MF | FIN | Glen Kamara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 54 | MF | FRA | Jeff Reine-Adélaïde | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 |
Source: Arsenal F.C. and 11v11.com

### Top scorers

    As of 15 May 2016
| Rank | Position | Nationality | Number | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Community Shield | Total |
| 1 | FW | | 12 | Olivier Giroud | 16 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | FW | | 17 | Alexis Sánchez | 13 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 3 | FW | | 14 | Theo Walcott | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | MF | | 11 | Mesut Özil | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| 5 | MF | | 16 | Aaron Ramsey | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 6 | FW | | 23 | Danny Welbeck | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | FW | | 28 | Joel Campbell | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | DF | | 6 | Laurent Koscielny | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | Own Goals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 10 | MF | | 20 | Mathieu Flamini | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | FW | | 45 | Alex Iwobi | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 | MF | | 15 | Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | DF | | 24 | Héctor Bellerín | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | | 21 | Calum Chambers | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | | 35 | Mohamed Elneny | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | | 5 | Gabriel Paulista | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | | 3 | Kieran Gibbs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 65 | 10 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 91 |
Source: Arsenal F.C. and 11v11.com

### Disciplinary record

    As of 15 May 2016
| Number | Nationality | Position | Name | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Champions League | Community Shield | Community Shield | Total | Total |
| 34 | | MF | Francis Coquelin | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | | DF | Gabriel Paulista | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 12 | | FW | Olivier Giroud | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 19 | | MF | Santi Cazorla | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | | DF | Per Mertesacker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | | MF | Mesut Özil | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 20 | | MF | Mathieu Flamini | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | | DF | Laurent Koscielny | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 16 | | MF | Aaron Ramsey | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 35 | | MF | Mohamed Elneny | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 24 | | DF | Héctor Bellerín | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 28 | | FW | Joel Campbell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | | DF | Nacho Monreal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | | DF | Calum Chambers | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | | FW | Alexis Sánchez | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | | MF | Mikel Arteta | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | | DF | Mathieu Debuchy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 23 | | FW | Danny Welbeck | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 39 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 5 |
Source: 11v11.com

### Clean sheets

    As of 15 May 2016
| Rank | Nationality | Number | Name | Premier League | FA Cup | League Cup | Champions League | Community Shield | Total |
| 1 | | 33 | Petr Čech | 16 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 20 |
| 2 | | 13 | David Ospina | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 18 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
Source: 11v11.com (Petr Čech) and 11v11.com (David Ospina)

## Pre-season

Arsenal started the 2015–16 season retaining Puma as their kit supplier and Emirates as their shirt sponsor. In July, they went on a preseason tour to Asia. During this, they participated in the Premier League Asia Trophy in Singapore along with fellow Premier League sides Everton and Stoke City as well as a Singapore Selection XI. Following this tournament, Arsenal will then play in their traditional yearly Emirates Cup tournament at the Emirates Stadium, with Lyon, Villarreal and VfL Wolfsburg also participating. The match against Wolfsburg marked the return of former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, who made his first return to the Emirates Stadium with Wolfsburg.

### Pre-season matches

Win  Draw  Loss

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| Premier League | — | 2nd | 9 August 2015 | 15 May 2016 |
| FA Community Shield | Final | Winners | 2 August 2015 | 2 August 2015 |
| FA Cup | Third round | Sixth round | 9 January 2016 | 13 March 2016 |
| League Cup | Third round | Fourth round | 23 September 2015 | 27 October 2015 |
| UEFA Champions League | Group stage | Round of 16 | 16 September 2015 | 16 March 2016 |
Updated to match played 15 May 2016 Source: Competitions

### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premier League | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 65 | 36 | +29 | 052.63 |
| FA Community Shield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 100.00 |
| FA Cup | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 060.00 |
| League Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 050.00 |
| Champions League | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 15 | −2 | 037.50 |
| Total | 54 | 28 | 12 | 14 | 91 | 59 | +32 | 051.85 |
Source: Competitions

### FA Community Shield

Win  Draw  Loss

### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Leicester City (C) | 38 | 23 | 12 | 3 | 68 | 36 | +32 | 81 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Arsenal | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 65 | 36 | +29 | 71 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 69 | 35 | +34 | 70 | Qualification for the Champions League group stage |
| 4 | Manchester City | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 71 | 41 | +30 | 66 | Qualification for the Champions League play-off round |
| 5 | Manchester United | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 49 | 35 | +14 | 66 | Qualification for the Europa League group stage |
* ↑ Manchester United qualified for the Europa League group stage by winning the 2015–16 FA Cup. As they had also qualified by their virtue of their league position (5th), this spot was passed to the next-highest ranked team (6th), Southampton.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 15 May 2016. Source: Premier League

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | L | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | D | L | D | W | W | L | L | D | W | W | D | D | W | D | W | D | W |
| Position | 20 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 |

#### Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.
Win  Draw  Loss

### FA Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### League Cup

Win  Draw  Loss

### UEFA Champions League

Arsenal qualified for the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League due to finishing third in the 2014–15 Premier League. This means that Arsenal have qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 18th consecutive year. Following changes to UEFA qualification rules, pot 1 for group stage draws would now consist of the Champions League holders and the champions of the seven highest ranked associations. Arsenal having previously been seeded in pot 1 for the Champions League draw as one of the top 8 ranked teams in UEFA, dropped into pot 2 for the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage draw with the remainder of the highest seeded non-champions according to UEFA coefficient.

#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | BAY | ARS | OLY | DZG |
| 1 | Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 3 | +16 | 15 | Advance to knockout phase | — | 5–1 | 4–0 | 5–0 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 10 | +2 | 9 | Advance to knockout phase | 2–0 | — | 2–3 | 3–0 |
| 3 | Olympiacos | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 13 | −7 | 9 | Transfer to Europa League | 0–3 | 0–3 | — | 2–1 |
| 4 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 14 | −11 | 3 | | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — |
Win  Draw  Loss

#### Knockout phase

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 14 December 2015. The first leg was played on 23 February, and the second leg was played on 16 March 2016.

##### Round of 16
## Awards
### Arsenal Player of the Month award

Awarded monthly to the player chosen by fan voting on Arsenal.com
| Month | Player | Votes |
| August | Francis Coquelin | 23% |
| September | Theo Walcott | 22% |
| October | Mesut Özil | 60.1% |
| November | Mesut Özil | 87.2% |
| December | Mesut Özil | 81.2% |
| January | Petr Čech | 47.4% |
| February | Mesut Özil | 36% |
| March | Mohamed Elneny | 31.6% |
| April | Mohamed Elneny | 40.2% |