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.^[1][2] The club entered the season as the FA Cup holders,^[3] 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.

Arsenal

2015–16 season
Arsenal players during the derby match with Chelsea, September 2015
Chairman	Sir Chips Keswick
Manager	Arsène Wenger
Stadium	Emirates Stadium
Premier League	2nd
FA Cup	Sixth round
League Cup	Fourth round
FA Community Shield	Winners
UEFA Champions League	Round of 16
Top goalscorer	League: Olivier Giroud (16) All: Olivier Giroud (24)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2014–15 2016–17 →

Review

August

Pre-match handshakes before the victory at Newcastle United

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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

Chelsea's Diego Costa eyeballs Gabriel. The latter would be the recipient of a red card later rescinded, while the former was charged with violent conduct.

Arsenal started September with a nervy 2–0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates, with Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scoring.^[6] 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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11] 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,^[12] meaning they were bottom of their group with successive games against in-form Bayern Munich coming up.

October

Arsenal fans inside the Emirates Stadium before the Everton match

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.^[13] 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.^[14] 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.^[15] 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,^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19] 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.^[20] Arsenal's Champions League form bounced back, with an Alexis Sánchez brace giving Arsenal a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Emirates.^[21] 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,^[22] 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.^[23] 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,^[24] 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.^[25] Arsenal recorded successive victories before Christmas, winning 2–0 at Aston Villa,^[26] before a 2–1 home win over Manchester City.^[27] 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.^[28] 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.^[29]

January

Mohamed Elneny looks up at the new Clock End during his AFC début: an FA Cup-tie at home to Burnley.

Arsenal started 2016 with an unconvincing 1–0 win over relegation scrappers Newcastle, courtesy of a late Laurent Koscielny goal.^[30] 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.^[31] 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,^[32] whereas the latter finished scoreless.^[33] 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.^[34] 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.^[35] Arsenal made one signing in January, Basel's Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Elneny completed a £5 million move.^[36]

February

The Arsenal hug the touchline on St Valentine's Day, in front of Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri.

In the beginning of February, Arsenal failed to score for the third consecutive league match, playing Southampton to a stalemate at the Emirates.^[37] Mesut Özil and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain led Arsenal back to winning ways with a 2–0 away victory at AFC Bournemouth.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.^[40] Arsenal subsequently returned to Champions League action by hosting title holders Barcelona. A Lionel Messi brace condemned Arsenal to a 2–0 defeat.^[41] Arsenal ended February with an away game at Manchester United, with goals from Welbeck and Özil not enough to avoid a 3–2 defeat.^[42]

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.^[43] 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.^[44] Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott scored two goals each against Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round replay to reach the quarter finals,^[45] 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.^[46] 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.^[47] 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.^[48]

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.^[49] 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.^[50] Arsenal visited West Ham the following matchday, where they blew away a 2–0 lead to draw 3–3. Sánchez, Özil and Koscielny scored.^[51] 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.^[52] Arsenal hosted and defeated West Brom 2–0, courtesy of a brace from Sánchez.^[53] 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.^[54] Arsenal ended April with a 1–0 win over Norwich at Emirates Stadium, with Danny Welbeck scoring the solitary goal.^[55]

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.^[56] 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.^[57] 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.^[58] 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.^[59]

Players

Squad information

Further information: Arsenal F.C. § Players

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	EU	Since	App	Goals	Ends	Transfer fee	Notes
1	GK		Wojciech Szczęsny	26	EU	2009	181	0	undisclosed[60]	Youth system	On loan to Roma
2	DF		Mathieu Debuchy	30	EU	2014	22	1	undisclosed	£12.0M[61]	On loan to Bordeaux
3	DF		Kieran Gibbs	26	EU	2007	209	6	undisclosed[62]	Youth system
4	DF		Per Mertesacker	31	EU	2011	208	8	undisclosed[63]	£8.0M[64]
5	DF		Gabriel Paulista	25	Non-EU	2015 (Winter)	38	1	undisclosed[65]	£11.3M[66]
6	DF		Laurent Koscielny	30	EU	2010	248	20	undisclosed[67]	£8.5M[68]
7	MF		Tomáš Rosický	35	EU	2006	246	28	undisclosed[63]	£6.8M[69]
8	MF		Mikel Arteta	34	EU	2011	150	16	2016[70]	£10.0M[71]
10	MF		Jack Wilshere	24	EU	2008	157	12	2018[72]	Youth system
11	MF		Mesut Özil	27	EU	2013	118	20	undisclosed[73]	£42.5M[74][75][76]
12	FW		Olivier Giroud	29	EU	2012	188	82	undisclosed[77]	£12.8M[78]
13	GK		David Ospina	27	Non-EU	2014	36	0	undisclosed[79]	£3.2M[80]
14	FW		Theo Walcott	27	EU	2006 (Winter)	344	85	2019[81]	£9.0M[82]
15	MF		Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	22	EU	2011	149	14	undisclosed[83]	£12.0M[84]
16	MF		Aaron Ramsey	25	EU	2008	265	43	undisclosed[85]	£4.8M[86]
17	FW		Alexis Sánchez	27	Non-EU	2014	94	42	undisclosed[87]	£30.0M[88]
18	DF		Nacho Monreal	30	EU	2013 (Winter)	131	2	undisclosed[89]	£8.5M[90]
19	MF		Santi Cazorla	31	EU	2012	169	27	undisclosed[85]	£12.0M[91]
20	MF		Mathieu Flamini	32	EU	2013	246	13	undisclosed[92]	Free[92]
21	DF		Calum Chambers	21	EU	2014	59	2	undisclosed[93]	£16.0m[94]
22	FW		Yaya Sanogo	23	EU	2013	20	1	undisclosed[95]	Free[95]	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[96]	£1.0M[96]	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[97]	Youth system	On loan to West Bromwich Albion
28	FW		Joel Campbell	23	Non-EU	2011	41	4	undisclosed[98]	£0.9M[99]
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 [100]	£10M[100]
34	MF		Francis Coquelin	25	EU	2008	109	0	undisclosed[101]	Youth system
35	MF		Mohamed Elneny	23	Non-EU	2016 (Winter)	17	1	undisclosed	£7.4M[102][103]
37	MF		Krystian Bielik	18	EU	2015 (Winter)	1	0	undisclosed[104]	£2.5M[105]
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[85]	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	Source
54	MF	Jeff Reine-Adélaïde	Lens	Undisclosed (~ £3,000,000)	21 May 2015	Reserves	[106][107]
68	FW	Yassin Fortune				Academy
66	MF	Vlad Dragomir	Poli Timișoara	Undisclosed (~ £71,000)	24 June 2015	Academy	[106][108]
72	DF	Jordi Osei-Tutu	Reading	Undisclosed (~ £0)	26 June 2015	Academy	[106][109]
33	GK	Petr Čech	Chelsea	Undisclosed (~ £10,000,000)	29 June 2015	First team	[110][111][112]
—	FW	Donyell Malen	Ajax	Free transfer	29 July 2015	Academy	[113][114]
36	MF	Ismaël Bennacer	Arles-Avignon	Undisclosed (~ £150,000)	30 July 2015	Reserves	[115]
35	MF	Mohamed Elneny	Basel	Undisclosed (~ £7,400,000)	14 January 2016	First team	[102][103][116]

Total spending: Undisclosed (~ £21,521,000)

Transfers out

#	Position	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date	Team	Source
24	MF	Abou Diaby	Marseille[a]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	First team	[118]
31	MF	Ryo Miyaichi	FC St. Pauli[b]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
37	DF	Semi Ajayi	Cardiff City[c]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
46	MF	Jack Jebb	Stevenage[d]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
48	FW	Austin Lipman	VCD Athletic[e]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
54	DF	Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill	Swindon Town[f]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
57	GK	Josh Vickers	Swansea City[g]	Free transfer (Released)	10 June 2015	Reserves	[118]
9	FW	Lukas Podolski	Galatasaray[h]	Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000)	4 July 2015	First team	[123]
64	DF	George Dobson	West Ham United	Undisclosed	27 July 2015	Reserves	[124][125]
—	MF	Jonatas Centeno	Sheffield Wednesday	Free transfer (Released)	4 August 2015	Reserves	[126]

Total incoming: Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000)

1. Following Diaby's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Marseille on 29 July 2015.^[117]
2. Following Miyaichi's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for St. Pauli on 18 June 2015.^[119]
3. Following Ajayi's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Cardiff City on 18 June 2015.^[119]
4. Following Jebb's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Stevenage on 1 September 2015.^[120]
5. Following Lipmans' release on 30 June 2015, he later signed for VCD Athletic on 31 July 2015.
6. Following Ormonde-Ottewill's release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Swindon Town on 2 July 2015.^[121]
7. Following Vickers' release on 10 June 2015, he later signed for Swansea City on 12 August 2015.^[122]
8. The fee may eventually rise over £10 million subject to player performances and contract commitments.^[123]

Loans out

#	Position	Player	Loaned to	Date	Loan expires	Team	Source
70	MF	Ainsley Maitland-Niles	Ipswich Town	2 July 2015	End of season	Reserves	[127]
25	DF	Carl Jenkinson	West Ham United	14 July 2015	End of season	First team	[128]
22	FW	Yaya Sanogo	Ajax	17 July 2015	1 February 2016[a]	First team	[129]
1	GK	Wojciech Szczęsny	Roma	29 July 2015	End of season	First team	[130]
57	MF	Jon Toral	Birmingham City	30 July 2015	End of season	Reserves	[131]
38	MF	Daniel Crowley	Barnsley	31 July 2015	30 October 2015[b]	Reserves	[132][133]
41	DF	Isaac Hayden	Hull City	31 July 2015	End of season	First team	[134]
32	FW	Chuba Akpom	Hull City	4 August 2015	End of season	First team	[135]
27	FW	Serge Gnabry	West Bromwich Albion	7 August 2015	5 January 2016[c]	First team	[136]
26	GK	Emiliano Martínez	Wolverhampton Wanderers	11 August 2015	End of season	First team	[137]
58	FW	Wellington Silva	Bolton Wanderers	20 August 2015	End of season	Reserves	[138]
35	MF	Gedion Zelalem	Rangers	24 August 2015	End of Season	Reserves	[139][140]
47	MF	Glen Kamara	Southend	22 January 2016	End of Season	Reserves	[141]
2	DF	Mathieu Debuchy	Bordeaux	1 February 2016	End of Season	First team	[142]
22	FW	Yaya Sanogo	Charlton Athletic	1 February 2016	End of Season	First team	[143]

1. Loan initially until the end of the season
2. Loan initially until 3 January 2016
3. Loan initially until the end of the season

Overall transfer activity

Spending Summer: Undisclosed (~ £14,121,000) Winter: Undisclosed (~ £7,400,000) Total: Undisclosed (~ £21,521,000)

Income Summer: Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000) Winter: Undisclosed (~ £0,000,000) Total: Undisclosed (~ £1,800,000)

Net expenditure Summer: Undisclosed (~ £13,321,000) Winter: Undisclosed (~ £7,400,000) Total: Undisclosed (~ £20,721,000)

Club

Coaching staff

This is Arsène Wenger's 20th season with Arsenal.

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[144]

Home alt.[145]

Away[146]

Away alt.[147]

Third[148]

Third alt.[149]

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.^[150]
• 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

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

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		FA Cup		League Cup		Champions League		Community Shield		Total
				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

Olivier Giroud top-scored for Arsenal this season, with 24 goals in all competitions.

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
	DF		6	Laurent Koscielny	4	0	0	0	0	4
9	Own Goals				3	0	0	0	0	3
10	MF		20	Mathieu Flamini	0	0	2	0	0	2
	FW		45	Alex Iwobi	2	0	0	0	0	2
	MF		15	Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain	1	0	0	0	1	2
13	DF		24	Héctor Bellerín	1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF		21	Calum Chambers	0	1	0	0	0	1
	MF		35	Mohamed Elneny	0	0	0	1	0	1
	DF		5	Gabriel Paulista	1	0	0	0	0	1
	DF		3	Kieran Gibbs	1	0	0	0	0	1
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		FA Cup		League Cup		Champions League		Community Shield		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				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				18	2	0	3	1	24

Source: 11v11.com (Petr Čech) and 11v11.com (David Ospina)

Pre-season

Arsenal celebrate winning the 2015 edition of the Emirates Cup.

Arsenal started the 2015–16 season retaining Puma as their kit supplier and Emirates as their shirt sponsor.^[151] 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.^[152] 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.^[153]

Pre-season matches

  Win   Draw   Loss

Singapore XI v Arsenal

15 July 2015 Asia Trophy Semifinal	Singapore XI	0–4	Arsenal	Kallang, Singapore
13:30 BST		Report	Akpom 30', 76' (pen.), 79' Wilshere 60' (pen.)	Stadium: National Stadium, Singapore Referee: Jon Moss

Everton v Arsenal

18 July 2015 Asia Trophy Final	Everton	1–3	Arsenal	Kallang, Singapore
13:30 BST	Barkley 75'	Report	Walcott 22' Cazorla 58' Özil 62'	Stadium: National Stadium, Singapore Referee: Craig Pawson

Arsenal v Lyon

25 July 2015 Emirates Cup	Arsenal	6–0	Lyon	London
16:20 BST	Giroud 29' Oxlade-Chamberlain 34' Iwobi 35' Ramsey 38' Coquelin  45+1' Özil 62' Cazorla 84'	Report	Rose  17' Jenssen  36'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Jon Moss

Arsenal v VfL Wolfsburg

26 July 2015 Emirates Cup	Arsenal	1–0	VfL Wolfsburg	London
16:20 BST	Walcott 50' Cazorla  85' Monreal  89'	Report	Klose  35' Naldo  73' Arnold  85'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Craig Pawson

Competitions

Overall

The Arsenal backline during the 2015 FA Community Shield

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
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
	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

Main article: 2015 FA Community Shield

  Win   Draw   Loss

Arsenal v Chelsea

2 August 2015 Community Shield	Arsenal	1–0	Chelsea	London
15:00 BST	Oxlade-Chamberlain 24' Coquelin  67'	Arsenal Report BBC Report	Azpilicueta  65'	Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 85,437 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Premier League

Main article: 2015–16 Premier League

League table

Pos	Team v t e	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
3	Tottenham Hotspur	38	19	13	6	69	35	+34	70
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[a]

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).^[154]
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. 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								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	20	11	7	65	36	+29	71	12	4	3	31	11	+20	8	7	4	34	25	+9

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

Updated to match(es) played on 15 May 2016. Source: Statto.com
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

On 17 June 2015, the fixtures for the forthcoming season were announced.^[155]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Arsenal v West Ham United

9 August 2015 (2015-08-09) 1	Arsenal	0–2	West Ham United	Holloway, London
13:30 BST	Monreal  69'	Arsenal report BBC report	Noble  5' Ogbonna  7' Tomkins  37' Kouyaté 43' Zárate 57'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,996 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Crystal Palace v Arsenal

16 August 2015 (2015-08-16) 2	Crystal Palace	1–2	Arsenal	Selhurst, London
13:30 BST	Ward 28' McArthur  45+1'	Arsenal report BBC report	Giroud 16' Coquelin  41' Delaney 55' (o.g.)	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 24,732 Referee: Lee Mason

Arsenal v Liverpool

24 August 2015 (2015-08-24) 3	Arsenal	0–0	Liverpool	Holloway, London
20:00 BST	Gabriel  65'	Arsenal report BBC report	Škrtel  61' Can  66' Gomez  79' Mignolet  85'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,080 Referee: Michael Oliver

Newcastle United v Arsenal

29 August 2015 (2015-08-29) 4	Newcastle United	0–1	Arsenal	Newcastle upon Tyne
12:45 BST	Sissoko  3' Mitrović  16' Mbemba  19' Thauvin  26' Anita  48' Wijnaldum  49' Coloccini  90+2'	Arsenal report BBC report	Cazorla  49' Coloccini 52' (o.g.)	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 50,388 Referee: Andre Marriner

Arsenal v Stoke City

12 September 2015 (2015-09-12) 5	Arsenal	2–0	Stoke City	Holloway, London
15:00 BST	Walcott 31' Özil  38' Giroud 85'	Arsenal report BBC report	Bardsley  81'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,963 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Chelsea v Arsenal

19 September 2015 (2015-09-19) 6	Chelsea	2–0	Arsenal	Fulham, London
12:45 BST	Costa  45' Ivanović  49' Zouma 53' Oscar  64' Chambers 90+1' (o.g.)	Arsenal report BBC report	Cazorla  31'  79' Gabriel  45'  45+1' Chambers  72'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 41,584 Referee: Mike Dean

Leicester City v Arsenal

26 September 2015 (2015-09-26) 7	Leicester City	2–5	Arsenal	Leicester
15:00 BST	Vardy 13', 89' Drinkwater  72'	Arsenal report BBC report	Walcott 18' Sánchez 33', 57', 81' Arteta  69' Giroud 90+3'	Stadium: King Power Stadium Attendance: 32,047 Referee: Craig Pawson

Arsenal v Manchester United

4 October 2015 (2015-10-04) 8	Arsenal	3–0	Manchester United	Holloway, London
16:00 BST	Sánchez 6', 19' Özil 7' Coquelin  51'	Arsenal report BBC report	Young  22' Darmian  30' Rooney  55'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,084 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Watford v Arsenal

17 October 2015 (2015-10-17) 9	Watford	0–3	Arsenal	Watford
17:30 BST	Nyom  47' Gomes  63'	Arsenal report BBC report	Mertesacker  58' Sánchez 62' Giroud 68' Ramsey 74'	Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 20,721 Referee: Mike Jones

Arsenal v Everton

24 October 2015 (2015-10-24) 10	Arsenal	2–1	Everton	Holloway, London
17:30 BST	Coquelin  25' Giroud 36',  69' Koscielny 38'	Arsenal report BBC report	Barkley 44' Barry  67'  90+4'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,985 Referee: Lee Mason

Swansea City v Arsenal

31 October 2015 (2015-10-31) 11	Swansea City	0–3	Arsenal	Swansea
15:00 GMT	Ki  57' Williams  89'	Arsenal report BBC report	Giroud 49' Koscielny 68' Campbell 73'	Stadium: Liberty Stadium Attendance: 20,937 Referee: Kevin Friend

Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur

8 November 2015 (2015-11-08) 12	Arsenal	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Holloway, London
16:00 GMT	Gibbs 77'	Arsenal report BBC report	Kane 32' Lamela  55'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,060 Referee: Martin Atkinson

West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal

21 November 2015 (2015-11-21) 13	West Bromwich Albion	2–1	Arsenal	West Bromwich
15:00 GMT	Morrison 35',  43' Arteta 40' (o.g.) Brunt  83' Myhill  90+1'	Arsenal report BBC report	Giroud 28',  42' Bellerín  32'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 24,343 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Norwich City v Arsenal

29 November 2015 (2015-11-29) 14	Norwich City	1–1	Arsenal	Norwich
16:15 GMT	Grabban 43' O'Neil  57'	Arsenal report BBC report	Özil 30' Cazorla  54'	Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 27,091 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Arsenal v Sunderland

5 December 2015 (2015-12-05) 15	Arsenal	3–1	Sunderland	Holloway, London
15:00 GMT	Campbell 33' Koscielny  44' Giroud 63' Ramsey 90+3'	Arsenal report BBC report	Giroud 45' (o.g.) Yedlin  80'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,937 Referee: Robert Madley

Aston Villa v Arsenal

13 December 2015 (2015-12-13) 16	Aston Villa	0–2	Arsenal	Birmingham
13:30 GMT		Arsenal report BBC report	Giroud 8' (pen.) Ramsey 38'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 33,285 Referee: Kevin Friend

Arsenal v Manchester City

21 December 2015 (2015-12-21) 17	Arsenal	2–1	Manchester City	Holloway, London
20:00 GMT	Walcott 33' Giroud 45+1'	Arsenal report BBC report	Silva  31' Otamendi  48' Touré 82'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,053 Referee: Andre Marriner

Southampton v Arsenal

26 December 2015 (2015-12-26) 18	Southampton	4–0	Arsenal	Southampton
19:45 GMT	Martina 19' Long  34', 55', 90+2' Fonte 69'	Arsenal report BBC report		Stadium: St Mary's Stadium Attendance: 31,669 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Arsenal v Bournemouth

28 December 2015 (2015-12-28) 19	Arsenal	2–0	Bournemouth	Holloway, London
17:30 GMT	Gabriel 27' Ramsey  30' Chambers  61' Özil 63'	Arsenal report BBC report		Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,983 Referee: Roger East

Arsenal v Newcastle United

2 January 2016 (2016-01-02) 20	Arsenal	1–0	Newcastle United	Holloway, London
15:00 GMT	Koscielny 72' Flamini  82' Özil  90+2'	Arsenal report BBC report	Colback  35' Janmaat  68'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,257 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Liverpool v Arsenal

13 January 2016 (2016-01-13) 21	Liverpool	3–3	Arsenal	Liverpool
20:00 GMT	Firmino 10', 19',  10' Clyne  53' Allen 90'	Arsenal report BBC report	Ramsey 14' Giroud 25', 55'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 44,109 Referee: Mike Jones

Stoke City v Arsenal

17 January 2016 (2016-01-17) 22	Stoke City	0–0	Arsenal	Stoke-on-Trent
16:15 GMT		Arsenal report BBC report		Stadium: Britannia Stadium Attendance: 27,683 Referee: Craig Pawson

Arsenal v Chelsea

24 January 2016 (2016-01-24) 23	Arsenal	0–1	Chelsea	Holloway, London
16:00 GMT	Mertesacker  18' Flamini  45'	Arsenal report BBC report	Oscar  11' Costa 23' Matić  60' Mikel  72'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,072 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Arsenal v Southampton

2 February 2016 (2016-02-02) 24	Arsenal	0–0	Southampton	Holloway, London
19:45 GMT	Coquelin  87' Gabriel  89'	Arsenal report BBC report	Soares  61'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,044 Referee: Lee Mason

Bournemouth v Arsenal

7 February 2016 (2016-02-07) 25	Bournemouth	0–2	Arsenal	Bournemouth
13:30 GMT		Arsenal report BBC report	Flamini  9' Özil 23' Oxlade-Chamberlain 24'	Stadium: Dean Court Attendance: 11,357 Referee: Kevin Friend

Arsenal v Leicester City

14 February 2016 (2016-02-14) 26	Arsenal	2–1	Leicester City	Holloway, London
12:00 GMT	Coquelin  36' Koscielny  44' Ramsey  45+2' Walcott 70' Welbeck 90+5',  90+6'	Arsenal report BBC report	Vardy 45' (pen.) Simpson  49'  54' Fuchs  52' Kanté  57' Wasilewski  90+4'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,009 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Manchester United v Arsenal

28 February 2016 (2016-02-28) 27	Manchester United	3–2	Arsenal	Manchester
14:05 GMT	Varela  9' Carrick  22' Rashford 29', 32' Herrera 65',  72' Januzaj  90+3'	Arsenal report BBC report	Welbeck 40' Özil 69',  90+2' Ramsey  72' Elneny  73'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 75,329 Referee: Craig Pawson

Arsenal v Swansea City

2 March 2016 (2016-03-02) 28	Arsenal	1–2	Swansea City	Holloway, London
19:45 GMT	Campbell 15'	Arsenal report BBC report	Routledge 32',  77' Ayew  40' Williams 74'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,905 Referee: Robert Madley

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

5 March 2016 (2016-03-05) 29	Tottenham Hotspur	2–2	Arsenal	London
12:45 GMT	Lamela  28' Alderweireld 60' Kane 62' Dier  73'	Arsenal report BBC report	Bellerín  26' Coquelin  29'  55' Ramsey 39' Sánchez  66', 76'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,762 Referee: Michael Oliver

Everton v Arsenal

19 March 2016 (2016-03-19) 30	Everton	0–2	Arsenal	Liverpool
12:45 GMT		Arsenal report BBC report	Welbeck 7' Iwobi 42'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 39,270 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

Arsenal v Watford

2 April 2016 (2016-04-02) 31	Arsenal	4–0	Watford	Holloway, London
15:00 BST	Sánchez 4' Iwobi 38' Bellerín 48' Elneny  84' Walcott 90'	Arsenal report BBC report	Nyom  61'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,981 Referee: Anthony Taylor

West Ham United v Arsenal

9 April 2016 (2016-04-09) 32	West Ham United	3–3	Arsenal	London
12:45 BST	Carroll  4', 44', 45+2', 52' Antonio  90+3'	Arsenal report BBC report	Özil 18' Sánchez 35' Koscielny 70'	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 34,977 Referee: Craig Pawson

Arsenal v Crystal Palace

17 April 2016 (2016-04-17) 33	Arsenal	1–1	Crystal Palace	Holloway, London
16:00 BST	Sánchez 45+1'	Arsenal report BBC Report	Ledley  57' Dann  73' Bolasie 81'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,961 Referee: Roger East

Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion

21 April 2016 (2016-04-21) 34	Arsenal	2–0	West Bromwich Albion	Holloway, London
19:45 BST	Sánchez 6', 38'	Arsenal report BBC Report	McAuley  41'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,568 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Sunderland v Arsenal

24 April 2016 (2016-04-24) 35	Sunderland	0–0	Arsenal	Sunderland
14:05 BST	Borini  58' Khazri  90+3'	Arsenal report BBC report	Ramsey  40' Bellerín  49' Elneny  76' Koscielny  90+2'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 45,420 Referee: Mike Dean

Arsenal v Norwich City

30 April 2016 (2016-04-30) 36	Arsenal	1–0	Norwich City	Holloway, London
17:30 BST	Welbeck 59' Özil  85'	Arsenal report BBC report		Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,989 Referee: Mike Jones

Manchester City v Arsenal

8 May 2016 (2016-05-08) 37	Manchester City	2–2	Arsenal	Manchester
16:00 BST	Agüero 8' De Bruyne 51' Otamendi  90+1' Fernandinho  90+2'	Arsenal report BBC Report	Giroud 10' Sánchez 68' Gabriel  71'	Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 54,425 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Arsenal v Aston Villa

15 May 2016 (2016-05-15) 38	Arsenal	4–0	Aston Villa	Holloway, London
15:00 BST	Giroud 5', 78', 80' Bunn 90+2' (o.g.)	BBC report	Sánchez  39'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,007 Referee: Mark Clattenburg

FA Cup

Main article: 2015–16 FA Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

Arsenal v Sunderland

9 January 2016 (2016-01-09) Third round	Arsenal	3–1	Sunderland	Holloway, London
15:00 GMT	Campbell 25' Ramsey 72' Giroud 75' Gabriel  90+3'	Arsenal report BBC report	Lens 17'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 53,349 Referee: Martin Atkinson

Arsenal v Burnley

30 January 2016 (2016-01-30) Fourth round	Arsenal	2–1	Burnley	Holloway, London
15:00 GMT	Chambers 19' Sánchez 53' Koscielny  73'	Arsenal report BBC report	Vokes 30' Arfield  65'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,932 Referee: Roger East

Arsenal v Hull City

20 February 2016 (2016-02-20) Fifth round	Arsenal	0–0	Hull City	Holloway, London
12:45 GMT	Koscielny  41' Chambers  56'	Arsenal report BBC report	Maguire  31' Maloney  33' Bruce  90'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 59,830 Referee: Mike Dean

Hull City v Arsenal

8 March 2016 (2016-03-08) Replay	Hull City	0–4	Arsenal	Kingston upon Hull
19:00 GMT	Diamé  47' Maguire  51'	Arsenal report BBC report	Elneny  32' Giroud  34', 41', 71' Walcott 77', 88'	Stadium: KC Stadium Attendance: 20,993 Referee: Mike Jones

Arsenal v Watford

13 March 2016 (2016-03-13) Sixth round	Arsenal	1–2	Watford	Holloway, London
13:30 GMT	Özil  74' Welbeck 88'	Arsenal report BBC report	Pantilimon  43' Ighalo 50' Guedioura 63'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Andre Marriner

League Cup

Main article: 2015–16 Football League Cup

  Win   Draw   Loss

Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal

23 September 2015 (2015-09-23) Third round	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	Arsenal	Tottenham, London
19:45 BST	Chambers 56' (o.g.) Alli  76'	Arsenal report BBC report	Flamini 26', 78',  37' Arteta  33' Debuchy  40'	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,687 Referee: Andre Marriner

Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal

27 October 2015 (2015-10-27) Fourth round	Sheffield Wednesday	3–0	Arsenal	Sheffield
19:45 GMT	Wallace 27',  45+4' Lucas João 40' Hutchinson  30', 51' Loovens  59'	Arsenal Report BBC report	Debuchy  59' Campbell  86'	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 35,065 Referee: Graham Scott

UEFA Champions League

Main article: 2015–16 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.^[156] This means that Arsenal have qualified for the UEFA Champions League for the 18th consecutive year.^[157] 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.^[158]

Group stage

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League group stage

Pos	Team v t e	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			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	—

Source: UEFA
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers

  Win   Draw   Loss

Dinamo Zagreb v Arsenal

16 September 2015 (2015-09-16) 1	Dinamo Zagreb	2–1	Arsenal	Zagreb, Croatia
19:45 BST	Pivarić 24' Antolić  47' Fernandes 58' Pinto  65' Rog  90'	Arsenal Report UEFA Report	Giroud  23'  40' Walcott 79' Campbell  87'	Stadium: Maksimir Stadium Attendance: 17,840 Referee: Ovidiu Hațegan (Romania)

Arsenal v Olympiacos

29 September 2015 (2015-09-29) 2	Arsenal	2–3	Olympiacos	London, England
19:45 BST	Walcott 35' Sánchez  44', 65' Gabriel  45' Özil  78'	Arsenal Report UEFA Report	Pardo 33' Ospina 40' (o.g.) Roberto  64' Finnbogason 66',  75' Cambiasso  76' Fortounis  77'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Netherlands)

Arsenal v Bayern Munich

20 October 2015 (2015-10-20) 3	Arsenal	2–0	Bayern Munich	London, England
19:45 BST	Giroud 77',  84' Özil 90+4'	Report		Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Bayern Munich v Arsenal

4 November 2015 (2015-11-04) 4	Bayern Munich	5–1	Arsenal	Munich, Germany
19:45 GMT	Lewandowski 10' Müller 29', 89' Alaba 44' Robben 55'	UEFA Report BBC Report	Özil  12' Campbell  24' Giroud 69'	Stadium: Allianz Arena Referee: Gianluca Rocchi (Italy)

Arsenal v Dinamo Zagreb

24 November 2015 (2015-11-24) 5	Arsenal	3–0	Dinamo Zagreb	London, England
19:45 GMT	Özil 29' Sánchez 33', 69' Monreal  65'	UEFA Report BBC Report		Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Viktor Kassai (Hungary)

Olympiacos v Arsenal

9 December 2015 (2015-12-09) 6	Olympiacos	0–3	Arsenal	Piraeus, Greece
19:45 GMT	Fortounis  9'	Report	Ramsey  18' Giroud 29', 49', 66' (pen.),  63'	Stadium: Karaiskakis Stadium Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)

Knockout phase

Main article: 2015–16 UEFA Champions League knockout phase

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 14 December 2015.^[159] The first leg was played on 23 February, and the second leg was played on 16 March 2016.

Round of 16

Arsenal v Barcelona

23 February 2016 (2016-02-23) First leg	Arsenal	0–2	Barcelona	London, England
19:45 GMT	Monreal  6'	Report	Messi 71', 83' (pen.) Piqué  85'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Referee: Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)

Barcelona v Arsenal

16 March 2016 (2016-03-16) Second leg	Barcelona	3–1 (5–1 agg.)	Arsenal	Barcelona, Spain
19:45 GMT	Neymar 18' Suárez 65' Turan  79' Messi 88'	UEFA Report BBC Report	Flamini  32' Gabriel  35' Sánchez  50' Elneny 51' Giroud  85'	Stadium: Camp Nou Referee: Sergei Karasev (Russia)

Awards

Mesut Özil won four Player of the Month awards in 2015–16.

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%[160]
September	Theo Walcott	22%[161]
October	Mesut Özil	60.1%[162]
November	Mesut Özil	87.2%[163]
December	Mesut Özil	81.2%[164]
January	Petr Čech	47.4%[165]
February	Mesut Özil	36%[166]
March	Mohamed Elneny	31.6%[167]
April	Mohamed Elneny	40.2%[168]