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 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 The latter would be the recipient of a red card later rescinded, while the former was charged with violent conduct.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. 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 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. 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 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. 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 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. 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==