2009–10 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
2009–10 season
Chairman Peter Hill-Wood
Manager Arsène Wenger
Stadium Emirates Stadium
Premier League 3rd
FA Cup Fourth round
League Cup Fifth round
UEFA Champions League Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer League:
Cesc Fàbregas (15)
All:
Cesc Fàbregas (19)
Highest home attendance 60,103 (vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 31 October 2009)
Lowest home attendance 56,592 (vs. West Bromwich Albion, 22 September 2009)
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

The 2009–10 season was Arsenal Football Club's 18th season in the Premier League. Arsenal's this season began with a 1–6 victory away to Everton. Arsenal suffered back-to-back Premier League losses on four occasions this season, but finished the season third in the Premier League. Arsenal also advanced to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, but were knocked out by reigning champions Barcelona in a two-legged tie, having first eliminating Scottish club Celtic 5–1 on aggregate in the play-off round, finishing top their group, which included Greek club Olympiacos, Belgian club Standard Liège, and Dutch club AZ, with 13 points during the group stage, and overcoming a first-leg deficit to beat Porto 6–2 on aggregate in the first knockout round.

The side's continuing sportsmanship was acknowledged at the end of the season with Arsenal winning the Barclays Fair Play Award.[1]

Transfers

In

No. Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Ref
5 DF Thomas Vermaelen Ajax £10,000,000 19 June 2009 [2]
MF Samuel Galindo Real América Free transfer 15 January 2010 [3]
31 DF Sol Campbell Free agent Free transfer 16 January 2010 [4]

Out

No. Position Player Transferred to Fee Date Ref
28 MF Amaury Bischoff Académica Free transfer (Released) 30 June 2009 [5]
39 FW Rui Fonte Sporting CP Free transfer (Released) 30 June 2009 [5]
49 DF Paul Rodgers Northampton Town Free transfer (Released) 30 June 2009 [5]
25 FW Emmanuel Adebayor Manchester City £25,000,000 20 July 2009 [6]
5 DF Kolo Touré Manchester City £16,000,000 29 July 2009 [7]

Loan out

No. Position Player Loaned from Date Loan expires Ref
DF Pedro Botelho Celta Vigo 23 July 2009 End of the season [8]
DF Håvard Nordtveit Nürnberg 7 August 2009 End of the season [9]
38 MF Jay Emmanuel-Thomas Blackpool 17 August 2009 17 November 2009 [10]
45 MF Henri Lansbury Watford 21 August 2009 End of the season [11]
50 FW Jay Simpson Queens Park Rangers 27 August 2009 End of the season [12]
44 DF Gavin Hoyte Brighton & Hove Albion 9 October 2009 End of the season [13]
53 GK Wojciech Szczęsny Brentford 20 November 2009 End of the season [14]
47 FW Rhys Murphy Brentford 24 November 2009 24 February 2010 [15]
48 MF Mark Randall Milton Keynes Dons 15 January 2010 End of the season [16]
42 DF Kerrea Gilbert Peterborough United 15 January 2010 End of the season [17]
6 DF Philippe Senderos Everton 25 January 2010 End of the season [18]
19 MF Jack Wilshere Bolton Wanderers 29 January 2010 End of the season [19]
54 MF Sanchez Watt Southend United 1 February 2010 28 February 2010 [20]
34 DF Kyle Bartley Sheffield United 9 February 2010 12 May 2010 [21]
51 FW Gilles Sunu Derby County 19 February 2010 End of the season [22]
38 MF Jay Emmanuel-Thomas Doncaster Rovers 27 February 2010 End of the season [23]
46 DF Luke Ayling Yeovil Town 17 March 2010 End of the season [24]
54 MF Sanchez Watt Leeds United 25 March 2010 End of the season [25]

Pre-season

Premier League

A total of 20 teams competed in the Premier League in the 2009–10 season. Each team played 38 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. At the end of the season the top three teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; the team in fourth needed to play a qualifier.[26]

The provisional fixture list was released on 17 June 2009, but was subject to change in the event of clashes with other competitions, inclement weather, or matches being selected for television coverage.[27]

August–October

Robin van Persie scored his first league goal of the season against Manchester City.

The league campaign began for Arsenal with a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton on 15 August 2009. Denílson scored the opening goal four minutes before the half-hour and Vermaelen doubled Arsenal’s lead, heading the ball in from a Robin van Persie cross. Everton’s failure to mark Gallas brought about the visitors’ third just before the break. Fàbregas scored two goals in the second half, before substitute Eduardo added Arsenal’s sixth. They were unable to keep a cleansheet however; Saha scored for Everton in stoppage time. The game marked Vermaelen’s league debut and the player was described by The Guardian's match correspondent Andy Hunter as "comfortably the finest defender on display", having limited his counterpart Marouane Fellaini to so few chances while "anticipating danger expertly". The following week Abou Diaby scored two goals as Arsenal beat Portsmouth 4–1.[28] Arsenal then travelled to play the incumbent champions Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arshavin’s goal in the 40th minute gave Arsenal a “deserved” lead, but the team conceded a penalty in the second half – Manuel Almunia was adjusted to have fouled striker Wayne Rooney in the penalty box. Rooney converted the spot kick to level the scoreline, before Diaby headed the ball into his own net, from a United free-kick. Wenger was sent to the stands by referee Mike Dean for having kicked a water bottle after Van Persie’s equaliser was correctly disallowed. He felt the defeat was an “undeserved” one, going further to criticise his opponents’ tactics: “I have seen a player make 20 fouls without getting a yellow card. If you have seen the game, you don't need me to tell you who but their player gets away without a yellow card. It's quite amazing.”[29]

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

On 4 October 2009, Arsenal hosted Blackburn Rovers at the Emirates Stadium; the week marked the start of Wenger’s 14th year at the club. Six different players (Vermaelen, Van Persie, Arshavin, Fàbregas, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner) scored for Arsenal, in the team's 6–2 win. Arsenal defeated Birmingham City 3-1 at home and then drew away to West Ham United on 25 October 2009, where they led 2–0 at one stage. Arsenal’s final game of October was a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur. Van Persie scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute, before Fàbregas added a second immediately – he won the ball straight from the kick-off and went past Tottenham’s static defence, before shooting past Heurelho Gomes. Van Persie scored Arsenal’s third in the second half and the 3-0 win moved Arsenal into third position, five points behind Chelsea in first who played a game more.

November–February

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

Matches

Classification

Pos
 Team
 Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Chelsea (C) 38 27 5 6 103 32+71 86 Group stage
2 Manchester United (Q) 38 27 4 7 86 28+58 85
3 Arsenal (Q) 38 23 6 9 83 41+42 75
4 Tottenham Hotspur (Q) 38 21 7 10 67 41+26 70 Play-off round
5 Manchester City (Q) 38 18 13 7 73 45+28 67 2010–11 UEFA Europa League Play-off round

Source: [30]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Results summary

OverallHomeAway
PldWDLGFGAGDPtsWDLGFGAGDWDLGFGAGD
38 23 6 9 83 41  +42 75 15 2 2 48 15  +33 8 4 7 35 26  +9

Source: [30]

Results by round

Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAAHAHHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAH
Result W W L L W W W W D W W L L W W D W W W D W W D L L W W W W W W D W L L D L W
Position 1 1 5 8 6 5 4 4 3 3 2 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Source: [31]
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

FA Cup

Main article: 2009–10 FA Cup

Football League Cup

UEFA Champions League

Play-off round

Group stage

Group H
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
England Arsenal 6411125+713
Greece Olympiacos 631245−110
Belgium Standard Liège 612379−25
Netherlands AZ 604248−44

Knockout phase

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Squad statistics

Arsenal used a total of 41 players during the 2009–10 season and there were 20 different goalscorers. There were also four squad members who did not make a first-team appearance in the campaign. This was the first season the team played in a 4–3–3 formation, utilised for the benefit of Fàbregas. Sagna featured in 44 matches – the most of any Arsenal player in the campaign. Vermaelen started in 33 league matches.

The team scored a total of 115 goals in all competitions. The highest scorer was Fàbregas, with 19 goals – 15 of which scored in the league. Vermaelen was the only Arsenal player to be sent off in the entire season.

Key

No. = Squad number

Pos = Playing position

Nat. = Nationality

Apps = Appearances

GK = Goalkeeper

DF = Defender

MF = Midfielder

FW = Forward

= Yellow cards

= Red cards

Numbers in parentheses denote appearances as substitute. Players with number struck through and marked Left club during playing season left the club during the playing season.

No. Pos. Nat. Name Premier League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals A yellow rectangular card A red rectangular card
1 GK  ESP Manuel Almunia 29000007036010
2 MF  FRA Abou Diaby 26 (3)6(1)0009 (1)135 (5)740
3 DF  FRA Bacary Sagna 31 (4)010007 (1)039 (5)030
4 MF  ESP Cesc Fàbregas 26 (1)1510008435 (1)1980
5 DF  BEL Thomas Vermaelen 337100011145841
6 DF   SUI Philippe Senderos Left club during playing season 000020002010
7 MF  CZE Tomáš Rosický 14 (11)300105 (2)020 (13)320
8 MF  FRA Samir Nasri 22 (4)2(1)0106329 (5)520
9 FW  CRO Eduardo 13 (11)21 (1)1102 (3)217 (5)500
10 DF  FRA William Gallas 26311008135420
11 FW  NED Robin van Persie 14 (2)900004118 (2)1050
12 FW  MEX Carlos Vela 1 (10)1201 (1)12 (3)06 (14)210
14 MF  ENG Theo Walcott 12 (11)310002 (4)115 (15)400
15 MF  BRA Denílson 19 (1)311005 (2)125 (3)530
16 MF  WAL Aaron Ramsey 7 (11)31 (1)1301 (5)012 (17)420
17 MF  CMR Alex Song 25 (1)1101010037 (1)1130
18 DF  FRA Mikaël Silvestre 9 (3)120302 (1)016 (4)130
19 MF  ENG Jack Wilshere Left club during playing season (1)010201 (2)04 (3)010
20 DF   SUI Johan Djourou (1)0000000(1)000
21 GK  POL Łukasz Fabiański 4020202010010
22 DF  FRA Gaël Clichy 23 (1)000009032 (1)060
23 MF  RUS Andrey Arshavin 25 (5)10(1)0007 (1)232 (7)1230
24 GK  ITA Vito Mannone 500000308010
27 DF  CIV Emmanuel Eboué 17 (8)100106 (4)224 (12)360
28 DF  ENG Kieran Gibbs 300020207010
30 DF  FRA Armand Traoré 9010200012030
31 DF  ENG Sol Campbell 10 (1)010002113 (1)130
32 MF  ESP Fran Mérida (4)11021104 (4)210
33 MF  NED Nacer Barazite 0000(1)000(1)000
34 MF  ENG Kyle Bartley Left club during playing season 000000101000
35 MF  FRA Francis Coquelin 00101 (1)0002 (1)000
36 DF  ENG Thomas Cruise 000000101000
37 DF  ENG Craig Eastmond 2 (2)01020005 (2)010
38 MF  ENG Jay Emmanuel-Thomas Left club during playing season 001000001000
42 DF  ENG Kerrea Gilbert Left club during playing season 000020103000
45 MF  ENG Henri Lansbury Left club during playing season (1)0000000(1)000
48 MF  ENG Mark Randall Left club during playing season 0000(2)000(2)000
51 FW  FRA Gilles Sunu Left club during playing season 000010(1)01 (1)000
52 FW  DEN Nicklas Bendtner 13 (10)600117521 (10)1230
53 GK  POL Wojciech Szczęsny Left club during playing season 000010001000
54 MF  ENG Sanchez Watt Left club during playing season 00001 (2)1001 (2)100

Source: [32][33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-top-premier-league-fair-play-table
  2. ↑ Arsenal FC | Thomas Vermaelen completes move to Arsenal
  3. ↑ "Wenger – New boy Galindo will go on loan". Arsenal F.C. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Arsenal FC | Sol Campbell rejoins Arsenal
  5. 1 2 3 "Four youngsters turn pro while nine depart". Arsenal F,C. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Adebayor completes move to Manchester City". Arsenal.com. Arsenal F.C. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  7. ↑ Arsenal FC | Kolo Toure signs for Manchester City
  8. ↑ "Celta land Gunners defender". Sky Sports. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Nordtveit joins FC Nurnberg on loan". Arsenal F.C. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Emmanuel-Thomas joins Blackpool on loan". Arsenal F.C. 17 August 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Henri Lansbury joins Watford on loan". Arsenal F.C. 21 August 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  12. ↑ "Simpson joins QPR on season-long loan deal". Arsenal F.C. 27 August 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Hoyte joins Brighton and Hove Albion on loan". Arsenal F.C. 9 October 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Wojciech Szczesny joins Brentford on loan". Arsenal F.C. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Rhys Murphy joins Brentford on loan". Arsenal F.C. 24 November 2009. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "Mark Randall joins Milton Keynes Dons on loan". Arsenal F.C. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  17. ↑ "Gilbert joins Peterborough United on loan". Arsenal F.C. 15 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  18. ↑ "Philippe Senderos joins Everton on loan". Arsenal F.C. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  19. ↑ "Jack Wilshere joins Bolton Wanderers on loan". Arsenal F.C. 25 January 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  20. ↑ "Sanchez Watt joins Southend United on loan". Arsenal F.C. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  21. ↑ "Kyle Bartley joins Sheffield United on loan". Arsenal F.C. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "Gilles Sunu joins Derby County on loan". Arsenal F.C. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  23. ↑ "Jay Emmanuel-Thomas joins Doncaster on loan". Arsenal F.C. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "Luke Ayling joins Yeovil Town on loan". Arsenal F.C. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  25. ↑ "Sanchez Watt joins Leeds United on loan". Arsenal F.C. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "Premier League Handbook – Season 2009/10" (PDF). Premier League. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  27. ↑ "Draft 09/10 Barclays Premier League fixtures". Arsenal.com. Arsenal F.C. 17 June 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  28. ↑ Ornstein, David (22 August 2009). "Wenger fury at 'repeated fouls'". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 15 January 2014.
  29. ↑ "Wenger fury at 'repeated fouls'". BBC Sport. BBC. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  30. 1 2 "Premier League – 2009–10". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  31. ↑ "Arsenal – 2009–10". Statto Organisation. Retrieved 26 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "First Team Stats". Arsenal.com. Arsenal Football Club. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
  33. ↑ "Arsenal Squad Stats". ESPN FC. Retrieved 15 December 2013.
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