The 2007–08 season was

Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...

's 16th season in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and their 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended their

campaign in third position, having led the table for two-thirds of the season. Arsenal made it into the quarter-finals of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, but were eliminated on

aggregate score There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

against

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. The team exited the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

in the fifth round to

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. This was Arsenal's first hat-trick of trophyless seasons since

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Arsenal sold striker and club record goalscorer

Thierry Henry Thierry Daniel Henry (; born 17 August 1977) is a French professional football coach, pundit, sports broadcaster and former player. He is considered one of the greatest players of all time and widely regarded as the greatest player in Premi ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, in the

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

. Other departures included first team players

Freddie Ljungberg Karl Fredrik "Freddie" Ljungberg ( ; born 16 April 1977) is a Swedish former professional association football, footballer who played as a Midfielder#Winger, winger. He is also a former Manager (association football), manager, and was most recent ...

and José Antonio Reyes to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

and

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

respectively; defender Bacary Sagna and striker Eduardo were the notable purchases from

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

and

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

, respectively. A strong start to the season saw Arsenal top the league table by September. Defeat against

Sevilla Seville ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Seville ...

in November ended a run of 28 matches undefeated and it was not until a month after did the team lose in the league for the first time, away at

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

. Arsenal extended their league lead to five points in February, but a career-threatening injury to Eduardo against

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

coincided with the team going on a run of four draws in the Premier League. Manchester United soon overtook them in first and defeat to Chelsea in March moved Arsenal down in third place, where they remained at the end of the season. However, their points tally of 83 remains as the highest in the Premier League for a third-placed team under the 38 game format. Thirty-two different players represented the club in four competitions, and there were 16 different goalscorers. Emmanuel Adebayor was Arsenal's top goalscorer in the 2007–08 season, scoring 30 goals in 48 appearances.

Background

The previous season was a transitional period for Arsenal. The club transferred a number of first-team players such as defenders

Sol Campbell Sulzeer Jeremiah "Sol" Campbell (born 18 September 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player. Widely regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, he spent 20 years playing in the Premier League and had a ...

and

Lauren Lauren is mostly a feminine given name. The name's meaning may be "laurel tree", "sweet of honor", or "wisdom". It is derived from the French name Laurence, a feminine version of Laurent, which is in turn derived from the Roman surname Laurent ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

and winger

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

to Spanish club

Villarreal Villarreal (officially, in ) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's capital ( ...

. After lengthy negotiations, Ashley Cole moved to Chelsea on the final day of the summer transfer window, in exchange for £5 million and defender

William Gallas William Eric Gallas (born 17 August 1977) is a French football coach and former professional association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender. He played most of his footballing career in France and Engl ...

. Arsenal played their home games at the newly constructed

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a association football, football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. ...

and drew their first game against

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. After a defeat by

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

admitted that his team were unlikely to make a serious challenge for the Premier League. Despite being a young and inexperienced team, however, Arsenal reached the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the League Cup, where they were beaten 2–1 by Chelsea. Elimination in the

in the

knockout stage A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

( two-legged matches played home and away) and

in the space of four days followed – the club lost three games in succession for the first time since October 2002. Arsenal eventually finished fourth in the league, level on points with third-placed

but lost out on goal difference +30 to +28.

Transfers

At the end of the 2006–07 season, Arsenal transferred Fabrice Muamba to

and released Mart Poom, who subsequently joined

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

on a free transfer. Jérémie Aliadière moved to

in a £2 million deal while club captain and record goalscorer

left to join

for a reported fee of £16 million. Henry commented that his decision to leave Arsenal was because of the departure of chairman

David Dein David Barry Dein (born 7 September 1943) is a British businessman, known for being a former co-owner and vice-chairman of Arsenal, as well as founding the Premier League. Dein was vice-chairman of Arsenal between 1983 and 2007, and was instru ...

and the uncertainty over Wenger's future. Midfielder

and striker José Antonio Reyes departed the club in July 2007, moving to

and

respectively. Other players, Arturo Lupoli, Ryan Garry and Joe O'Cearuill, left on free transfers. Defender

Matthew Connolly Matthew Thomas Martin Connolly (born 24 September 1987) is an English professional association football, footballer who last played as a Defender (association football), defender for club Cardiff City F.C., Cardiff City. Having started his car ...

, who joined

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its ea ...

on loan for a six-month period, later signed for

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

goalkeeper

Łukasz Fabiański Łukasz Marek Fabiański (born 18 April 1985) is a Polish professional association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for club West Ham United F.C., West Ham United. He will become a free agent on ...

was the first player Arsenal recruited of the new season. Next to arrive was striker Eduardo, who signed from

, shortly followed by French defender Bacary Sagna. Lassana Diarra was purchased on transfer deadline day from Chelsea, but later transferred to

in January after he was frustrated at limited playing time; he said, "I read that the club rsenalwanted to keep me. But when you want to keep someone, you do it by playing them. This hasn't been the case." In Bacary Sagna 2007

Out Loans out

Club

Coaching staff

Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Fly Emirates

Kit information

Nike released new kit for Arsenal this season. *Home: The home kit from last season was unchanged. *Away: The away kit with a design that celebrates the pioneering spirit of club legendary

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...

, and sees a return to the white away shirts worn throughout the club's history. The shirt incorporates a tonal print in a horizontal stripe, detailing many of Chapman's groundbreaking innovations which among others include the introduction of the white ball, rubber studs and numbered shirts. The Gunners legend also campaigned for Gillespie Road tube station to be changed to Arsenal tube station - the setting for the print adverts - to further promote the club's name, and was successful with its renaming in 1932. The kit with a redcurrant v-neck collar and a red currant trim to the sleeves - the hooped design another of the ideas that Chapman introduced to the club along with his inspiration for Arsenal's famous red and white shirt. *Third: The third kit featured with hooped dark-redcurrant shirts with gold trim in side collar, dark shorts and hooped redcurrant in dark socks with gold stripes, same as the away kit to commemorate the influence and achievements of under club legend Herbert Chapman. *Keeper: The goalkeeper kit are yellow. grey and navy blue.

Other information

Emirates Stadium - East side - Composite

Pre-season

Premier League

Twenty teams competed in the Premier League in the 2007–08 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 two teams qualified for the group stages of the UEFA Champions League; teams in third and fourth needed to play a qualifier. The provisional fixture list was released on 14 June 2007, but was subject to change in the event of clashes with other competitions, inclement weather, or matches being selected for television coverage.

August–October

Arsenal started their league campaign at home to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

on 12 August 2007. A mistake by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, "screw ngan attempted return pass against his own knee", allowed striker David Healy to score, just under 52 seconds. However, a late penalty scored by

Robin van Persie Robin van Persie (; born 6 August 1983) is a Dutch football coach and former professional association football, footballer who is the head coach of Eredivisie club Feyenoord. He is regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation and was ...

and a goal from Alexander Hleb resulted in the team winning the match. In their next match, away to

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, another error by Lehmann – this time letting David Dunn's shot slip through his fingers and into the goalnet, meant the team drew 1–1.

Cesc Fàbregas Francesc Fàbregas Soler (; ; born 4 May 1987) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the head coach of club Como. Fàbregas came through La Masia, Barcelona's you ...

scored the winning goal against

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

, ten minutes before the end of the match. The result was followed with what ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described as a "fluent attacking display" at home to Portsmouth, on the first day of September. Arsenal faced local rivals

after a week-long international break and went a goal behind when

Gareth Bale Gareth Frank Bale (born 16 July 1989) is a Welsh former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur F.C., Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid CF, Real Madrid, and the Wales national ...

's free-kick beat goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, past the net. Emmanuel Adebayor scored the equaliser in the second half, before Fàbregas "piloted a 30-yarder beyond Paul Robinson in the 80th minute." In stoppage time, Adebayor flicked the ball up and volleyed it into the top corner of Tottenham's goal; the result meant Arsenal went top of the league table, for the first time in the season. A week after, Adebayor scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

(three goals) in a 5–0 win against

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

. Van Persie scored the only goal against West Ham United on 29 September 2007 to maintain the lead at the top. Two goals from Van Persie helped Arsenal beat

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

3–2 at home, on the first weekend of October. Second half goals from defender

Kolo Touré Kolo Abib Touré (born 19 March 1981) is an Ivorian professional Manager (association football), football manager and former player. He most recently managed then-Championship club Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Athletic. Beginning his career as a ...

and midfielder

Tomáš Rosický Tomáš Rosický (; born 4 October 1980) is a Czech former professional association football, footballer who was the Captain (association football), captain of the Czech Republic national football team, Czech Republic national team for a ten-y ...

against Bolton Wanderers, gave the team a seventh straight victory in the league. Arsenal played Liverpool on 28 October 2007, a match billed as the "first great test" of their title credentials.

Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and a former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time and one of Liverpool's greatest ever players,through ball.

November–February

November began with a home match against

. Going into the match, both clubs were level on points and goal difference, at the top of the league. In the 45th minute, Gallas inadvertently scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

to give United the lead, before Fábregas equalised early in the second half.

Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...

scored what was thought to be the winning goal, eight minutes from the end, but Arsenal equalised for the second time in the match via Gallas. The draw pleased Wenger, who after the game noted his team were "...still charge of the title race because we are top with a game in hand". A win against

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

at the

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (), currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in EFL League One. It also provides the ...

on 12 November 2007 brought about Arsenal's 1,000th Premier League goal, scored by Adebayor. Reading striker Dave Kitson afterwards praised Arsenal's performance and asserted they were "the best team on the planet": "The thing that amazes you most is they are not just passing to each other – they are passing so that person can run on to the ball and then his mind is already made up what he is going to do next. It is just magic, it is unbelievable." Late goals scored by Gallas and Rosický at home to

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

kept Arsenal three points clear of Manchester United in the league table, at the end of November. The win at

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

against

in December, moved Arsenal five points clear at the top of the league table, and provoked speculation as to whether the club could go another league season unbeaten; Wenger responded, "People will talk ... just let us play." The team played out a 1–1 draw at

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Since th ...

four days after and lost against Middlesbrough, ending a record of 22 league matches unbeaten. Arsenal beat Chelsea 1–0 on 16 December 2007 and needed a late goal, scored by substitute

Nicklas Bendtner Nicklas Bendtner (; born 16 January 1988) is a Danish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. His preferred position was centre-forward, but he has also played on the Forward ...

to win against Tottenham Hotspur. In spite of a draw at Portsmouth on

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

, which moved Arsenal down to second place, a win against Everton helped the club move past Manchester United to the first-place spot. On 1 January 2008, Eduardo and Adebayor each scored to earn Arsenal a win against West Ham United. The team dropped two points against Birmingham City, but a 3–0 victory at Fulham meant that Arsenal retained their first-place status. Goals scored by

Mathieu Flamini Mathieu Pierre Flamini (born 7 March 1984) is a French entrepreneur and former professional footballer. A midfielder, he played for French side Marseille, English sides Arsenal and Crystal Palace, Italian side Milan and Spanish side Getafe. At i ...

, Adebayor and Fábregas helped Arsenal beat Newcastle United in the final week of January. The team became the first to reach 60 points in February, after winning 3–1 against Manchester City; Wenger described the feat as "phenomenal". Manchester City's defeat of Manchester United the following week meant a 2–0 win at home to Blackburn Rovers put Arsenal five points clear in first spot, with 12 matches to play. The team then faced Birmingham City at St Andrew's. Shortly after kick-off, defender Martin Taylor was sent off and took no further part in the game, after his tackle on Eduardo. The player's challenge left the Arsenal striker with a broken leg; he was ruled out from action for the rest of the season. James McFadden scored through a free-kick in the 28th minute, before two Theo Walcott goals in the second half put Arsenal in the lead. In stoppage time, Gaël Clichy was penalised for a foul on Stuart Parnaby in the

penalty area The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends to each side of the goal and in front of it. If any part of the ball is ove ...

; McFadden scored Birmingham's awarded penalty to draw the match 2–2. It prompted Gallas to throw a tantrum: he attacked an advertising board situated on the side of the pitch and rested alone on the pitch, while his players headed for the dressing room. Wenger after the match called for a permanent football ban on tackler Taylor; he later retracted the comment.

March–May

A late equaliser at home to Aston Villa preserved Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League to only a point. A goalless draw at Wigan Athletic, was followed by a fourth consecutive draw in the league, at home to Middlesbrough. On the same day, Manchester United moved above Arsenal, who recorded a 1–0 win against Derby County. After Gallas missed a chance to score in the first half, Sagna put Arsenal in front, heading the ball into the goal net, from a corner in the 59th minute.

Didier Drogba Didier Yves Drogba Tébily (; born 11 March 1978) is an Ivorian former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. He is the Top international association football goal scorers by cou ...

equalised for Chelsea in the 73rd minute and nine minutes later scored the winner, from a

Nicolas Anelka Nicolas Sébastien Anelka (born 14 March 1979) is a French professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. As a player, he regularly featur ...

flick-on. The result pushed Chelsea up into second place and moved Arsenal down one; both clubs were five and six points behind Manchester United respectively at the top. At the

Reebok Stadium The Toughsheet Community Stadium is a Association football, football stadium in Horwich near Bolton, Greater Manchester, England. It is the home ground of Bolton Wanderers F.C., Bolton Wanderers Football Club, with an all-seated capacity of 28, ...

on 29 March 2008, Arsenal played Bolton Wanderers. The team went two goals down in the first half, both scored by Matthew Taylor and lost

Abou Diaby Vassiriki Abou Diaby (born 11 May 1986), known as Abou Diaby, is a French former professional footballer. He played primarily in a box to box role, adept at both attacking and defending, and was described as a player who was "languid, elusiv ...

, who was sent off for a foul on Grétar Steinsson. The team's "dramatic" comeback however, in the form of a winning goal in stoppage time, secured their first league win at Bolton Wanderers' ground in six years. A 1–1 draw against Liverpool in early April, sandwiched in between Champions League legs between both teams "disappointed" Wenger, who refused to concede winning the title. Defeat to Manchester United at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

on 13 April 2008, however ended any realistic chance of overtaking the leaders, as United, the champions, needed two more wins to retain the title. Arsenal beat relegation-threatened Reading 2–0 the week after. Adebayor scored a hat-trick against Derby County on 28 April 2008, which made him the first player to score three goals, home and away against the same side in the same season. The win secured third place, pleasing Wenger who felt the team had a "great future – I believe we were really unlucky not to win something this year." Arsenal won their remaining two fixtures against Everton and Sunderland by a single goal, ending the campaign four points behind champions Manchester United.

Match results

Classification

Results summary

Results by round

UEFA Champions League

Third qualifying round

As Arsenal finished fourth in the league the previous season, the club played a qualifying round against

Sparta Prague Athletic Club Sparta Praha (), commonly known as Sparta Prague and Sparta Praha, is a professional football club based in Prague. It is the most successful club in the Czech Republic and one of the most successful in central Europe, winning t ...

to ensure progression into the group stages. Goals from Fàbregas and Hleb in the away leg earned a 2–0 win and a 3–0 victory at home meant Arsenal qualified for a 10th successive season in the competition.

Group stage

The club were drawn in Group H, along with

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

holders

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

of the Czech Republic and Romania's Steaua București. Arsenal started their campaign in good stead, beating Sevilla 3–0 and followed the result with a 1–0 victory against Steaua București. Against Slavia Prague at the Emirates, Arsenal equalled their best ever victory in a European competition, scoring seven goals. Walcott, who scored his first two goals of the season in the match, earned the praise of manager Wenger: "Once Theo scored his first, you saw him much more. When they opened up the space, you could see his runs and pace, and the fact he is clinical in front of goal." Qualification into the knockout stages was ensured with a draw away to Slavia Prague on 7 November 2007. Defeat against Sevilla at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium was Arsenal's first loss since April 2007, ending a run of 28 matches undefeated in all competitions. The result moved them down into second place, and in spite of winning their final group match against Steaua at home, Arsenal ended two points behind group winners Sevilla.

Knockout stage

First knockout round

Arsenal was drawn against Champions League holders

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in the knockout stages. In the first leg, Arsenal was held to a draw at home, with their best chance of winning the match coming in stoppage time; Adebayor headed the ball against the crossbar. A week later at the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

, the team produced a performance "with style, intelligence and discipline", to win the match by two goals to nil. In doing so, they progressed into the last eight and became the first English team to beat Milan, away from home.

Quarter-finals

In the quarter-finals, Arsenal played against fellow English club Liverpool, with the first leg at home. The two matches were played either side of a Premier League match between the two sides. Adebayor scored the first goal – he headed the ball from a corner, before Dirk Kuyt equalised three minutes later. Arsenal had a strong penalty appeal harshly turned down after Kuyt seemingly pulled Alexander Hleb in the penalty box and missed a chance to score a second goal, had Bendtner not managed to inadvertently clear Fàbregas' strike. In the return leg at Anfield, Arsenal made the better start of the two teams and took the lead when Diaby scored from a tight angle in the 13th minute. Sami Hyypiä equalised from a header before

Fernando Torres Fernando José Torres Sanz (; born 20 March 1984) is a Spanish Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He is the curr ...

received a long pass and swivelled to shoot the ball with his right foot, sending it into the top-left hand corner of Arsenal's goal. With five minutes remaining of the second half, substitute Walcott "covered some 80 yards at pace" to get past the Liverpool defenders and passed the ball for Adebayor, in the middle of the pitch to score. Touré moments after was adjudged to have fouled Ryan Babel and conceded a penalty kick; Gerrard converted the ball into the net to make the scoreline 4–3 on aggregate. In stoppage time Babel scored Liverpool's fourth, meaning they faced Chelsea in the semi-finals. Wenger in his post-match news conference questioned the "dodgy decision" to give Liverpool a penalty and commented the defeat was "not down to mental strength ... It was down to a lack of experience defensively."

FA Cup

Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round, where they were drawn to play

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

opposition

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

. Goals from Eduardo and Bendtner, in either half of the match ensured victory for a "second-string" team. Against Newcastle United a fortnight later, a 3–0 victory meant Arsenal progressed into the fifth round, where they faced Manchester United away. The match played on 16 February 2008, ended in a "embarrassingly one-sided victory" for the home team; defender Emmanuel Eboué was notably dismissed for a high challenge on

Patrice Evra Patrice Latyr Evra (; born 15 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer. Originally a forward, he primarily played as a left-back. Evra served as captain for both Manchester United and the France national team. He was named in the P ...

League Cup

Arsenal began their League Cup campaign in the third round, drawn at home to Newcastle United. They made nine changes from the previous starting XI – Eduardo paired up with Bendtner in the front two. Bendtner scored the opening goal seven minutes from the end of normal time; Denílson added a second goal to ensure Arsenal's progression. Fourth-round opponents Sheffield United were easier to defeat, with Eduardo scoring a brace (two goals). The quarter-final pitted Arsenal away to Blackburn Rovers, in a match played on 18 December 2007. Diaby gave Arsenal the lead with a volley after six minutes and Eduardo extended the lead, before Roque Santa Cruz pulled a goal back for Blackburn, three minutes from the end of the first half. Santa Cruz scored the equaliser and his second of the match, heading in a cross by David Bentley. In stoppage time, Denílson was sent off for a two-footed challenge on Dunn. In spite of playing with one less player, Arsenal regained the lead. Alex Song passed the ball to Eduardo, who held off his opponent Ryan Nelsen and with minimal effort placed it past Brad Friedel. The performance prompted Wenger to assert that his team could win the cup, while opposing manager

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

commented that Arsenal's blend of young players were capable of following in the footsteps of Manchester United's fledglings, managed by Alex Ferguson. Arsenal was drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the two-legged semifinal. In the first leg, at the Emirates, Arsenal scored a late equaliser to even the tie at 1–1. However, a 5–1 victory for Tottenham in the return leg meant it was their first victory over their north London rivals in nine years. Wenger after the game defended his policy to play a young side, adding: "The only regret I have is to have played the players who should not have played."

Squad statistics

'' ' – Out on loan, '' ' – Sold Source:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Arsenal F.C. season 2007-08 ars