2009–10 Arsenal F.C. 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.

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.

August–October

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. 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."

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 Wolverhampton Wanderers 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."

Classification

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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

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Results by round

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

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.

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

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