The 2007–08 season was Arsenal Football Club's 16th season in the Premier League and their 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club ended their Premier League 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, but were eliminated on aggregate score against Liverpool. The team exited the FA Cup in the fifth round to Manchester United and lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup to Tottenham Hotspur. This was Arsenal's first hat-trick of trophyless seasons since 1997.
Arsenal sold striker and club record goalscorer Thierry Henry to Barcelona, in the transfer window. Other departures included first team players Freddie Ljungberg and José Antonio Reyes to West Ham United and Atlético Madrid respectively; defender Bacary Sagna and striker Eduardo were the notable purchases from Auxerre and Dinamo Zagreb, respectively.
A strong start to the season saw Arsenal top the league table by September. Defeat against Sevilla 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. Arsenal extended their league lead to five points in February, but a career-threatening injury to Eduardo against Birmingham City 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 and Lauren to Portsmouth and winger Robert Pires to Spanish club Villarreal. 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. Arsenal played their home games at the newly constructed Emirates Stadium and drew their first game against Aston Villa. After a defeat by Bolton Wanderers, manager Arsène Wenger 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 of the League Cup, where they were beaten 2–1 by Chelsea. Elimination in the UEFA Champions League in the knockout stage (two-legged matches played home and away) and FA Cup 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 Liverpool but lost out on goal difference +30 to +28.
Transfers At the end of the 2006–07 season, Arsenal transferred Fabrice Muamba to Birmingham City and released Mart Poom, who subsequently joined Watford on a free transfer. Jérémie Aliadière moved to Middlesbrough in a £2 million deal while club captain and record goalscorer Thierry Henry left to join Barcelona for a reported fee of £16 million. Henry commented that his decision to leave Arsenal was because of the departure of chairman David Dein and the uncertainty over Wenger's future. Midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and striker José Antonio Reyes departed the club in July 2007, moving to West Ham United and Atlético Madrid respectively. Other players, Arturo Lupoli, Ryan Garry and Joe O'Cearuill, left on free transfers. Defender Matthew Connolly, who joined Colchester United on loan for a six-month period, later signed for Queens Park Rangers.
Legia Warsaw goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański was the first player Arsenal recruited of the new season. Next to arrive was striker Eduardo, who signed from Dinamo Zagreb, shortly followed by French defender Bacary Sagna. Lassana Diarra was purchased on transfer deadline day from Chelsea, but later transferred to Portsmouth in January after he was frustrated at limited playing time; he said, "I read that the club [Arsenal] wanted to keep me. But when you want to keep someone, you do it by playing them. This hasn't been the case."
In
No.PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRef21GKŁukasz FabiańskiLegia Warsaw£2,000,00026 May 20079FWEduardoDinamo Zagreb£7,500,0003 July 200755DFHåvard NordtveitHaugesundUndisclosed3 July 20073DFBacary SagnaAuxerre£6,000,00012 July 20078MFLassana DiarraChelsea£4,000,00031 August 2007
Out No.PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRefMFFabrice MuambaBirmingham City£4,000,00011 May 200721Mart PoomWatfordFree transfer26 May 200730FWJérémie AliadièreMiddlesbrough£2,000,00019 June 200714FWThierry HenryBarcelona£16,000,00025 June 2007FWArturo LupoliFiorentinaFree transfer8MFFreddie LjungbergWest Ham United£3,000,00023 July 20079FWJosé Antonio ReyesAtlético Madrid£6,000,00031 July 2007DFRyan GarryAFC BournemouthFree transfer6 August 2007DFJoe O'CearuillBarnetFree transfer24 August 2007DFMatthew ConnollyQueens Park Rangers£1,000,0002 January 20088MFLassana DiarraPortsmouth£5,500,00017 January 2008
Loans out No.PositionPlayerLoaned toDateLoan expiresRefDFMatthew ConnollyColchester United6 July 20072 January 2008DFKerrea GilbertSouthend United30 July 20073 January 2008FWJay SimpsonMillwall31 August 20074 May 2008
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, 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
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 on 12 August 2007. A mistake by goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, "screw[ing] an 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 and a goal from Alexander Hleb resulted in the team winning the match. In their next match, away to Blackburn Rovers, 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 scored the winning goal against Manchester City, ten minutes before the end of the match. The result was followed with what The Guardian described as a "fluent attacking display" at home to Portsmouth, on the first day of September. Arsenal faced local rivals Tottenham Hotspur after a week-long international break and went a goal behind when Gareth Bale'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 (three goals) in a 5–0 win against Derby County. 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 3–2 at home, on the first weekend of October. Second half goals from defender Kolo Touré and midfielder Tomáš Rosický 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 gave Liverpool an early lead, from a free-kick, but as the match went on, Arsenal began to dominate possession, eventually rewarded when Fábregas equalised in the 80th minute, from a Hleb through ball.
November–February November began with a home match against Manchester United. 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 to give United the lead, before Fábregas equalised early in the second half. Cristiano Ronaldo 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 at the Madejski Stadium 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 kept Arsenal three points clear of Manchester United in the league table, at the end of November. The win at Villa Park against Aston Villa 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 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 to win against Tottenham Hotspur. In spite of a draw at Portsmouth on Boxing Day, which moved Arsenal down to second place, a win against Everton helped the club move past Manchester United to the first-place spot.