The 2018–19 season was Arsenal's 27th season in the Premier League, 102nd overall season in the top flight and 93rd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. The club participated in the Premier League and the UEFA Europa League, and participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
This was Arsenal's first season in 22 years without manager Arsène Wenger. For the second consecutive season, Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Europa League, improving on the last season's result and reaching the final where they were defeated by rivals Chelsea. This was the club's first and only full season under manager Unai Emery.
Review Pre-season Arsenal began their off-season by completing some squad alterations. They started by announcing the departure of club captain Per Mertesacker, who retired to become their new academy coach. After six years at the club, Santi Cazorla's departure was also announced upon the expiry of his contract. Further, Petr Čech, Héctor Bellerín, Mohamed Elneny, Mesut Özil, Granit Xhaka and Ainsley Maitland-Niles all received new squad numbers, with the latter two also extending their contracts with the club.
After completing a clearout of backroom staff to coincide with their new club-model following the retirement of long-term manager Arsène Wenger, Spaniard Unai Emery was appointed as the club's new head coach.
The first signing of the Emery era was Swiss right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner, who joined on a free transfer from Juventus on 5 June. The club then signed German goalkeeper Bernd Leno from Bayer Leverkusen two weeks later, for a rumored fee of £19.2 million. Meanwhile, club stalwart Jack Wilshere departed following the expiry of his contract, after 17 years at the club, and Greek central defender Sokratis joined the club from Borussia Dortmund for £14.8 million on 8 July. Shortly thereafter, the club signed defensive midfielder Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria for a reported fee of £26.4 million on 10 July, and announced the transfer of Matteo Guendouzi from Lorient for a rumoured £7 million a day later.
August On 7 August 2018, Alisher Usmanov announced that he would accept an offer from American businessman Stan Kroenke to buy his 30% stake in Arsenal for £550 million, in a deal that would allow Kroenke to take full control of the club.
Arsenal's first game was against reigning champions Manchester City on 12 August. They lost the game 2–0 after goals by Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva. The following game was against London rivals Chelsea on 18 August. Arsenal lost again, this time 3–2 though they had chances to get more from the game, courtesy of goals by Pedro, Álvaro Morata and Marcos Alonso while Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi scored for Arsenal.
Arsenal's first win was a 3–1 victory against West Ham United on 25 August. Marko Arnautović scored first to put West Ham in front, but Nacho Monreal equalised minutes later, and an own goal by Issa Diop and a late goal by Danny Welbeck won the game for Arsenal.
September
Arsenal's first game in September and 4th game in the Premier League, was a 3–2 victory over Cardiff City on 2 September. Shkodran Mustafi scored the opening goal from a Granit Xhaka corner, but Víctor Camarasa equalised just before the break. After the restart, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first goal of the season to give Arsenal the lead. Cardiff equalised again from a Danny Ward header, but Alexandre Lacazette ensured the victory with a thumping shot to give Arsenal another three points.
After the international break, Arsenal were the visitors against Newcastle United. After a dull first half, Granit Xhaka scored a stunning free kick to give Arsenal the lead. Mesut Özil doubled the advantage on his 200th appearance for Arsenal. Late on, Ciaran Clark scored in stoppage-time to give Newcastle hope. In the end, it was not enough as Arsenal won their third consecutive game 2–1.
Arsenal started the Europa League with a 4–2 victory over Vorskla Poltava. Aubameyang opened the scoring after a counterattack. Danny Welbeck doubled the advantage, before Aubameyang and Özil both scored to lead 4–0. However, Vorskla scored two goals late in the game though Arsenal still went away with victory.
Arsenal were at the Emirates against Everton. Lacazette scored a stunning opening goal, curling a shot into the top right corner. Moments later, Aubameyang scored a second for Arsenal, tapping in from close range, though Aubameyang was in an offside position. Nevertheless, Arsenal cruised to their fifth consecutive victory in all competitions.
To start off the EFL Cup campaign, Arsenal won 3–1 against Championship side Brentford. Arsenal scored twice through Welbeck, although Alan Judge pulled one back for Brentford. Alexandre Lacazette wrapped up the victory during stoppage-time to ensure Arsenal would progress to the next round. During the final match of September for Arsenal, they won 2–0 against Watford. Bernd Leno made his Premier League debut as a substitute after Petr Čech came off injured. Arsenal opened the scoring through a Craig Cathcart own goal following pressure by Lacazette. Özil doubled the lead when Lacazette squared the ball across for him to tap home. Arsenal came away with their seventh consecutive victory in all competitions and their fifth in the league.
October Due to political tensions, Henrikh Mkhitaryan did not travel to Azerbaijan for Arsenal's Europa League match against Qarabağ. Arsenal nevertheless prevailed, 3–0, with Sokratis, Matteo Guendouzi and Emile Smith Rowe all scoring their debut goals.
Arsenal's strong form continued with a dominant 5–1 victory over Fulham. Although the match was tied 1–1 at half-time, Arsenal scored four second-half goals to extend their winning run to nine in all competitions. Aaron Ramsey scored just 39 seconds after being introduced as a substitute; two goals each by Lacazette and Aubameyang completed the scoresheet. A 3–1 victory against Leicester City on 22 October 2018 saw Özil become the highest scoring German player of the Premier League era, with 30 goals. They continued the winning form with a 1–0 victory against Sporting in the Europa League, with Danny Welbeck getting the deciding goal. However, Arsenal's winning streak was stopped at eleven with a 2–2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
For their final match in October, Arsenal faced League One side Blackpool in the EFL Cup. The Gunners held a 2–0 lead courtesy of goals by Stephan Lichtsteiner and Emile Smith Rowe, but a second yellow card to Matteo Guendouzi allowed Blackpool to cut the lead to 2–1. Arsenal held on to advance to a quarterfinal matchup against Tottenham Hotspur.
November Arsenal hosted Liverpool on 3 November 2018. A late strike by Alexandre Lacazette earned a point for the Gunners after James Milner gave Liverpool a second-half lead. In Europe, a 0–0 draw with Sporting secured passage into the round of 32, before a 1–1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Henrikh Mkhitaryan's late strike ruled out Ivan Cavaleiro's opener.
After the international break, the Gunners played Bournemouth. A Jefferson Lerma own goal put them up before Joshua King equalized in first-half stoppage time. However, Aubameyang scored the winner to hand the Gunners their first victory of the month. Their final game of November was against Vorskla in the Europa League. UEFA decided before the match that it was to be moved from Poltava to Kyiv due to martial law in Ukraine, and Arsenal ran out 3–0 winners, with goals from Smith Rowe, Ramsey (from the penalty spot) and Joe Willock. This game also marked the debuts of Zech Medley, Charlie Gilmour, and Bukayo Saka, all from the substitute's bench, and confirmed that Arsenal would progress as group winners.
December Arsenal hosted the first North London derby of the season on 2 December 2018. They took an early 1–0 lead after Aubameyang converted a penalty in the 10th minute following a Jan Vertonghen handball in the box. However, Spurs scored two goals in a span of five minutes to take a 2–1 lead at halftime. Emery made two substitutions and tactical changes at halftime, and the Gunners responded brilliantly, scoring three goals en route to a 4–2 comeback win; Aubameyang netted a brace and became the first player to score ten goals in the 2018–19 Premier League season; other goals from Alexandre Lacazette, and Lucas Torreira, of which was his first goal since joining the club.
Arsenal continued their unbeaten run against rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford. In what was a dull match, Rob Holding and Aaron Ramsey both suffered injuries, the former tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, thus ruling him out for the rest of the season. The game ended in a 2–2 draw, despite Arsenal scoring two goals which were disallowed in the second half.
Arsenal bounced back from their dropped points at Old Trafford with a 1–0 victory against Huddersfield at the Emirates. Alexandre Lacazette had a goal wrongly disallowed in the first half, and Arsenal finally broke the deadlock through a stunning overhead kick from Lucas Torreira, thus sealing the three points for Arsenal in an unsatisfying performance.
Arsenal won their final Europa League Group game at home against Qarabag. Alexandre Lacazette scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 victory.
Arsenal lost 3–2 against Southampton at St. Mary's Stadium, thus ending their 22 games unbeaten run. Danny Ings opened the scoring for Southampton, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalized for Arsenal with a header. Ings got his second of the game just before halftime. In the second half, Henrikh Mkhitaryan equalized once again with a deflected effort. However, Charlie Austin scored in the 85th minute, capitalizing on a Bernd Leno error to nod home and defeat the Gunners.
The next match for Arsenal was a North London Derby at the Emirates against Tottenham in the EFL Cup. Tottenham got their revenge on Arsenal for the 4–2 defeat in the league with a 2–0 win, knocking out the Gunners from the competition.
Arsenal responded to their two consecutive losses with a 3–1 victory over Burnley. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a brilliant pass by Mesut Özil. Aubameyang scored his second in the 48th minute. Despite Ashley Barnes scoring to cut the deficit for Burnley, Alex Iwobi insured that Arsenal would walk away with all 3 points in stoppage time.
Arsenal faced Brighton away from home on Boxing Day. Aubameyang scored a goal early on after some brilliant footwork from Alexandre Lacazette. Despite the early lead, Jürgen Locadia scored, capitalizing on Stephan Lichtsteiner's error, forcing a draw at Falmer Stadium.
Arsenal's last game of 2018 was against title contenders Liverpool F.C. at Anfield. Arsenal got off to the perfect start with an 11th-minute goal from Ainsley Maitland-Niles. However, Liverpool responded brilliantly, with Roberto Firmino scoring twice within the space of a minute right after Arsenal's opener. Sadio Mané made matters worse with a goal in the 32nd minute. Mohammed Salah scored a penalty just before halftime, and Firmino got his hat trick with another penalty in the 55th minute, as Arsenal fell to a 5–1 defeat.
January
Arsenal started 2019 with a 4–1 victory against relegation contenders Fulham. Granit Xhaka, Alexandre Lacazette, Aaron Ramsey, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored for the Gunners; Aboubakar Kamara scored for the visitors.
Arsenal kicked off their FA Cup campaign away to Blackpool. Joe Willock scored a brace and Alex Iwobi added another en route to a 3–0 victory.