The 2021–22 season was Arsenal Football Club's 30th season in the Premier League, their 96th consecutive season in the top flight of English football and 105th season in the top flight overall. It began on 1 July 2021 and concluded on 30 June 2022, with competitive matches played between August and May. In addition to the domestic league, Arsenal also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup, but they did not participate in any European competition for the first time since 1995–96, owing to an eighth-place finish the previous season.
Managed by Mikel Arteta in his second full season, Arsenal were the youngest team in the Premier League with an average starting age of 24 years and 308 days – more than a whole year younger than the next team. They finished fifth in the Premier League, and qualified for next season's UEFA Europa League.
The season was documented in the Amazon Prime Video series All or Nothing: Arsenal.
Overview June and July On 24 June, Greek centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos's loan spell at Bundesliga club Stuttgart was extended for another season.
On 1 July, Arsenal released several players, of which the only first-team player was Brazilian centre-back David Luiz, who was at the end of his contract; Luiz later joined Brazilian top-flight side Flamengo in September. At the same time, Spanish midfielder Dani Ceballos and Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan finished their loan spells and returned to Real Madrid and Brighton & Hove Albion, respectively, though the latter would join Real Sociedad on 12 July. On 6 July, French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who spent the entirety of the previous season on loan at Bundesliga club Hertha Berlin, was once again loaned out, this time to Ligue 1 club Marseille for the entire Ligue 1 season. Arsenal's first signing of the summer transfer window came on 10 July, with 21-year-old Portuguese left-back Nuno Tavares arriving from Benfica for about £8 million.
Arsenal had four players unavailable for pre-season friendlies, as Bernd Leno, Bukayo Saka, Kieran Tierney, and Granit Xhaka had competed in Euro 2020, which ended on 11 July. On 13 July, Arsenal began their pre-season tour of Scotland with a 2–1 defeat to Hibernian. This was followed by a match four days later against defending Scottish champions Rangers, who were celebrating their 150th anniversary. Arsenal fell behind twice but recovered for a 2–2 draw.
Between the two Scottish friendlies, it was announced on 15 July that French centre-back William Saliba, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Nice, would join Guendouzi at Marseille on a season-long loan deal. On 19 July, Arsenal made their second acquisition, signing 21-year-old Belgian midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga from Anderlecht for about £17.2 million.
The day after, Arsenal withdrew from the seventh edition of the Florida Cup, citing "a small number of positive COVID-19 tests" among the staff. They had been set to compete with fellow Premier League club Everton, Serie A club Inter Milan, and Colombian top-flight club Millionarios, but they and fellow withdrawals Inter Milan were replaced by Atlético Nacional, also from the Colombian first division, and Liga MX club Pumas UNAM.
In lieu of the Florida Cup matches, Arsenal organised friendlies at their London Colney training ground against two other London sides, Millwall from the EFL Championship on 24 July and newly promoted Premier League side Watford on 28 July, with both matches finishing 4–1 to Arsenal.
Arsenal concluded the month with the announced signing of 23-year-old English centre-back Ben White on 30 July, who joined from fellow Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion on a £50 million deal.
August To finish their pre-season, Arsenal participated in the Mind Series pre-season tournament, which supported Mind and other mental health charities, against London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners faced Chelsea on 1 August at home in the first of the two matches. Manager Mikel Arteta opted to not start any of the new signings, although Ben White was substituted on at halftime for his debut. Granit Xhaka's second-half header equalised after Kai Havertz's first-half goal, but minutes later, Tammy Abraham capitalised on an Arsenal defensive error to give Chelsea the lead again. A shot from Joe Willock in the last ten minutes looked to have crossed the goal line, but without the aid of goal-line technology, referee Andre Marriner did not award the goal, and the match ended 2–1 to Chelsea.
For their last pre-season game, Arsenal played their second Mind Series match, this time away to Tottenham Hotspur on 8 August, with Ben White joining fellow new signing Albert Sambi Lokonga in the starting lineup. After both teams came close to scoring on several occasions, Tottenham broke the deadlock in the 79th minute, as Son Heung-min finishing off a cross from Serge Aurier for the game's solitary goal. By losing both of the matches, Arsenal finished at the bottom of the tournament, while Chelsea beat Tottenham for the inaugural title on goals scored.
After being loaned to fellow Premier League side Newcastle United at the end of last season's winter transfer window, Joe Willock had scored eight goals in 14 league appearances, and manager Steve Bruce was keen on bringing him back. As a result, on 13 August, Arsenal announced the transfer of the academy graduate from the first team to Newcastle United on a six-year deal worth at least £20 million.
That same day, Arsenal opened the new Premier League season and headed to the Brentford Community Stadium in west London to take on newly promoted Brentford F.C., who were making their Premier League debut. The Gunners began the season without Alexandre Lacazette and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who were ruled out a few hours prior to kick-off due to illness, while Ben White and Albert Sambi Lokonga made their competitive debuts for the team. Academy graduate Folarin Balogun was also named to the starting lineup for his Premier League debut. After Bryan Mbeumo hit the post in the 12th minute, Sergi Canós scored the opening goal of the season 10 minutes later. Meanwhile, Arsenal struggled offensively, with Kieran Tierney having their only shot on target in the first half. In the 73rd minute, Christian Nørgaard doubled Brentford's lead, heading in a long throw-in from substitute Mads Bech Sørensen. Despite several close opportunities, Arsenal were unable to find a consolation goal, and as a result, they opened the season with a 2–0 loss.
On 20 August, Arsenal announced two more signings. Norwegian midfielder Martin Ødegaard, who had been on loan at Arsenal from Real Madrid for the second half of last season, joined on a permanent deal worth £34 million. Meanwhile, English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale joined from Sheffield United, which had been relegated from the Premier League last season, in a deal worth up to £30 million.
Arsenal played the home opener of their Premier League campaign on 22 August against cross-town rivals Chelsea. The match was decided by two first-half goals, a tap-in from Romelu Lukaku and a top-corner strike from Reece James. With a second consecutive 2–0 loss to open the season, Arsenal dropped to 19th, just ahead of last-placed Norwich City on goal difference.
On 25 August, ahead of their first Carabao Cup match of the season, Arsenal announced that Lucas Torreira would once again go out on loan, this time to Serie A team ACF Fiorentina for the entire 2021–22 season. Torreira had spent the entirety of last season on loan at La Liga team Atlético Madrid, accumulating 26 appearances and one goal in all competitions; Atlético Madrid went on to win the league.
Arsenal entered the Carabao Cup in the second round, facing Championship side West Bromwich Albion away at the Hawthorns. Aaron Ramsdale made his debut and started in goal, while Martin Ødegaard made his first start as a full-fledged Arsenal player. With West Brom opting to field a team of mostly backup and academy players, Arsenal dominated the game from start to end. In the first half, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored two goals before Nicolas Pépé added a third in stoppage time, tapping the ball in after Aubameyang's failed bicycle kick attempt. Bukayo Saka scored five minutes into the second half before Aubameyang completed his hat-trick in the 62nd minute. Substitute Alexandre Lacazette further increased Arsenal's lead seven minutes later, and they won 6–0 to advance to the third round.
On 28 August, Arsenal continued their Premier League campaign, facing Manchester City away at the City of Manchester Stadium. A seventh-minute header from İlkay Gündoğan, which Bernd Leno only managed to punch into the roof of the net, was followed by a close-range goal from Ferran Torres five minutes later. Referee Martin Atkinson showed Granit Xhaka a red card for a dangerous tackle on João Cancelo in the 35th minute. With the man advantage, Manchester City added a third goal shortly before halftime, with Gabriel Jesus redirecting a pass from Jack Grealish into the goal. Manchester City added two more goals in the second half, first with Rodri early in the second half, and then with Torres scoring his second goal of the game by beating Leno to head in a cross from Riyad Mahrez. With the 5–0 result and their third consecutive loss to open their Premier League campaign, Arsenal dropped to 20th, sitting at the bottom of the table and behind both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Norwich City on goal difference and goals scored.
With the end of the summer transfer window approaching at the end of the month, Arsenal sought to make some final transactions. On 30 August, Willian, who had two years remaining in his contract, left by mutual consent and returned to boyhood club Corinthians in Brazil. On the final day of the transfer window, three first team players were loaned out for the rest of the 2021–22 season: Reiss Nelson joined Feyenoord in the Eredivisie, Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson joined OH Leuven in the Belgian First Division A, and Héctor Bellerín joined Real Betis in La Liga. Meanwhile, the club made one deadline day signing, adding 22-year-old Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu from Serie A side Bologna on a £16 million deal.
September Ahead of the international break, Arsenal held a friendly against Brentford, to whom they had lost their first game of the Premier League campaign. The match was held behind closed doors at the Arsenal Training Centre in London Colney. After neither team scored in the first half, Arsenal scored twice early in the second half. The opener, which was scored by Gabriel, returning from injury, was followed by a free kick from Alexandre Lacazette at the hour mark. Cédric scored twice in the final 15 minutes to cap off the 4–0 victory and avenge Arsenal's opening day loss.
After the international break, Arsenal, sitting at the bottom of the Premier League standings, took on 19th placed Norwich City at home on 11 September. New signing Takehiro Tomiyasu made his debut, starting at right back, while Aaron Ramsdale started over Bernd Leno in goal. The match remained scoreless at halftime, though Arsenal came close on several occasions. In the 66th minute, an initial shot by Nicolas Pépé rebounded off the post back to him, and he was immediately tackled by Brandon Williams before he could take a second shot. The ball then ricocheted off several players before Aubameyang tapped it in; a VAR check confirmed that the goal was onside, thus putting Arsenal into the lead and giving them their first Premier League goal of the season. Although Arsenal were unable to score a second goal, the 1–0 win was Arsenal's first of their Premier League campaign, and it elevated them out of the bottom three positions.