HITC Sport takes a look back at the ups and downs of Arsenal’s 2016.
After missing out on another Premier League title at the hands of Leicester City, Arsenal have responded to the disappointment of the 2015/2016 with a bang. Recruiting in key areas, that have often stood out as major weaknesses in this Gunners side, Arsenal have finally started to draw the best out of their squad of talented players, and now stand firmly as a favourite for this season’s Premier League trophy.
Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny in action
Arsenal’s year got off to a fairly impressive start in terms of results, as they kicked off their FA Cup defence with a 3-1 win against Sunderland at the Emirates. Despite a defeat to Chelsea, Arsenal were off to a decent beginning in 2016, but it was their business in the January transfer window that had Gunners fans talking. Despite obviously being in need of a world-class centre forward and defensive midfielder, the Gunners recruited only one player, Egyptian international Mohamed Elneny, in a £5m move.
Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud
The decision to just bring in Elneny would prove to be a decisive moment in Arsenal’s league campaign, as the team followed January with a disappointing two months. Over February, Arsenal failed to score for 3 consecutive games, and despite a decisive win over title rivals Leicester City, they would end up tripping up several times, including a loss to Swansea City, as well as crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Lionel Messi’s FC Barcelona.
Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele in action with Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey
It would end up being a decisive battle against Arsenal’s biggest rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, that would inspire the Gunners to a rousing finish. After rescuing a draw thanks to a late goal from Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal kicked on to win a number of key fixtures in the title race, including impressive 4-0 victories over Watford and Aston Villa, to end up finishing second.
Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny applauds fans after the game
Over the summer, Arsenal immediately got to work on making sure they got right what they had previously gotten wrong in January, buy bringing in two recruits in two major positions.
Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka
As well as bringing in a top class defensive midfielder in the form of Switzerland international, Granit Xhaka, the Gunners splashed the cash on German defender, Shkodran Mustafi, the type of player the London club have been crying out for over the last year or so.
Arsenal’s Shkodran Mustafi
Starting their season off with a bang, Arsenal picked up a massive 3-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s new look Manchester City side in the Community Shield, showing their promotion credentials for this season from the get go. Despite an early defeat to Liverpool, Arsenal would go on through to the end of September unbeaten, including a 3-0 smashing of Antonio Conte’s impressive Chelsea.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez celebrates scoring their first goal
October and November would follow in a similar fashion for the Gunners, as they went nearly two months unbeaten. The highlight of the autumn period was, without doubt, Arsenal’s 6-0 drubbing of Ludogorets in the Champions League, which included one of the most impressive Champions League goals of the season from German midfielder, Mesut Ozil.
Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil scores their third goal
As December draws to a close, the Gunners have currently scored 12 goals in their last three games in all competitions, and really do look like firing on all cylinders as we approach the crucial turning point in the 16/17 Premier League season, as well as the ever important January transfer window. With Alexis Sanchez scoring the goals up top, as well as world class players finding some of the best form of their careers, such as Petr Cech and Mesut Ozil, 2017 could well prove to finally be the year that Arsenal FC lift the Premier League trophy once more.
Arsenal players celebrate
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