[23] Pre-season saw Arsenal hold their first ever Asian tour, commencing against a Malaysian League XI in Kuala Lumpur where goals from Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott, Carlos Vela and Tomáš Rosický earned the Gunners a 4–0 win.

Chinese side Hangzhou Greentown proved a tougher test in Arsenal's next match, where after falling behind in the 16th minute, Vela scored to achieve a 1–1 draw.

Arsenal's only home pre-season matches came in the annual Emirates Cup tournament, where Boca Juniors, the New York Red Bulls and Paris Saint-Germain were welcomed to London.

Arsenal's run of pre-season fixtures concluded with a loss to Portuguese team Benfica in the Eusébio Cup, once again surrendering a one-goal advantage courtesy of Van Persie to end up losing 2–1 in Lisbon.

Arsenal's fixtures in the Premier League started at Newcastle United, where, despite surrendering a four-goal lead last season, they played out a 0–0 draw this time around.

The two legs were sandwiched between an early Premier League title contender clash at the Emirates against Liverpool, where an own goal from Aaron Ramsey and a last minute strike from new Liverpool signing Luis Suárez saw the team fall to a 0–2 defeat, and fuel the widely held belief that Arsenal would once again fail to prove serious challengers for the league title.

Any attempt to dispel such a notion was dealt a huge blow the following week, when Arsenal travelled to Old Trafford to suffer their heaviest ever defeat in the Premier League.

A win looked to be on the cards thanks to Robin van Persie's first half goal, but Dortmund's Ivan Perišić equalised with just two minutes left to play leaving Arsenal to be satisfied with just a single point.

Rafael van der Vaart's opening goal at White Hart Lane was cancelled out by Aaron Ramsey, before Kyle Walker secured the bragging rights for Tottenham Hotspur.

Following an international break, the Gunners' home match against Sunderland looked set to be heading for a 1–1 draw until Van Persie scored in the last ten minutes to secure all three points, whilst a late goal also earned an away European victory against Marseille, with Ramsey providing the required firepower.

The turnaround was complete when Arsenal beat title-rivals Chelsea 5–3 at Stamford Bridge thanks to goals from André Santos and Theo Walcott, as well as a hat-trick from Van Persie, a performance that helped the Dutchman to the Premier League player of the month award, and saw the Gunners finish October, seventh in the table.

November opened with Marseille visiting the Emirates for the return leg of the Champions League fixture, a game that ended in a 0–0 draw.

Arsenal knew a win would be sufficient to secure progression to the knockout phase, but it was Dortmund who made the brighter start until injuries forced two of their key players – Sven Bender and Mario Götze, to be substituted before half time.

Despite these absences, the Gunners put up a strong fight, and it was only David Silva's effort early in the second half that was enough to separate the teams at the final whistle.

With the Premier League title now out of reach, Arsenal hosted Aston Villa in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup knowing that it was their last realistic chance of silverware.

However, a spirited Arsenal performance in the opening spell of the second half, including three goals in seven minutes from Van Persie (2) and Theo Walcott, saw the team claim a 3–2 victory and secure a place in the Fifth Round.

Mikel Arteta also found the net, before Henry scored his first Premier League goal in nearly six years to complete the victory in stoppage time.

Henry's talents were required again in Arsenal's next league match, away to Sunderland, who were on a superb run of form under new manager Martin O’Neill.

They first lost the opening leg of their Champions League round of 16 match against Milan 4–0, before being knocked out of the FA Cup by Sunderland just three days later, leaving the team facing yet another season without any silverware.

This aim would be tested heavily in their next game, the North London derby against age-old rivals Tottenham, who have spent the season so far above Arsenal in the table.

It seemed that Arsenal's poor form against their rivals in recent years was likely to continue, falling 2–0 behind through goals from Louis Saha and former Gunner Emmanuel Adebayor, before Bacary Sagna and the ever-reliable Van Persie scored in quick succession to bring the teams level at half-time.

Arsenal continued to press in the second-half, and were rewarded with a goal from Tomáš Rosický and a brace from Theo Walcott to secure a memorable 5–2 victory that the Gunners would savour, and that saw the team strengthen their challenge for fourth place.

The North London derby victory spurred Arsenal on to continue their good Premier League form at the start of March.

Vermaelen scored the winner in the fifth minute of added time at the end of the match, after Van Persie had drawn the teams level early in the first half.

The team, however, fell one game short of going the whole of March unbeaten, falling to a 2–1 defeat away to QPR, where Walcott's strike proved insufficient to secure any points for the Gunners.

A Norwich equaliser in the 85th minute, however, shattered that dream, meaning their ongoing battle with Tottenham for guaranteed Champions League football would have to be settled on the final day of the season.