[5] The club's solid pre-season form, however, fizzled out as they failed to win in their first two home games, with a 2–0 defeat to West Ham on the opening weekend, leaving them third-bottom, and a goalless draw with Liverpool, although Aaron Ramsey was falsely ruled offside for an early goal.

Arsenal did not make additional signings after Čech, leaving manager Wenger to come under fire from fans and critics.

Arsenal started September with a nervy 2–0 win over Stoke City at the Emirates, with Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud scoring.

[7] The week got worse as Arsenal lost 2–0 at Stamford Bridge, with Santi Cazorla (two yellows) and Gabriel being sent off, the latter incorrectly shown red by Mike Dean for a clash with Diego Costa in which the latter assaulted Laurent Koscielny.

[9] With the Chelsea incident resolved, Arsenal faced a tough League Cup tie with North London arch-rival club Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane.

Despite the German team losing only once all season, Arsenal claimed a shock 2–0 win, with Giroud and Özil scoring late in the second half.

[15] Arsenal's only loss in October came between the Everton win and a 3–0 victory over Swansea City, courtesy of goals from Giroud, Laurent Koscielny and Joel Campbell,[16] when they were stunned by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, going out of the League Cup in a 3–0 defeat that saw Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain off injured, with goals from Ross Wallace, Lucas João and Sam Hutchinson.

[19] November only got worse for Arsenal, with Francis Coquelin looking at three months out, Mikel Arteta facing several weeks out after both were injured in a 2–1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, with Santi Cazorla missing a vital penalty late on.

Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey and Walcott, however, all returned at the end of the month, with the crucial Olympiacos game and a match with Premier League title contenders Manchester City coming up.

Arsenal returned to form in December, starting with a 3–1 win over Sunderland, with Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey scoring either side of goals at either end from Olivier Giroud.

[31] This was followed by two away league fixtures at Liverpool and Stoke; the former was a 3–3 draw with Giroud scoring a brace and Ramsey finding the net for Arsenal,[32] whereas the latter finished scoreless.

[34] Six days later, Arsenal advanced to the fifth round of the FA Cup, with Calum Chambers and Alexis Sánchez scoring in a 2–1 defeat of Championship side Burnley at home.

Aaron Ramsey gave Arsenal a crucial lead, but a Francis Coquelin sending off for two yellow cards turned the game on its head.

Toby Alderweireld and Harry Kane struck back to put Spurs ahead, but Alexis Sánchez helped the team rescue a point with a late goal, with the match finishing 2–2.

[44] Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott scored two goals each against Hull City in the FA Cup fifth round replay to reach the quarter finals,[45] but Arsenal went out after a 2–1 home defeat to Watford, with Danny Welbeck scoring the lone goal for the team as Arsenal's defence ended, after winning the previous two titles.

[47] One promising note from the defeat was the performance of Nigerian youngster Alex Iwobi, and he was rewarded with his second Premier League start against Everton at the end of March.

[49] The result kept Arsenal firmly in the title race ahead of a crucial clash at sixth-placed West Ham the following weekend, having lost the reverse tie on opening day.

[51] Arsenal's title hopes suffered a big blow when they were held 1–1 at home by Crystal Palace despite dominating the match, with Sánchez scoring for the team.

[53] Arsenal's chances of ending a 12-year Premier League title drought became mathematically impossible after a 0–0 away draw at Sunderland, which left them 12 points behind leaders Leicester with only three matches to play.

Captain Mikel Arteta, who came on as a substitute in what was his final appearance before retirement, forced an own goal by shooting in off the bar and Villa goalkeeper Mark Bunn.

[58] Arteta was given a standing ovation, while second-longest-serving player Tomáš Rosický received a guard of honour, with the club confirming both would leave at the expiration of their contracts.