[3] Despite the loss of form and heavy fan disapproval towards the end of the season, Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 13th time, beating Chelsea 2–1 in the final.

Arsenal made its first summer signing prior to start of the current season on 25 May, with the acquisition of Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka for a reported £30 million fee.

Xhaka's involvement in UEFA Euro 2016 and his subsequent desire to secure his club future beforehand enabled Arsenal to uncharacteristically complete a signing before the formal opening of the transfer window.

[5] However, they failed in their attempts to bring Vardy from the Premier League champions, with the England forward instead opting to sign a contract extension with the East Midlands club.

[12] Wenger confirmed that the injury to Mertesacker meant he'd need to sign a replacement ideally before the season's opener against Liverpool on 14 August,[13] as talks of incoming transfers intensified.

Despite the absence of key players, Wenger gave positive news ahead of a trip to Scandinavia; Alexis Sánchez and Aaron Ramsey would join the team for the tour and would likely be fit for the season's opener against Liverpool.

[15] In a post match interview, Wenger confirmed that Mesut Özil, Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud would not be fit for the game against Liverpool in nine days, with the trio returning to training on 8 August due to their extended exploits at Euro 2016.

[21] Arsenal would then announce the signings of Lucas Pérez on 28 August, with the forward joining from Deportivo de La Coruña after the Gunners activated the Spaniard's reported £17.1 million release clause.

In the first half, Laurent Koscielny equalised through a bicycle kick whilst Santi Cazorla struck a penalty in the dying minutes of the match to lead Arsenal to victory.

In the second half, Arsenal went 2–0 up through a Theo Walcott chip before Hull got a goal back, with Robert Snodgrass converting his penalty when Čech took down Dieumerci Mbokani.

Arsenal gained the lead just prior to the half-time break, with Kevin Wimmer glancing Özil's free-kick past Hugo Lloris, before Spurs responded with a Harry Kane spot-kick following a tangle between Laurent Koscielny and Mousa Dembélé.

Early on, Edinson Cavani slide home from a Blaise Matuidi cross, before Arsenal gained one back through a penalty from Giroud after a Grzegorz Krychowiak tackle on Alexis Sánchez.

Midway through the second half, Arsenal obtained the lead when a penalty-box rebound struck Marco Verratti, before PSG responded through a ricocheted Lucas header off Alex Iwobi 13 minutes from time as the game ended 2–2.

[44] The Gunners then hosted AFC Bournemouth on 27 November, and were gifted the lead when Steve Cook's poor backpass allowed Sánchez to calmly side-foot past Adam Federici.

Substitute Andy Carroll headed home to give the hosts hope but it was determined for three points to go Arsenal's favour as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain struck a 25-yard strike before Sánchez completed his hat trick, sprinting through the West Ham defence and chipping in.

Charlie Adam's penalty gave the visitors a shock lead but Arsenal replied with Theo Walcott equalising before second half goals by Özil and Iwobi as the Gunners ultimately won 3–1.

Despite the Gunners taking the lead through Alexis Sánchez's deflected free kick the hosts equalised before half-time through Séamus Coleman before Ashley Williams headed home a late winner.

Arsenal were very shaky throughout the first half and early stages of the second and goals by Charlie Daniels, Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser helped Bournemouth take a shock 3–0 lead.

A cruel hammer blow for Arsenal meant that it was destined for the visitors to bring back a point but then in the 97th minute the Gunners themselves were handed a penalty despite an offside appeal.

Former Tottenham defender Younès Kaboul gave the visitors the lead through a deflected strike from outside the box early in the first half and three minutes later Troy Deeney doubled Watford's advantage.

However, in the 30th minute Arsenal were handed a penalty and Sánchez slotted home the rebound following his initial spot-kick being saved by Manuel Neuer as the first half ended 1–1 with much cherished positivity for the Gunners.

In the next fixture against West Ham, three second-half goals from Mesut Özil, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud gave Arsenal their first league win since February.

10 minutes later, wing-back Nacho Monreal equalised and the game went to extra-time where Alexis Sánchez scored the winning goal to book Arsenal's place in the final against Chelsea.

After a goalless first period, Granit Xhaka's wildly deflected effort soared into the net, before Danny Welbeck nodded home three minutes later to seal a vital 2–0 victory and subsequently end United's 25-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

With the top four still a valid hope, Arsenal played host to Sunderland, and despite winning the match 2–0, had to work hard for the three points, earned with Alexis Sanchez's late brace.

Coming into the final matchday, Arsenal were tipped to fail in their top-four bids as they were relying on slip-ups from Liverpool or Manchester City, who were playing Middlesbrough at home and Watford away, respectively.

Despite missing out on Champions League qualification, Arsenal still had the FA Cup final at Wembley to look forward to, and Alexis Sanchez gave them the perfect start after just four minutes against Chelsea, who were looking to win the Double.

However, despite being reduced to ten men after Victor Moses's red card early in the second half, Chelsea managed to equalise on 76 minutes through an improvised Diego Costa volley.

However, just three minutes later, Aaron Ramsey powered home Olivier Giroud's cross with a solid header to seal a 2–1 win, and with it, a record 13th FA Cup for Arsenal and Arsène Weneger's seventh winners medal as a turbulent and difficult season ended on a high.

In February 2016, it was announced that Arsenal would play in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California in addition to a friendly against Mexican side Guadalajara three days later.