2007–08 Arsenal F.C. season
122nd season in existence of Arsenal F.C. / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2007–08 season was Arsenal Football Club's 16th season in the Premier League and their 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[2][3] The club ended their Premier League campaign in third position, having led the table for two-thirds of the season. Arsenal made it into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League, but were eliminated on aggregate score against Liverpool. The team exited the FA Cup in the fifth round to Manchester United and lost in the semi-finals of the League Cup to Tottenham Hotspur. This was Arsenal's first hat-trick of trophyless seasons since 1997.
2007–08 season | ||||
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Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood | |||
Manager | Arsène Wenger | |||
Stadium | Emirates Stadium | |||
Premier League | 3rd | |||
FA Cup | Fifth round | |||
League Cup | Semi-finals | |||
UEFA Champions League | Quarter-finals | |||
Top goalscorer | League: Emmanuel Adebayor (24) All: Emmanuel Adebayor (30) | |||
Highest home attendance | 60,161 (vs. Manchester United, 3 November 2007, Premier League) | |||
Lowest home attendance | 53,136 (vs. Tottenham Hotspur, 9 January 2008, League Cup) | |||
Average home league attendance | 59,581 (in all competitions)[1] | |||
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Arsenal sold striker and club record goalscorer Thierry Henry to Barcelona, in the transfer window. Other departures included first team players Freddie Ljungberg and José Antonio Reyes to West Ham United and Atlético Madrid respectively; defender Bacary Sagna and striker Eduardo were the notable purchases from Auxerre and Dinamo Zagreb, respectively.
A strong start to the season saw Arsenal top the league table by September. Defeat against Sevilla in November ended a run of 28 matches undefeated and it was not until a month after did the team lose in the league for the first time, away at Middlesbrough. Arsenal extended their league lead to five points in February, but a career-threatening injury to Eduardo against Birmingham City coincided with the team going on a run of four draws in the Premier League. Manchester United soon overtook them in first and defeat to Chelsea in March moved Arsenal down in third place, where they remained at the end of the season. However, their points tally of 83 remains as the highest in the Premier League for a third-placed team under the 38 game format.
Thirty-two different players represented the club in four competitions, and there were 16 different goalscorers. Emmanuel Adebayor was Arsenal's top goalscorer in the 2007–08 season, scoring 30 goals in 48 appearances.