2013/14 season review

This season was Arsenal's best ever in terms of overall win percentage, they finished in the top four of the Premier League for the 18th year in a row and made it through the group stage of the Champions League group stage for the 14th consecutive time.

But season 2013/14 will always be remembered for the record-equalling 11th FA Cup success.

Aaron Ramsey's extra-time strike against Hull City at Wembley sealed the club's 40th major honour overall, and the 12th under Arsène Wenger.

It was the 56th game of the campaign - the overall record was W37, D8, L11, F99, A57.

That's the most victories Arsenal have piled up in a single season since 2004/05 and the joint-fourth most victories ever in a campaign in the club's history. The overall win rate of 66.07 per cent beats the club record, which had stood since 1930/31.

Here we analyse the stats from a memorable season.

THE FA CUP

Arsenal won six games out of six in the FA Cup, scored 16 goals, conceded five and never left London during the run.

It's the first time Arsenal have ever had a 100 per cent record for the season in the competition - the 10 previous cup wins all featured at least one draw/replay. It's also the most goals Arsenal have scored in an FA Cup season for 11 years.

The Gunners eliminated four Premier League sides (including the teams that finished second, fifth and sixth), one from the Championship and one from League One.

In the final Arsenal found themselves 2-0 down inside 10 minutes for the third time this season, but became the first side to win the cup from a two-goal deficit since Liverpool beat West Ham on penalties in 2005. Previously Everton won the cup (without the need for a shoot-out) after being 2-0 down against Sheffield Wednesday in 1966.

The Club's full record for FA Cup finals is now: P19, W11, D1, L7, F23, A16.

It ended a run of eight seasons without silverware (513 games after the last trophy success) and Arsène Wenger - the only Gunners boss to win the cup more than once - secured his fifth FA Cup. No manager in the modern era has more.

He's also won the cup in three different decades at three different venues (the old Wembley, Millennium Stadium and the new Wembley).

The cup win means Arsenal's first fixture next season will be the Community Shield against Manchester City, on August 10. It will be the club's 20th appearance in the traditional season curtain-raiser (only Manchester United and Liverpool have more), looking for a 13th victory.

It will extend Arsenal's record of most appearances at Wembley to 46. 

PREMIER LEAGUE

This season's tally of 79 Premier League points was Arsenal's third highest ever in a non-championship winning campaign, and more than the title-winning sides of 1988/89 and 1997/98 mustered. 

In the end however it was only enough for fourth place; the most points the fourth-placed team has ever won in the Premier League and 19 more than fourth-placed Liverpool earned in 2003/04, for example.

It's the 18th consecutive season Arsenal have finished in the top four, the previous longest run of top-four finishes for the club was five (1930/31 to 1934/35).

Arsène Wenger continued his perfect record of reaching the top four, and 44 per cent of all the club's top-four finishes in history have been during his tenure.

It's the same position they finished last season, indeed Arsenal have not finished more than one place away from their previous season's position in any of the last seven years.

The Gunners won 24 league games (the most since 2007/08), of which 11 came in away games - more than any other side in the division.

The home record was impressive too. Last season Arsenal had the best defensive record in the league for away games, this season no team conceded fewer goals at home.

After losing to Aston Villa on the opening day, the Gunners remained unbeaten at Emirates for the rest of the league season.

That 3-1 reverse to Villa back in August was also the only time Arsenal lost to a side that finished in the bottom half. The record for those 20 fixtures was: W17 D2 L1 for an average of 2.65 points per game, the best in the league.

So it's clear where the title was won and lost. Arsenal took 1.44 points per game against the top-half sides, and just 0.75 points per game from the other sides in the top five.

THE PLAYERS

Arsenal used 33 different players during the season, of whom Per Mertesacker appeared most often (52 games).

He missed just four league games and one in the Capital One Cup. The Gunners lost two of the five games he sat out (40 per cent) compared to 18 per cent of the games the big German played. Mertesacker is the first player to start 50 games in a season since Kolo Toure started 55 games in 2003/04.

Forming an XI of players who featured most often this season would give the following line-up: Szczesny (46), Sagna (48), Gibbs (41), Mertesacker (52), Koscielny (46), Arteta (43), Flamini (36), Cazorla (46), Ozil (40), Rosicky (39), Giroud (51).

Seven (21 per cent) of the 33 players this season played just once, while 23 (70 per cent) played at least 10 times.

First-team debuts were given to eight different players, including Gedion Zelalem who became the sixth youngest player ever to represent Arsenal when he came on against Coventry City in the FA Cup fourth round.

Aged 16 years and 363 days at the time, the German midfielder also became the first person born during Arsène Wenger's reign to represent the first team.

More than half (19) of the 33 players who featured this season got their name on the scoresheet at least once.

Olivier Giroud led the way with 22 of the 99 total goals - one more than last season's top scorer Theo Walcott. Giroud was followed by Aaron Ramsey (16) and Lukas Podolski (12).

Arsenal won each of the 13 games Ramsey scored in this season, just as they won the two games he scored in last term. His winner in the FA Cup final was the 9,000th the club has scored overall, in 5,312 games.

Serge Gnabry, Mesut Ozil, Thomas Eisfeld and Carl Jenkinson all netted their first goals during the season. But there were no own goals scored in Arsenal's favour - the first time that's happened since 1996/97.

Arsenal had a fine disciplinary record in 2013/14 too. Only Cardiff picked up fewer bookings (53) and conceded fewer fouls (350) in the Premier League.

Per Mertesacker conceded just 12 fouls all season in the league, while regular central defensive partner Laurent Koscielny was booked just once all season after his opening-day red card.

MONTH BY MONTH

Arsenal spent 128 days on top of the Premier League table - twice as many as eventual champions Manchester City.

However the latest Arsenal occupied top spot was the morning of February 8. That day Liverpool beat Arsenal 5-1 at Anfield in the early kick-off, and by the evening Chelsea were a point clear.

Arsenal then won just two of the following eight Premier League games and their title bid was over.

Those two wins did include a memorable north London derby success at White Hart Lane though - one of three victories over our neighbours in 2013/14. Tottenham were one of nine sides that Arsenal beat both home and away.

The Gunners started and finished the campaign strongly, enjoying 100 per cent records in September and May, though they did pick up at least two wins in every month for the first time since 2008/09.

Early in the season the team also set a new club record for consecutive away wins in all competitions, a sequence that began in 2012/13. The team won all 12 games on the road between March 13 and September 28, 2013 inclusive.

The most popular winning scoreline throughout the campaign was 2-0, recorded 12 times. Arsenal didn't score more than four in a game all term, despite managing that seven times last season, and 79 per cent (44) of the games had no more than two goals between the sides.