The 2006–07 season was the 109th season of competitive football played by Arsenal. It was the first season in which home matches were played at the over-60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium; the club's former ground Highbury was to be redeveloped as a residential development. Arsenal ended their Premier League campaign in fourth, level on points with third-placed Liverpool but with a marginally lower goal difference. In the League Cup, a competition which offered manager Arsène Wenger the chance to play his younger players, Arsenal reached the final but lost to a relatively experienced Chelsea side. The defeat was followed by exits in the FA Cup to Blackburn Rovers and in the UEFA Champions League to PSV Eindhoven. Twenty-eight players represented Arsenal in four competitions and there were 18 goalscorers. Arsenal's top goalscorer was Robin van Persie, who scored 13 goals in 31 appearances.
Arsenal entered the competition in the third round and faced West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, where striker Aliadière scored twice to secure a 2–0 victory for the visitors. They then travelled to Goodison Park in the fourth round to play Everton. Arsenal won the match 0–1 courtesy of a late Adebayor goal, which came from a corner. For much of the game Everton played with a man disadvantage as striker James McFadden was sent off in the 19th minute for dissent. Liverpool were Arsenal's opponent in the fifth round. The match, scheduled on 19 December 2006 at Anfield, was postponed by referee Martin Atkinson because of heavy fog. Atkinson's decision infuriated the managers of both clubs, with Rafael Benítez commenting: "There were a lot of people looking forward to the game and it's really difficult to explain." The tie was rescheduled for 9 January 2007 and on the night Arsenal took the lead when Aliadière scored in the 27th minute. Robbie Fowler equalised for Liverpool six minutes later. Later, two goals from Baptista and goal from Alex Song put Arsenal 4–1 ahead at half time. In the second half, Baptista completed his hat-trick; although Steven Gerrard and Sami Hyypiä scored to close the scoreline gap for Liverpool, Baptista added his fourth goal of the match in the 84th minute. The final score was 6–3, Liverpool's heaviest defeat at Anfield in 76 years. In his match report for The Guardian, Taylor praised Arsenal's reserve team and summarised, "The difference between the two teams was immense. Arsenal played with flair and purpose; Liverpool were dishevelled and short of leadership." Tottenham Hotspur faced Arsenal in the semi-final which was played over two legs. A goal from Dimitar Berbatov gave Tottenham the lead in the 12th minute and they extended their advantage after Baptista inadvertently kicked the ball into his own goal. Baptista, however, made amends in the second half, scoring twice in the space of 13 minutes to level the score at 2–2. The second leg at the Emirates Stadium saw Arsenal dominate proceedings, but only took the lead in the 77th minute when Adebayor scored. Mido equalised for Tottenham, which took the match into extra time because of the away goals rule. Aliadière's goal in the 105th minute restored Arsenal's lead and an own goal scored by Pascal Chimbonda ensured the home team progressed to the final, winning 3–1 after extra time and 5–3 on aggregate. Arsenal played Chelsea in the final at the Millennium Stadium on 25 February 2007. Wenger continued his policy of naming a young team, which took the lead in the 12th minute when Walcott converted his chance. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba equalised and scored in the 84th minute to earn his side victory. A fracas occurred between the Arsenal and Chelsea players occurred during stoppage time, resulting in Touré and Adebayor getting shown a red card each. Wenger later apologised for his players' conduct, but was charged £2,500 for accusing the linesman of lying in his account of Adebayor's actions. Both clubs were fined £100,000 each by The Football Association for their inability to control their players and Eboué was retrospectively charged with violent conduct for striking Wayne Bridge.
