It would be fair to say that the past five months have put the Arsenal faithful through the ringer.

What started with talk of mid-table finishes and the sacking of long-serving manager Arsene Wenger, ended with the club producing title-winning form.

Here is Sports Mole's assessment of how the Gunners have fared so far this campaign.

August

There will be few that argue against August being one of the bleakest months that Arsenal have endured in recent memory.

On the player front, the Gunners waved goodbye to the creative midfield duo of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, while the defensive signings of Per Mertesacker and Andre Santos hardly whetted the appetite.

Things on the pitch did little to lift the atmosphere, with a goalless draw at Newcastle United followed by defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United, the latter being an 8-2 demolition at Old Trafford. 'Wenger out' was the cry from a number of Arsenal fans.

On the plus side, the club qualified for the Champions League group stage with a win over Udinese.

September

Some of the gloom was lifted in September courtesy of victories over Swansea City and Bolton Wanderers, although Mertesacker and Santos were easily exposed during a 4-3 defeat to Steve Kean's Blackburn Rovers.

Away from domestic duties, Wenger's men progressed in the Carling Cup, while four points were collected from their opening two Champions League matches.

October

No Arsenal fan wants to see their side lose to Tottenham Hotspur, but that is exactly how October started for the Gunners. A 25-yard strike from full-back Kyle Walker sealed the win for Spurs at White Hart Lane.
However, that defeat was followed by wins over Sunderland and Stoke City.

A last-minute winner from Aaron Ramsey in Marseille went a long way to securing their qualification to round two of the Champions League, while Bolton were disposed of in the Carling Cup.

There is little doubt where the highlight of the month came though - Stamford Bridge. A hat-trick from Robin van Persie helped the Gunners record a 5-3 win over their London rivals.

November

By the time November came around, everybody was beginning to stand up and take notice of Van Persie's goalscoring exploits. The Dutchman scored all the goals as Arsenal beat Norwich City and Borussia Dortmund in the space of five days.

A disappointing draw at home to Fulham followed and even more disappointing exit in the Carling Cup to Manchester City materialised. November would have ended sourly but for Champions League qualification.

December

December started with a bang as Arsenal hit four without reply away at Wigan Athletic. Later in the month Everton visited the Emirates Stadium and would have left with a share of the spoils but for a sublime Van Persie volley.

That set up their trip to leaders Man City nicely, trailing the Blues by nine points - losing wasn't an option. However, that is exactly what they did. David Silva struck the winner and despite creating numerous chances, Arsenal were unable to claim a point.