Join AISA for Free. If you enjoy our daily review of Arsenal’s history please do show your appreciation by becoming an associate member of AISA – Arsenal Independent Supporters’ Association. It’s completely free, but being a member does make a statement that you value our work not just in recording Arsenal’s history but also in engaging with the club over issues relevant to supporters today. You can join for free at https://aisa.org/associate-membership/
Today on Untold Arsenal: Why last night’s Arsenal defeat may not be the disaster that it looks
Today’s anniversary headline comes from 1964
22 February 1910: George Hunt born. He was one of the team that won the league in 1938 and also as the first ever player to move from Tottenham (then of the second division) to Arsenal (about to become champions).
22 February 1913: Gillespie Road named in the press for the first time as the site of the new Arsenal ground. There had been rumours for weeks that the site would be somewhere in Islington, but no one quite knew where.
22 February 1919: The English league debated the size of the league for the forthcoming season and recognising the sentiment of the day, voted for 22 clubs in each division with the recommendation that Chelsea FC should be elected into Division One despite their relegation in 1915, in recognition of the fact that they had suffered from the match fixing corruption of Liverpool and Man U.
22 February 1930: Not all Chapman purchases turned into masterstrokes, and Albert Humpish was one that failed. In all he played 3 league games, of which the second was Grimsby 1 Arsenal 1 on this day.
22 February 1933: Arsenal had the chance to wear their new strip, having just been granted permission so to do by the League, but chose to hold back for the next home game. This was a 2-2 away draw with Derby. Jack and Bastin scored
22 February 1936: Having signed as an amateur in April 1931 and as a professional on 9 May that year Sidney Cartright made his debut on this day against Portsmouth. Arsenal lost 2-3 to make it just two wins in seven.
22 February 1947: Stoke 3 Arsenal 1. Ronnie Rooke made it 11 goals in 8 games. This was part of a run of just one win in six.
22 February 1949: John Radford born (some sources say 1947). He went on to play 475 games for Arsenal and scored 149 goals. In 2016 John kindly wrote an article for Untold Arsenal
22 February 1964: Tottenham 3 Arsenal 1, start of seven game sequence without a win – a run that suggested that manager Billy Wright did not know how to rectify the situation. He did however last until the end of the following season. Laurie Brown, signed by Tottenham from Arsenal the day before, played for Tottenham.
22 February 1992: Tottenham 1 Arsenal. As a result Arsenal were 6th, 18 points off the top of the table although they climbed back to fourth and cut the difference to 10. Ian Wright got the goal.
22 February 1997: Nic Anelka arrived from PSG for approx £250,000. The story is that PSG did not want to sell him, but Arsenal arranged the signing on a technicality. He was later sold for 100 times the cost to Arsenal.
22 February 1998: The death of George Male. Arsenal was his only professional side and he played 285 games for the club.
22 February 2003: Manchester City 1 Arsenal 5. Arsenal went four up in 19 minutes in the 11th match of a 12 match unbeaten league run. It was Arsenal’s last game at Maine Road. Alex Ferguson ordered the radio broadcasting the match on the Man U bus to be switched off as they drove to their game (according to the Guardian).
22 February 2014: Arsenal beat Sunderland 4-0. The win came between two defeats (to Stoke City and Bayern Munich) and was followed a month later by a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea. But Arsenal finished the season with seven straight wins, including winning the FA Cup and finished the season in fourth, seven points above 5th placed Everton, not to mention 10 points above Tottenham
22 February 2018: Arsenal lost to Swedish amateur team Ostersunds 1-2 at home, having beaten them away 3-0. It was the first of four consecutive defeats for Arsenal.
You might also enjoy
The 1919 Affair: How Arsenal were promoted to the first division – the only complete and detailed history of Arsenal’s election.
Day by Day the videos – An Arsenal video for (almost) every day of the year in order.
Day by Day the stories– a key moment in Arsenal and footballing history for each day of the year
