AISA Arsenal History Society: preserving Arsenal's heritage
by Tony Attwood On this day, John Jensen scores – Arsenal 1 QPR 3 John Jensen was a defensive midfielder, a cult hero, and the man whose transfer ultimately brought down George Graham. When we bought him he had already been Danish Player of the Year, and played in a UEFA cup semi final with …
Read More “31 December 1994: on this day John Jensen scores”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. If you have read “Woolwich Arsenal, the club that changed football,” (the book that AISA members wrote to unravel Arsenal’s work in bringing professional football to the south of England), you will know …
Read More “30 December 1893: Arsenal’s first ever away victory in the league!”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. You might think that a win by 7-3 against Newcastle would leave even the most fanatical and gnarled anti-Arsenal journalist finally showing some remorse and admitting Arsenal could do well, or …
Read More “29 December 2012: Media ignores Arsenal’s sensational seven goal triumph”
By Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. On this day the result was Tottenham 1 Arsenal 1. The result left Arsenal in sixth and Tottenham in 19th Team P W D L F A GD …
Read More “28 December 1997: Arsenal going nowhere… except…”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. Throughout December 1915 the FA and Football League finally began discussing the issue of match fixing allegations that had been made the previous spring, involving Liverpool and Manchester United. Little was …
Read More “27 December 1915: How Arsenal helped expose Liverpool and Man U match fixing”
By Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. On 26 December 1992 Jack Crayston, the Arsenal player who also managed the club, from 1956 to 1958, died. As a player he gained two league winner’s medals, …
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. This was probably the most extraordinary Christmas Eve in the history of Arsenal FC. Before the game Arsenal were top of the League. Sheffield Utd were a decent mid-table 12th, having …
Read More “24 December 1932 – the most extraordinary Arsenal Christmas ever”
By Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. 23 December 1978: Terry Neill was the manager of Arsenal, and Tottenham were finding their feet again in the first division, having come up from Division 2 at …
Read More “23 December 1978: Brady scores the wonder goal, Tottenham smashed, father happy.”
By Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. The speed of Arsenal’s collapse after the 1971 double is something often ignored by those of us who remember the events. But it was real enough. In the …
Read More “Arsenal on 22 December 1973: the strike, the chaos, the win…”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. By Tony Attwood On this day in 1956 Jack Crayston became the permanent manager of Arsenal after being caretaker manager for two months. He had just managed five games undefeated as …
Read More “21 December 1956: Jack Crayston takes over as Arsenal manager”
by Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. For many years December was one of the busiest months in league football, and December 1913 was certainly no exception. Now if you know your football history you …
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. . By Tony Attwood December 1970 opened with the 3rd round of the Fairs Cup, which saw Arsenal duly beat Beveren Waas 4-0 on 2 December at Highbury. Then on Saturday …
Read More “19 December: Arsenal second in the league but no one seems to notice.”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. Arsenal v Leeds: Seven amazing videos The passing of Arsenal’s founding father – Jack Humble Jack Humble, one of the founding fathers and the first-ever chairman of Woolwich Arsenal FC, died …
Read More “18 December: The passing of Arsenal’s founding father – Jack Humble”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. Arsenal v Leeds: Seven amazing videos ——— On this day in the third round of the Fairs Cup Arsenal drew 0-0 draw in the first match, away to Rouen in front …
Read More “17 December 1969: when we started to wake up that something was happening.”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. ——— by Tony Attwood When I heard that Thomas had signed for Liverpool on this day in 1991 I thought it was a joke – a stupid wind-up. Thomas, the man …
Read More “16 December 1991: Thomas leaves Arsenal for Liverpool”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. ——— by Tony Attwood 62 goals in 19 games but not top of the league! It was approaching a year since Chapman had died (January 6) and Arsenal as a …
Read More “15 December 1934: 62 goals in 19 games but not top of the league!”
By Tony Attwood To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. ——— Today’s Game: Arsenal v West Ham- the videos of past matches ——————— This was the day in 1889 when Arsenal were ordered to play two “first team” …
Read More “14 December: when Arsenal were ordered to play two first team games at once”
To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. ——— On 13 December 2012 Sky Sports News carried an interview with Stewart Robson in which he described Arsene Wenger as “a dictator” adding, “Tactically Arsenal are all over the place …
Read More “13 December 2012: Stewart Robson denounces Wenger on Sky”
——— To read about the free Arsenal video collection and about the Arsenal History Society, please see the note at the foot of this article. ——— Ronnie Rooke signed for Arsenal aged 35 from Fulham on this day in 1946. Before signing for Arsenal he had never played in the top division of English …
Read More “12 December: Arsenal sign a 35 year old who became a goalscoring sensation”
by Tony Attwood Two events for the price of one: 11 December 1881 Thomas Tindal Fitchie was born. Five years later on the same day, Arsenal’s first and only game under the name Dial Square was played, with Dial Square beating Eastern Wanderers 6-0. So let’s start with the latter and then take ourselves on …
Read More “11 December 1886 Arsenal’s birthday, and the birth of a famous early player”
From The Courier, Plumstead, Thursday, December 10, 1908 (page 6)… “Greenaway, the young Coatbridge forward, has nearly set the grass on fire at Woolwich Arsenal, where he would seem in peril of being spoiled by praise. He was one of Manager Morrell’s discoveries, and cost the Arsenal next to nothing. Greenaway, being a modest lad, …
Read More “10 December: The Arsenal Archives. Signing a superhero from 113 years ago”
9 December 1973. On this day, as far as I can tell, we saw the first-ever mention of an Arsenal back four who were drilled to move forward and back together to catch the opposition offside. On 8 December Arsenal played Derby County in a mid-week game with a 2.15pm kick off. It was Arsenal’s …
Read More “9 December: the first mention of the drilled back four who move up together”
By Tony Attwood Between 20 October 2012 and 1 December 2012 Arsenal played eight games of which they won two – an astonishing 5-2 win over Tottenham and a 1-0 win over QPR. They lost three (to Norwich, Manchester United and Swansea) and drew with Fulham, Aston Villa and Everton. Ahead of the game on …
Read More “8 December, 10th in the league. And by the end of the season…”
7 December 1940 On 7 December 1940: Jack Lambert, then Arsenal’s reserve coach, died in car accident aged 38. He had played 143 league games for Arsenal and scored an amazing 98 league goals making him the most prolific goal scorer who played over 100 games, in Arsenal’s entire history. And yet Jack Lambert was an …
Read More “7 December: marking the anniversary of the death of Arsenal’s most prolific goalscorer”
by Tony Attwood On this day Arsenal beat Newcastle U away 1-0. Nothing much in that you might say, but it was part of a sequence in which the club won only two out of eight. Must have been a pretty shocking season you might now be saying. We yes, it was, up to a …
Read More “6 December 1997: the day when no one even contemplated a second double.”
