Search the Community

Liverpool to beat Arsenal at Anfield? That couldn’t happen Every small boy and maybe even girl knows that Liverpool have won 19 titles and Arsenal 13 and are two of the biggest teams ever in English football. Liverpool are now 8-13 to win the league and Arsenal 3-1 and are the top two in the betting so that could be the outcome. A Liverpool Arsenal one-two or vice versa. So, you would expect that with so many titles between them they would have had many dingdong battles between them for one and two but no, it is rare. In 32 winning seasons between them only 4 times has it been a tight battle for the top. Twice Arsenal have come out on top in 1988-89 and 2001/2002 and Liverpool twice in 1972/73 and 1990/91. Is the title race between these two? Will it happen again this year? It is very early to say. History says there is slightly better than a 10% chance of it happening and of course Liverpool may collapse like Tottenham last year and City could still stage a turnaround. For those of you with a betting mind City are a generous 9-1 and Chelsea are a staggering 18-1. Chelsea are absolutely level with us and have won far more trophies this century than us. Those four do look like the potential winners at this stage, though. The Chapman train was coming So, let’s look at the history. In 1901 Liverpool had their first title but Woolwich Arsenal were in the second division. The first time it was possible to fight for the top was in 1906 but the Wooly boys only finished 12th. Liverpool didn’t even notice them. They had two more in 1922 and 1923 but even though we changed our name, Arsenal were nowhere in 17th and 11th. Herbert Chapman made us great But the Chapman days were starting to come into view and in 1931 we had our first title. Liverpool were a distant 9th. We had arrived. Our dominance had started. They were the ones looking up at us in 1933 and 1934 in 14th and 18th. They did a bit better in 1935 in 7th. The Germans stopped us We were top again in 1938 and Liverpool didn’t trouble us in 11th. It meant that over three decades since their first win they had 4 titles whereas we had 5 in one decade. Arsenal the masters had arrived and most people believe that if it wasn’t for a funny-looking Austrian with a weird moustache we would have won many more. Wars? What are they good for, eh? Hitler started the war just to stop Arsenal Well, maybe for Liverpool because they won the first title after the war and Arsenal slid down to 13th place. Somehow Arsenal bounced back from that to win the next year and Liverpool fell right down to 11th. These were strange times as teams were putting themselves back together with so many of the former star players either dead, injured or old. The 50‘s were bleak Only Arsenal managed a win in the 50’s in 1953 and Liverpool were struggling in 17th. The next year Liverpool got relegated and didn’t get back up until 1962 under the legendary Bill Shankly. He put them straight and winning again with titles in 1964 and 1966. Poor Arsenal offered no resistance in 8th and 14th. Bill Shankly kickstarted Liverpool's great era In 1971 Arsenal managed the miracle double but Liverpool were always a formidable team under Shankly, however they only finished fourth. Liverpool were starting to rev up for their true domination of English football, though and in 1973 got the first title of that incredible period. That was to be Arsenal’s best season for many years after that as we came second, and that was the first time we had a battle for the top. The Liverpool rocket was fired and kept going into the stratosphere Liverpool went into turbo boost for the next 2 decades with wins in 1976, 1977. 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1988. Arsenal had 17th, 14th, 8th, 7th,4th, 5th, 10th, 6th and 6th. We were just looking on in bewilderment. We couldn’t lay a boot on them. But George Graham was scheming and planning on toppling the mighty Liverpool machine. And so we had our second one two but we came out on top in the battle of Anfield, 2-0 got us the title by the narrowest of margins in 1989 and the greatest day in English football’s televised history. Can it happen again? I will explore that later in the column. George Graham says bye bye Liverpool In 1990 Liverpool had their last win in the old first division and Arsenal came 4th. In 1991 we won again and Liverpool came second. George Graham had slain the Liverpool dragon for good this time. It took a very long time before they won again in 2020 under Jurgen Klopp with Arsenal languishing in 8th. We need to recreate the special match But the mighty Mr Wenger had come along to give us 3 wins in 1998, 2002, and 2004. Liverpool were 3rd, 2nd and 4th. That second place was the last such time when we were close at the top. In that period it was Man Utd who were our real opponents. Jurgen Klopp got Liverpool their only Premier League title I said earlier that our greatest match could be recreated. We are due to play Liverpool at Anfield on the 10th of May with two more matches to go. We should be playing Southampton and Liverpool playing Palace on the final day, and neither match looks very promising from a TV perspective. If it looks in early May that it could be a decider I say let’s switch. Liverpool vs Arsenal at Anfield to decide the league title. The whole world would watch it and if we needed to win by 2 goals again? Who would be our Alan Smith and Michael Thomas? Havertz and Declan Rice? Bring it on! The record Key - League position and points 1900-01 Liverpool 1 45 1905-06 Liverpool 1 51 Woolwich Arsenal 12 37 1921-22 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 17 37 1922-23 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 11 42 1930/31 Arsenal 1 66 Liverpool 9 42 1932/33 Arsenal 1 58 Liverpool 14 39 1933/34 Arsenal 1 59 Liverpool 18 38 1934/35 Arsenal 1 58 Liverpool 7 45 1937/38 Arsenal 1 52 Liverpool 11 41 1946-47 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 13 41 1947/48 Arsenal 1 59 Liverpool 11 42 1952/53 Arsenal 1 54 Liverpool 17 36 1963-64 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 8 45 1965-66 Liverpool 1 61 Arsenal 14 37 1970/71 Arsenal 1 65 Liverpool 5 51 1972-73 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 2 57 1975-76 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 17 36 1976-77 Liverpool 1 61 Arsenal 14 37 1978-79 Liverpool 1 57 Arsenal 8 43 1979-80 Liverpool 1 68 Arsenal 7 48 1981-82 Liverpool 1 60 Arsenal 4 52 1982-83 Liverpool 1 87 Arsenal 5 71 1983-84 Liverpool 1 82 Arsenal 10 58 1985-86 Liverpool 1 88 Arsenal 6 69 1987-88 Liverpool 1 90 Arsenal 6 66 1988-89 Arsenal 1 76 Liverpool 2 76 1989-90 Liverpool 1 79 Arsenal 4 62 1990/91 Arsenal 1 83 Liverpool 2 76 1997/98 Arsenal 1 78 Liverpool 3 65 2001/02 Arsenal 1 87 Liverpool 2 80 2003/04 Arsenal 1 90 Liverpool 4 60 2019-20 Liverpool 1 99 Arsenal 8 56

The greatest English stadium and it is ours I have no idea how many of you Gooners out there who read my stuff have been to the Emirates. There is something like 1000 supporters in ASCB. I would say, judging by the amount I have seen, that quite a few have made the journey. I wonder how many have been to other stadiums in the UK? Probably not so many. Herbert Chapman likes looking at our magnificent stadium Today I want to praise the Emirates Stadium because it is unique. It is in the middle of a very busy part of London and close to the centre. Highbury was great, lively and yet impressive with its marble halls and the closeness of the pitch. However, the Emirates has everything, a museum, a huge shop, an extensive box office, lots of stalls and bars selling all sorts outside and long bars inside to cater for the food and drink of 60,000 spectators. It is a big operation and you become an essential part of the match day experience, you help to create the atmosphere and help Arsenal to win. All of our history can be found there What is it like? There are many statues of our greats, and, as you cross the bridges to get into the main hub, nonstop photos of major figures, past and present. The history of the Arsenal is all round us, everywhere we go. If you go there with a knowledgeable Gooner, such as myself, you can learn what it is that makes Arsenal great just by asking questions about everything you see. In my opinion this is one area in which Arsenal are the best. We have the most tributes to the club on match days because we have a huge area around the stadium. I don’t believe any other club in England has such a panorama. The Henry statue - a great meeting place Another fantastic aspect is if you arrange to meet anyone, there are plenty of excellent meeting points. The statues are the obvious ones, take your choice of all the Arsenal legends commemorated there and take the opportunity for selfies as well. Have your picture taken with the master himself, Arsene Wenger, or Mr Arsenal Tony Adams, or our greatest, Thierry Henry. Mingling with the fans is the greatest experience Outside the ground, there is the Arsenal Supporters club bar which is not only a very useful meeting point but also essential if you are to become a diehard Gooner. It is full of memorabilia from down the days and you may even spot a former top player there. The smell of the burgers is integral to the match day experience I guess most of you that go there come by public transport. There is a huge choice from the Arsenal tube station to the Holloway Road, Highbury and Islington, and Finsbury Road stations where you join the streams of fans chanting and singing. You can never lose your way to the stadium – you just follow the fans. As you get closer there are more and more stalls appearing, selling everything from burgers to scarves, caps, and programmes. The aroma of the food frying lets you know you are home at the Arsenal. You won’t starve and you could end up with more colour on you than any rainbow. I love that walk up to the stadium. I feel more at home then than maybe anywhere. The magic letters get you in All you need to do then is find your turnstile entry letter and there are sixteen A, D, E, H, J, K, M, N & S. which get you into the four stands The North Bank, The Clock End, The West and East Stands. Then you must find your seat but there are plenty of helpful stewards for newbies. It’s all easy. Get in early and there are no queues You first see all the food and drink stalls as they circle the entire ground. There are big queues but they move along quickly enough. You cannot bring alcohol to your seats, though. You create the atmosphere The Emirates is good for viewing in general but watch out if you are on the lower pitchside seats as often people stand for the entire match which means you also have to do so. I have a problem from a badly broken ankle three years ago and I struggle to stand for long periods. I am not tall either so it can be difficult to see. The higher stands are better for such practices as you have a better view of the entire pitch than when you are low where people stand in order to see better. I much prefer the higher stands. Pitchside can be tricky And the atmosphere? It just gets better every year. The addition of North London Forever to our repertoire means that excitement builds from when you hear the opening bars of Louis Dunford’s classic. The sound seems to rise up from the ground, through the stone, and you feel your heart lifting, you become an integral part of the stadium and the Arsenal. You are now Arsenal. You have a bearing on the outcome of the match. You are there to push your team on. You feel the symbiosis creeping into your body as you become one with the team, the crowd, and even the bricks and mortar of the stadium. You know you are home. More spaces = more success? There is talk of increasing the capacity to 75,000. The stadium is designed for many more as you can see where it dips. That can be built upon to make the capacity bigger, comparatively cheaply and quickly. I doubt if it could be done in the close season but I still feel that it could be done maybe by reducing the capacity and just having building works where the stands are being made bigger. Maybe six months might be possible in that scenario. It would just be the seats and the bars and food stalls underneath them. Arsenal fans can be fickle Of course, a bigger ground means that success must be guaranteed. Arsenal fans quickly slope away once we start losing. Not so long ago it was a lot easier to get tickets when we were high midtable. Now we are near the top everyone wants them. Our two main heroes need to be recognised at every match One thing I would like to point out and that is that without David Dein and particularly Arsene Wenger, it would never have been built but neither seem to appear regularly. That needs to change and they both need to be there and applauded at every match. Without them there would be no Emirates stadium and probably few of the many trophies and achievements that made us a great team. We must never forget that. Dein and Wenger - they are the Emirates Stadium To end on a positive note, we have probably the best stadium in the country. All around there is history, input from the fans (lots from ASCB), all kinds of everything in Arsenal accessories, fans from everywhere, some every week, some for the first time. All have that magical level of expectation that they are where they want to be, a part of the Arsenal, drinking in the sights and the smells, looking up, looking around, and being mesmerized by seeing their heroes outside and the real-life players battling for us on the pitch. We are home and we know it.

Three managers to top them all George Graham -deserves a statue George Graham Player 308 apps Football League First Division: 1970–71 FA Cup: 1970–71 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1969–70 Manager 9 years Football League First Division: 1988–89, 1990–91 FA Cup: 1992–93 Football League Cup: 1986–87, 1992–93 FA Charity Shield: 1991 (shared) Football League Centenary Trophy: 1988 European Cup Winners' Cup: 1993–94 Mikel Arteta Player 150 apps FA Cup: 2013–14, 2014–15 FA Community Shield: 2014, 2015 Manager 5 years FA Cup: 2019–20 FA Community Shield: 2020, 2023 Terry Neill Player 241 apps Manager 7 years FA cup 1979 Arsenal managers through and through In my lifetime we have had 3 Arsenal managers who played more than 100 games, won at least one trophy as manager, and who were fulltime managers of this great old club. Terry Neill, George Graham and Mikel Arteta. Now, all of you out there know who the current best one is – George Graham, who is ranked behind Herbert Chapman and Arsene Wenger. He took on the Liverpool machine and came out on top, who were the best ever English team at the time. He won 8 trophies at Arsenal as a manager, which puts him well ahead of the other 2. Arteta has won 3, an FA Cup and 2 Charity Shields, and Neill has just the one, the FA Cup in 1979. Of course, only Arteta has the chance to overtake Graham. I wonder how many Arsenal fans feel that he will? Am I really hearing Arteta out? The Arteta out brigade have already started with our current bad run, so if that is an indication getting George’s nine years will never happen. Even Terry’s seven won’t. I am, however, optimistic that Arteta is the right man at the moment. Of course, he now cannot afford the bad runs that he has had at the end of every season so far. We must finish strongly to collect trophies. I suspect that if he doesn’t get Champions league or a trophy it’s possible the Arteta out crew will get their wish. Certainly no European qualification could see him out for good. Terry Neill took us upwards Terry Neill never had that pressure. He took over in 1976 as the club were struggling. Relegation was somewhere on the horizon as the great double team were broken up and Bertie Mee lost his mojo. Neill took us up the table, got us 3 FA Cup finals in a row and a Cup Winners Cup Final appearance. His two best league efforts were 3rd and 5th. But competent rather than spectacular was the lot of Arsenal’s youngest ever manager. Bizarrely, Arsenal were his 3rd club despite being only 34 when he took over at Highbury. He had already managed Hull and a team from North London, I can’t remember their name. Terry Neill - a top class defender As a player, Neill didn’t win anything at Arsenal, and was gone just before the Mee/Howe axis started winning things. He did manage 241 games and was highly regarded as a top notch defender. He had 59 international appearances for Northern Ireland, way more than the other two. Arteta didn’t even manage one for Spain. He was our youngest ever, he had way more caps, and he had one of our greatest days under his belt, the 1979 FA Cup win over Manchester United, the famous Liam Brady final. Overall, one of our own, and he could be seen on matchdays escorting VIPs. He deserves more recognition And, of course, he also had a huge hand in creating the extraordinary amount of Irish at Highbury, cementing a massive fanbase across the pond. Ok, he is number 3 on this list of players/managers at Arsenal but for me, it was a colossal boost watching all the Irish superstars strut their stuff. Terry Neill - a fan till the end Will he get a statue? Probably not but he remained Arsenal through and through all his life and was one of our most dedicated followers, always being seen around the Arsenal on matchdays. The rookie could beat them all Mikel is number 2 and he has a long way to go to catch up with George Graham. Will he? Maybe not but I feel he will get somewhere before he has to leave. The only one on the list who was a rookie, and he did make rookie mistakes, allowing Aubameyang and Ozil a latitude that he shouldn’t, have, but he learned, and if he has learned how to finish strongly this season, then we might be celebrating. He needs to stay in touch, as at the end City may have lots of high pressure matches like last season. Arsenal capitulating made that easier for them last time, and they won the league easier than they should have. That, above all else is his benchmark, stay in touch and finish strongly. Mikel -Our captain, my captain He won the FA Cup and the Charity Shield at his first attempt, a wonderful achievement. His immediate predecessors were 2 greats, Unai Emery and Arsene Wenger, and he has done better than any Manchester United manager since Alex Ferguson in fashioning a team in his image, consistently getting better. When an immense manager goes, such as Arsene Wenger, the void becomes a giant chasm to fill. Arteta has the capacity to fill that void. Will he get a statue? Time will tell. Graham conquered all And so George Graham, the mighty tactician, disciplinarian and creator of a team that moved together like puppets, always catching teams offside, with a magical midfield of Rocastle, Merson and Thomas to feed the strikers. He gave us probably our best day ever, when we went to Anfield in 1989 needing to win 2-0 for the title, and won in injury time. It never got better after that. George Graham - an elegant player The critical thing about George is that he made Arsenal great again over many years. The last such time was the 1940’s. His nine years with our only 2 League Cups, the only European Cup Winners Cup, and the only ever winners of the Centenary Cup, plus 2 league titles and an FA Cup means he is number one on this list and number 3 overall in the pantheon of prodigious Arsenal managers. He didn’t get many caps for Scotland but won trophies as a player and was a vital member of the Double winning side of 1971. Tactics, discipline and teamwork He was responsible for bringing many top young players through at Arsenal and Leeds. He had one defining belief, that you get the best possible player for every position even if it means removing a fan favourite as he did with John Lukic, replacing him with David Seaman. Football was chess for him, you had to stay ahead of your opponent by thinking ahead of them. Can any of them get a statue like the legendary Herbert Chapman? Will he get a statue? He deserves one. The scandal that removed him certainly seemed to have a lot of extenuating circumstances, and an honest review of that could see him getting the recognition at Arsenal he deserves. And so there you go. We had 3 top players that became top managers, something that not many teams have achieved. Liverpool had 2, Bob Paisley and Kenny Dalglish, but I cannot think of any other top team that had trophy winning managers who also played for them. Good old Arsenal, we always lead the way. And if Arteta knocks out George Graham, boy would we be happy.

Which season or time was the most significant in Arsenal’s history? What was the most significant season or period in Arsenal’s history? I will go through many seasons which had huge implications for Arsenal and finally plump for the one I feel was the most important. I will also say which one was the most crucial for me in my time as a Gooner but probably regular readers will guess that answer. There are lots to consider and it is truly very difficult to choose. I will go through them by date so that you can see the progression and maybe work out in advance which one I will eventually go for. I should say this is not about our best season but the most important or significant one, one that meant we had the possibility to become the Arsenal of today. The marble halls - a symbol of the Arsenal And so I have to start with Dial Square in 1886. As the foundation it has to be a candidate and we began with a 6-0 thrashing of Eastern Wanderers In December so we started well. We changed our name to Royal Arsenal at Christmas reportedly and that surely was significant or what would we be calling ourselves now? The Diallers? The Squares? Oh, no! I certainly couldn’t go through life being a Square. Now we are professional In 1891 we became the first London professional club as we were worried about northern clubs poaching our best players. It meant that we had very little games to compete in as we were banned by the London Football Association who didn’t want professionals. If that had continued it would have been very significant as we could have gone out of existence. What would we be now? We would have had no team to support. We could have ended up Spuds and living a truly miserable life. Harry Bradshaw - made us into a good team Ah, but 1893 soon came up and we were allowed in the Football League, the first southern club to do so. We were put in the second division but were not too good, a midtable side. We remained that way until we got Harry Bradshaw as manager in 1899. That was a vital move and gave us our first taste of the big time as we got promoted to the first division in 1903-04. We were now, almost 20 years after forming, among the big boys. The dark dealings of Henry Norris But the next significant season was the following year as Bradshaw moved to Fulham and we didn’t do well in the top flight, getting relegated in 1913. Problems with grounds and with ownership increased our struggles but Henry Norris took over after we struggled with voluntary liquidation in 1910. First he wanted us to merge with Fulham, which he also owned. Luckily that didn’t go through as we could have been called Arseham, or worse again, Hamarse. Oh, the indignity! Henry Norris who certainly didn't look like a nefarious godfather But he did engineer the move to Highbury and North London after the relegation in 1913 to a much bigger and better ground so that Arsenal could have the possibility of getting back among the big boys. He also got rid of the Woolwich name and the “the” to become plain Arsenal but the supporters and myself have never fully approved the latter. Down into the abyss Ah, but then came the kicker. Henry Norris was a bad boy, known for dodgy financial dealings but he used them for the benefit of Arsenal. In 1919, after the war, the first division was expanded to 22 teams. There was a controversy about where the extra two teams were to come from as logically it should have been Chelsea and the Spuds as they were about to be relegated. It was decided that Chelsea would stay and the Spuds go down thanks to the strong belief that Norris had engineered the promotion to sixth placed Arsenal in the second division by egregious backhanders and dark dealing. Surely that would have been impossible in the modern day? The thing is that without it, maybe we would not have got promoted at all, ever. We certainly didn’t set the first division alight at all. If Norris hadn’t done what he did, we could even have dropped down divisions or gone out altogether. We at ASCB could be supporting a team playing out of a field in North London in front of 50 people. The ASCB might only consist of Georgi Stoyanov and me. Highbury being reconstructed in 1927 If we had stayed in the second division until 1925, then surely Norris would not have been able to attract Herbert Chapman, the man who had made Huddersfield invincible and the equivalent of getting, say, Pep Guardiola today? And it was Chapman who made us great. A great chap, our Chapman And so to the Chapman era. He changed everything about what a top club should be. Marble halls, floodlights, the W formation, physiotherapy, elite training practices, new roles for players, numbered jerseys, and even getting the local Tube station renamed to the Arsenal. But it took him 5 years to get our first ever significant trophy, the FA Cup in 1930, and that heralded the start of Arsenal becoming the top team in England in the 1930’s. Titles came our way as we became the juggernaut of English football. Herbert Chapman - it is hard to believe what he achieved The strong foundations that Chapman laid meant that even after he died suddenly in 1934, George Allison took over seamlessly and continued to dominate English football. We got 5 titles and 2 FA cups in the 1930’s. We also had 7 Arsenal players on the field for England against Italy in 1934, a record that stands to this day. We were now the best, and improvements to the ground and the interior meant we also had probably the best ground in England. We were the Kings of England, not just London. Now we had a team to support, one that would lead, years later, to a bunch of Arsenal fans in Bulgaria in 2004 setting up the best fan club in the Arsenal universe. George Allison continued Chapman's great work We climb Everest The war years were next, with football more or less closed, although some matches kept the game alive. Highbury was requisitioned for the war effort so we had to play at White Hart Lane. We could have been contaminated by Spursyness but we didn’t as we took our sixth title under Tom Whittaker in 1948, the FA Cup in 1950 and our seventh title in 1953 which made us the top team ever in English football. We were Arsenal, simply the best. Tom Whittaker moved us the the top of the mountain Next week, we will continue, we will look at the later post-war years, the doldrums of the 60’s, and the miraculous double of 1971 among many significant events.