1940–41 Arsenal F.C. season explained

Club:Arsenal
Season:1940–41
Manager:George Allison
Chairman:Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry
League:Football League South
League Result:4th
Cup1:Football League War Cup
Cup1 Result:Finalists
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Pattern So1:_hoops_white
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Prevseason:1939–40
Nextseason:1941–42

The 1940–41 season was the second of Arsenal Football Club's seasons in the Wartime League, a football competition which temporarily replaced the Football League. Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. The team also reached the final of the Football League War Cup, losing to Preston North End at Wembley.

Background

Arsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions.[1] In October 1940, a 1,000lb bomb fell near the stadium and concrete was blown over the Clock End. On 17 April 1941, the North Bank was directly hit, causing significant damage.[2] [3]

Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. They also competed in both the Football League War Cup and the London War Cup.[4] [5] The London War Cup, a breakaway cup formed by twelve regional teams, began with a round-robin of two groups of six, where the group winners reached the finals. Arsenal did not win their group and did not reach the final.

Arsenal reached the final of the Football League War Cup, which was officially sanctioned by the Football League. The game was played at Wembley which had been a regular night-raid target during the Blitz. The first leg of the final was played in front of around 60,000 fans. However, after Leslie Compton missed a penalty in the third minute and Arsenal soon went down 1-0. Dennis Compton, Leslie Compton's younger brother,[6] scored one for Arsenal, tying up the match and the score remained at 1-1.[7] The final went to a replay, played at Ewood Park. Arsenal lost 2-1.

Results

Arsenal's score comes first[8] [9]

Legend

WinDrawLoss

Football League South

Selected results from the league.

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
21 September 1940 BrentfordA3–11,700
26 October 1940 BrentfordH3–31,200
25 December 1940 West Ham UnitedA4–29,000
14 April 1941 ChelseaA1–3

Final League table

London War Cup

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
GS25 January 1941 West Ham UnitedA3–15,000
GS17 May 1941 West Ham UnitedH3–07,365

Football League War Cup

!Round!!Date!!Opponent!!Venue!!Result!!Attendance!!Goalscorers
R3 L115 March 1941 West Ham UnitedA1–014,000
R3 L229 March 1941 West Ham UnitedH2–1
F10 May 1941 Preston North EndN1–160,000
F R31 May 1941 Preston North EndN1–245,000

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Soar, Phil . Arsenal: Official History . Tyler . Martin . Hamlyn . 1995 . 0600588262 . London . 98 . en.
  2. Web site: Jardine . Lisa . 15 May 2006 . Homage to Highbury . 17 November 2023 . BBC News.
  3. Web site: 10 May 2017 . Arsenal at War . https://web.archive.org/web/20231016112520/https://www.arsenal.com/history/post-war-arsenal/highbury-stages-first-live-broadcast . 16 October 2023 . 17 November 2023 . Arsenal.
  4. Book: Soar, Phil . Arsenal: Official History . Tyler . Martin . Hamlyn . 1995 . 0600588262 . London . 98 . en.
  5. Web site: Forster . Richard . 24 April 2020 . How English football responded to the second world war . https://web.archive.org/web/20230427110700/https://www.theguardian.com/football/the-agony-and-the-ecstasy/2020/apr/24/how-english-football-responded-to-the-second-world-war . 27 April 2023 . 17 November 2023 . The Guardian.
  6. Web site: Leslie Compton . https://web.archive.org/web/20211101074817/https://www.arsenal.com/historic/players/leslie-compton . 1 November 2021 . 17 November 2023 . Arsenal.
  7. Web site: 1941 FA Cup Final at Wembley Arsenal v Preston . YouTube.
  8. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1940-1941/results
  9. Web site: Arsenal First Team Line-ups . 2023-11-18 . thearsenalhistory.com.