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1941–42 Arsenal F.C. season

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Arsenal
1941–42 season
ChairmanRobin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry
ManagerGeorge Allison
London War League1st
London War CupSemi-final

The 1941–42 season was Arsenal Football Club's third season playing wartime football and their first in the London War League, a breakoff from the official Football League wartime leagues. Arsenal won the London War League. The team also competed in the London War Cup and lost in the semifinals.

Background

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Arsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions.[1] Arsenal competed in the London War League. The London teams, as the London War League was unsanctioned, were expelled from the Football League.[2][3] Arsenal's manager, George Allison, was influential in the London club's breakaway movement.[3]

Arsenal competed in the London War Cup, the second iteration of the competition. Arsenal faced Brentford in the semifinals, tying the first match and requiring a replay. Arsenal then lost the replay as the Brentford goalkeeper, Chelsea player John Jackson who was fielded as a "guest" player, saved a Cliff Bastin penalty to maintain a 2-1 score to Brentford.[4]

Arsenal won the London War League, scoring 108 goals in 30 matches.[5] Although the London league claimed less travel than the official Football League scheme, it similarly featured depleted teams and one-sided matches. Arsenal played one match against bottom-of-the-table Watford and were only able to field eight men and lost 3-1. Playing the same team three months later, Arsenal won 11-0.[3]

Results

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Arsenal's score comes first[6]

Legend

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Win Draw Loss

London War League

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Selected results from the league.

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
30 August 1941 Brentford A 4–1 12,000
4 October 1941 Chelsea H 3–0
18 October 1941 West Ham United H 4–1 13,419
13 December 1941 Brentford H 1–3 9,739
3 January 1942 Portsmouth H ?–?
10 January 1942 Chelsea A 5–1
24 January 1942 West Ham United A 0–3 20,000

Final league table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
1 Arsenal 30 23 2 5 108 43 2.512 48
2 Portsmouth 30 20 2 8 105 59 1.780 42
3 West Ham United 30 17 5 8 81 44 1.841 39
4 Aldershot 30 17 5 8 85 56 1.518 39
5 Tottenham Hotspur 30 15 8 7 61 41 1.488 38
6 Crystal Palace 30 14 6 10 70 53 1.321 34
7 Reading 30 13 8 9 76 58 1.310 34
8 Charlton Athletic 30 14 5 11 72 64 1.125 33
9 Brentford 30 14 2 14 80 76 1.053 30
10 Queen's Park Rangers 30 11 3 16 52 59 0.881 25
11 Fulham 30 10 4 16 79 99 0.798 24
12 Brighton & Hove Albion 30 9 4 17 71 108 0.657 22
13 Chelsea 30 8 4 18 56 88 0.636 20
14 Millwall 30 7 5 18 53 82 0.646 19
15 Clapton Orient 30 5 7 18 42 94 0.447 17
16 Watford 30 6 4 20 47 114 0.412 16
Source: [citation needed]

London War Cup

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Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
GS 28 March 1942 West Ham United A 4–0 4,000
GS 6 April 1942 West Ham United H 1–4 22,000
SF 2 May 1942 Brentford N 0–0 41,154
SF R 16 May 1942 Brentford N 1–2 40,000

References

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  1. ^ Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0600588262.
  2. ^ Forster, Richard (24 April 2020). "How English football responded to the second world war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Taylor, Matthew (8 November 2017). "Life during wartime: how the Second World War exposed football's regional divides". When Saturday Comes. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  4. ^ Foster, Richard (5 January 2021). "When Brentford won a Wembley cup final – with help from traffic police". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  5. ^ "Arsenal at War". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  6. ^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1941-1942/results [dead link]
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