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1984–85 Arsenal F.C. season

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Arsenal F.C.
1984–85 season
ManagerDon Howe
First Division7th
FA CupFourth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Ian Allinson
Brian Talbot
Tony Woodcock
(10 each)

All:
Tony Woodcock
(13 goals)

The 1984–85 season was Arsenal Football Club's 59th consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[1][2] After a promising start to the season, they slipped to seventh in the Football League First Division.

After the previous season's League Cup exit to Walsall, Arsenal once-again exited cup competition to lower-division opponents. The team lost to second-division Oxford United in the League Cup and third-division York City in the FA Cup.

Viv Anderson was one important addition to the squad, strengthening their defense when he joined Arsenal for £250,000.[3] 18-year old Tony Adams made sixteen league appearances after his debut the previous season.[4]

Midway through the season, Pat Jennings was replaced by John Lukic as the first choice keeper.

Season summary

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Arsenal's start to the 1984/85 season had been relatively promising, with eight wins in the first eleven league matches. Don Howe had taken over from Terry Neill in December 1983 and results had improved. At the end of October 1984 saw Arsenal looking like a team that could challenge for the title; they had reclaimed their place at the top of Division One. However, that good form soon dipped. After a 4-2 defeat at Old Trafford, Arsenal slowly began to fall. The season overall was a disappointment.

Some decent league performances were undermined by a complete lack of consistency, and two embarrassing cup exits, to Second Division Oxford United in the League Cup, and Third Division York City in the FA Cup.[5][6] York City's victory over Arsenal in the fourth round, still resonates as one of the competition's big shocks. A star-studded Arsenal-side, put together at a cost of more than £4.5 million and featuring eight internationals, arrived at Bootham Crescent on January 26, 1985. But on a snow-bound day in York, Arsenal met their match against a heroic side that defied the odds to record a 1–0 victory, with a last minute penalty by Keith Houchen.[7][8]

The 1984-85 season was Pat Jennings' final season in his long and illustrious career. On Halloween night in 1984, Arsenal played Oxford United away in the League Cup, where Jennings and the team had a particularly rough night. Arsenal were beaten 3-2 and eliminated from the competition. John Lukic played the next game, but Jennings returned to the side for three more matches. The last being up at Hillsborough, against Sheffield Wednesday on 25 November 1984. Lukic returned to the side against Luton Town 1 December 1984, and Jennings never played for Arsenal again.[9] Jennings played in a farewell match against Tottenham Hotspur 8 May 1985 at Highbury.

Squad

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK England ENG John Lukic
DF England ENG Viv Anderson
DF England ENG Kenny Sansom
MF England ENG Brian Talbot
DF Republic of Ireland IRL David O'Leary
DF England ENG Tommy Caton
MF England ENG Stewart Robson
MF England ENG Paul Davis
FW England ENG Paul Mariner
FW England ENG Tony Woodcock
FW Scotland SCO Charlie Nicholas
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF England ENG Ian Allinson
MF England ENG Graham Rix
DF England ENG Tony Adams
GK Northern Ireland NIR Pat Jennings
MF England ENG Steve Williams
FW England ENG Raphael Meade
DF Northern Ireland NIR Colin Hill

Results

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First Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
5 Southampton[a] 42 19 11 12 56 47 9 68 Disqualified from the UEFA Cup[10]
6 Chelsea 42 18 12 12 63 48 15 66
7 Arsenal 42 19 9 14 61 49 12 66
8 Sheffield Wednesday 42 17 14 11 58 45 13 65
9 Nottingham Forest 42 19 7 16 56 48 8 64
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the FA Cup winners, Manchester United, would have qualified for the UEFA Cup based on league position, this would have been passed down to the next best-placed team, Southampton.
25 August 1984 1 Arsenal 1–1 Chelsea London
Stadium: Highbury
1 September 1984 3 Watford 3–4 Arsenal Watford
Stadium: Vicarge Road
4 September 1984 4 Arsenal 2–0 Newcastle United London
Stadium: Highbury
8 September 1984 5 Arsenal 3–1 Liverpool London
Stadium: Highbury
15 September 1984 6 Ipswich Town 2–1 Arsenal Ipswich
Stadium: Portman Road
22 September 1984 7 Arsenal 4–0 Stoke City London
Stadium: Highbury
29 September 1984 8 Coventry City 1–2 Arsenal Coventry
Stadium: Highfield Road
6 October 1984 9 Arsenal 1–0 Everton London
Stadium: Highbury
20 October 1984 11 Arsenal 3–2 Sunderland London
Stadium: Highbury
27 October 1984 12 West Ham United 3–1 Arsenal London
Stadium: Upton Park
10 November 1984 14 Arsenal 1–1 Aston Villa London
Stadium: Highbury
1 December 1984 17 Arsenal 3–1 Luton Town London
Stadium: Highbury
8 November 1984 18 Southampton 1–0 Arsenal Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
22 December 1984 20 Arsenal 1–1 Watford London
Stadium: Highbury
26 December 1984 21 Norwich City 1–0 Arsenal Norwich
Stadium: Carrow Road
19 January 1985 24 Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal London
Stadium: Stamford Bridge
2 February 1985 25 Arsenal 2–1 Coventry City London
Stadium: Highbury
12 February 1985 26 Liverpool 3–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Anfield
23 February 1985 27 Arsenal 0–1 Manchester United London
Stadium: Highbury
9 March 1985 29 Sunderland 0–0 Arsenal Sunderland
Stadium: Roker Park
13 March 1985 30 Aston Villa 0–0 Arsenal Birmingham
Stadium: Villa Park
16 March 1985 31 Arsenal 2–0 Leicester City London
Stadium: Highbury
19 March 1985 32 Arsenal 1–1 Ipswich Town London
Stadium: Highbury
23 March 1985 33 Everton 2–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Goodison Park
30 March 1985 34 Stoke City 2–0 Arsenal Stoke
Stadium: Victoria Ground
6 April 1985 35 Arsenal 2–0 Norwich City London
Stadium: Highbury
4 May 1985 40 Luton Town 3–1 Arsenal Luton
Stadium: Kenilworth Road
6 May 1985 41 Arsenal 1–0 Southampton London
Stadium: Highbury

Football League Cup

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25 September 1984 Second round
(1st Leg)
Arsenal 4–0 Bristol Rovers London
Stadium: Highbury
9 October 1984 Second round
(2nd Leg)
Bristol Rovers 1–1
(1–5 agg.)
Arsenal Bristol
Stadium: Eastville Stadium
31 October 1984 Third round Oxford United 3–2 Arsenal Oxford
Stadium: Manor Ground, Oxford

FA Cup

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Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, in which they were drawn to face Hereford United.

5 January 1985 Third round Hereford United 1–1 Arsenal Hereford
Price 34' Woodcock 23' Stadium: Edgar Street
22 January 1985 Third round replay Arsenal 7–2 Hereford United London
Stadium: Highbury
26 January 1985 Fourth round York City 1–0 Arsenal York
Houchen 89' (pen.) Stadium: Bootham Crescent

Top scorers

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First Division

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References

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  1. ^ James, Josh (18 June 2013). "All-time Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. ^ Ross, James; Heneghan, Michael; Orford, Stuart; Culliton, Eoin (25 August 2016). "English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888–2016". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Viv Anderson". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Arsenal First-Team Line Ups". The Arsenal History. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  5. ^ James, Josh (2008). Arsenal: The Complete Record. deCoubertin Books.
  6. ^ Spurling, Jon (2001). All Guns Blazing: Arsenal in the 1980's. Aureus Publishing.
  7. ^ "bbcsport". 1 April 2022.
  8. ^ "yorkcitysouth". 1 April 2022.
  9. ^ Gary Lawrence Gunnerstown 2017.
  10. ^ English teams were banned by UEFA from its competitions from the season 1985–86 on until the season 1990–91 because of the Heysel Disaster in 1985, involving Liverpool fans.


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