“Another stumbling performance.” How the press saw the Unbeaten Season

This is our daily review of Arsenal anniversaries taken from the Arsenal day by day  files prepared by the AISA Arsenal History Society.

Our headline is taken from this day in 2003


Special feature:

Highbury: from start to end with previously unseen pictures of the end of the stadium.

Below are the Anniversaries from  November 8.

 

8 November 1913.  Fulham 6 Arsenal 1.  It was the final game for Matthew Thomson in what was easily the worst defeat for the club in the season.  It was also the largest away crowd of the season for Arsenal – 35,000.

8 November 1924: Robert Turnbull, Arsenal’s record scorer of the era (with 20 goals in 35 league games in 1922/3), transferred to Charlton Athletic.  In all he played 59 league games and scored 26 goals.

8 November 1927: Len Wills born.  He first played for Eton Manor FC, an amateur club formed by well-to-do families to support young men and boys in the East End of London.  Len joined Arsenal as an amateur from Eton Manor in March 1946, but had to leave the club in 1948 to do his National Service in the RAF. He then returned to Arsenal in October 1949

8 November 1930: Arsenal 5 Aston Villa 2.  This was the first of nine games during the season where Arsenal score five or more.  Bastin and Jack got two each and Lambert one.

8 November 1932: Gordon Nutt born.  He played for, Sheldon, Coventry City, Royal Artillery National Service British Army XI (during his National Service) and Cardiff City, before joining Arsenal.  

8 November 1980: Leeds United 0 Arsenal 5.  It was the only league game in the season in which Arsenal scored more than three goals. Hollins (2), Gatting, Talbot, Sunderland got the goals.

8 November 1998: Anelka scored for the fifth game running in a 1-0 home victory over Everton.  Arsenal won four and drew one of those five games.

8 November 1999: Arsenal 3 Real Madrid 1.  Lee Dixon’s testimonial.

8 November 2003: Arsenal beat Tottenham 2-1 in the 11th league match of the Unbeaten season.  The Observer in its review called it “another stuttering performance” from Arsenal.

8 November 2006: Arsenal beat Everton 0-1 away in league cup round 4 only to find their reward in the next round as away to Liverpool in January.  But it turned out ok as in that game Song scored his first goal as Arsenal beat Liverpool 6-3..  Matt Poom made his Arsenal debut at half time and took on captaincy.  It was his only Arsenal appearance and at the end of the season he moved to Watford.

8 November 2008: After losing 2-1 to Stoke, Arsenal beat Man U by the same score with Nasri scoring both goals.


 

Elsewhere on this day: 

John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost, died in 1674

 


 

Yesterday’s anniversaries:

Arsenal player imprisoned after horrific attack


 

The latest post from our series on Henry Norris at the Arsenal

October 1917: Arsenal slip into sharp decline; Norris gains a new appointment

A full index of the various series of articles on this site appears on the home page.

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