Leicester in August: Arsenal’s engagements with foxes in summer

By Tony Attwood Despite the fact that for much of footballing history Arsenal have not been in the same division as Leicester we have had a number of events over the years in August that bring the clubs together. Leicester City was founded in 1884 as Leicester Fosse, two years before Dial Square and Royal Arsenal, and …

When Wenger took over, when van Gaal took over. A comparison.

The Manchester United manager, Louis van Gaal, has warned that the club cannot expect an immediate “miracle” from the club’s new British record signing Angel Di Maria, as he admitted that he will have torn up the squad he inherited by the time the transfer window closes on Monday. “You have to work for the miracle and …

Almunia forced to retire with a serious heart condition

Manuel Almunia Rivero  was born in Navarre on 19 May 1977.  He played 109 league games for Arsenal and 175 games all told including cup matches.  In his career in Spain and England he played 326 league games and 403 senior games in total. He retired from football on 28 August 2014, as he was …

Arsenal After Chapman

“Arsenal After Chapman” is the fifth in the series of publications from AISA, the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association, which puts a new light on Arsenal’s history. It is a series that has had at its aim, not just the telling of the Arsenal story, but of unravelling past myths and unchecked tales, and uncovering facts …

John MacLeod: a true hero of Arsenal

By Tony Attwood John MacLeod was born in Colinton Mains, Edinburgh on 23 November 1938 and was educated at St Peter’s Primary School in Morningside and St Anthony’s in Leith, He joined Hibernian the club he supported as a school boy. playing first for Edinburgh Thistle, the feeder team of Hibs.    Then he went with Joe Baker …

Everton in August, and memories of goals

By Tony Attwood As we come up to play Everton away in the second league match of the 1014/15 season it struck me the other day that we often seem to play Everton in August.  And so we do. But more importantly some of the games against Everton have been quite interesting over time.  Here’s …

Tottenham 1 Arsenal 5. What a way to start the season

  In August 1914, with war looming, Arsenal started preparations for their second season at Highbury, and for their second season in the second division since the relegation at the end of their time in Plumstead in 1913. Although I don’t have a record of the match, we can be fairly sure that Arsenal would …

Željezničar and Arsenal: 15 August 1976

Boogaloo – Arsenal 1-1  I have been sent the following piece and translated it using Google – so some of the translation may be highly inaccurate.  Indeed some of it turned out to be impossible to use. But to see the original, click on the score line above. Željezničar plays in Sarajevo; I imagine Boogaloo is …

We’re heading for the double but start with a home defeat. 21/8/01

Arsenal 1-2 Leeds 21 August 2001 This was our first home game of the season and the second game of the 3rd Double Season. In the first game on 18 August 2001, we’d beaten Middlesbrough away 0-4 but this brough us down to earth. Leeds were managed by David O’Leary and he was keen to …

When a pre-season turns nasty, but we open in the league with a win

On 27 June 2002 Arsenal played Rapid Vienna in a pre-season friendly in Eisenstadt.  The match then was abandoned because of crowd trouble. Our team for the occasion was Taylor Luzhny Cygan Upson Tavlaridis Parlour Toure Edu Bentley Aliadiere Henry David Seaman, Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell and Martin Keown were given the night off. Arsenal …

Do you remember how we started the Unbeaten Season on 15 August?

By Tony Attwood It is as if it were yesterday. 15 August 2003 Preseason had been mixed.  We’d lost to Peterborough and drawn with Barnet but recovered somewhat to make a decent fist of the rest of the pre-season games.   We’d lost the charity shield in Cardiff, but Lehmann had made his first appearance …

Three momentous Arsenal anniversaries on 14 August

As usual there is a full list of anniversaries on the home page of both this site and Untold Arsenal. But I would like to highlight just three of them… 14 August 1963: Bob Wilson’s first game 14 August 1996.  The first Wenger signings, Remi Garde (free) and Patrick Vieira (£3.5m) joined Arsenal. 14 August 2005: Start of the final season …

George Allison’s view of Henry Norris

By Tony Attwood It is conventional to think of Sir Henry Norris as a crook and a scoundrel.  Indeed I get the impression that even Arsenal FC see him as their biggest embarrassment, In many articles hee I have tried to argue the opposite – that in saving Arsenal in 1910 Henry Norris took enormous …

When Arsenal banned radio broadcasts of games and “Back to Square Two”

The origin of the phrase ‘Back to square one’ is one of those that often leads people to quote the notion that it came from football. It didn’t – as I can show below.  But the phrase does, in a quirky way, have a very strong link with Arsenal, with the fight between Arsenal and …

Vince Bartram: 11 games for Arsenal

Vincent Lee Bartram was born on 7 August 1968 in Birmingham and started as a footballer with Wolverhampton Wanderers at a time when they were in the fourth division. After a series of loans with Blackpool, Cheltenham, and WBA he moved to Bournemouth in 1991, playing over 100 games for them under the management of Harry …

The sad history of Jimmy Blair

James “Jimmy” Blair was born in Dumfries in 1885, and plauyed for Dumfries Volunteer, 5th Kings Own Highlanders, and Kilmarnock before coming to Woolwich Arsenal for the 1905/6 season in May 1905. He was obviously seen as a transfer of some significance as he was in the line up for the opening game of the …

The 2003 Community Shield, Francis Jeffers and his 12 clubs

By Tony Attwood “You never know where you will turn up in football. You have to deal with the cards dealt. You keep going to the death.”  Francis Jeffers. Born in Liverpool, on 25 January 1981, Francis Jeffers began his footballing at Everton, coming on as a sub on 26 December 1997 in the game …

Frank Boulton: details are sketchy but he was a league winner

By Tony Attwood Frank Boulton is one of those players whose football life seems difficult to track exactly.  Indeed as I search for details of his personal life I find contradictions in report, for he was born in either Chipping Sodbury or Yate, depending on the source you read. But we do have a definitive …

Arsenal After Chapman: a new publication from AISA

By Tony Attwood If you are a member of the Arsenal Independent Supporters Association (AISA) you’ll know what happens around this time of year.  You get a little package through the door. If you are not a member of AISA, let me tell you what it is, in the hope that you might consider joining …

2013/14: how close were Arsenal to the title?

  2013/14 saw Arsenal lead the league table for more time than any other club.  128 days in all.   Which says a lot about the club. But through most of the season the normal calls by the tiny minority for Wenger to go continued, with the mantra, willingly taken up throughout the media, that …