1941–42 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
1941–42 season
Chairman	Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry
Manager	George Allison
London War League	1st
London War Cup	Semi-final
	Home colours
	Home colours
	← 1940–41 1942–43 →

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

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

Arsenal's score comes first^[6]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

London War League

Selected results from the league.

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance
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

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


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance
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

^ Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0600588262.
^ 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.
^ ^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.
^ 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.
^ "Arsenal at War". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1941-1942/results ^{[dead link‍]}

External links

Arsenal season-by-season line-ups

[:0-1] Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0600588262.

[:1-2] 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.

[:2-3] 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] ttp://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1941-1942/results ^{[dead link‍]}

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