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Arsenal
1971–72 season
Chairman	Denis Hill-Wood
Manager	Bertie Mee
First Division	5th
FA Cup	Runners-up
League Cup	Fourth round
European Cup	Quarter-finals
Top goalscorer	League: ; Ray Kennedy (12); All: ; Ray Kennedy (19)
Highest home attendance	63,077 Derby County (29 February 1972)
Lowest home attendance	27,172 Southampton (28 March 1972)
Average home league attendance	40,500
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1970–71 1972–73 →

The 1971–72 season was Arsenal Football Club's 46th consecutive season in the Football League First Division. Arsenal finished fifth in the league.

In Cup play, Arsenal featured for the first time in the European Cup, but went out to defending champions Ajax in the quarterfinals. Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup in the fourth round by Sheffield United. In the FA Cup, Arsenal reached the final, their fifth cup final in five years. However, the team couldn't follow up on the previous year's victory and lost 1-0 to Leeds United.

Ray Kennedy was the top scorer in both the league and in all competitions. Frank McLintock served as captain.

In June 1971, the club saw the exit of Don Howe as manager Bertie Mee's hands-on coach. He was replaced with Steve Burtenshaw. In December, midfielder Alan Ball joined Arsenal to strengthen the squad.

Season summary

Following up the 1970-71 Double was always going to be difficult. On June 15, that proposition was made even harder by the departure of Don Howe, the hands-on second-in-command to Bertie Mee who was widely considered the architect of the Double. Howe accepted an offer to become the manager of West Brom.^[1] Two other Arsenal staff, George Wright and youth coach Brian Whitehouse, also moved to West Brom. Steve Burtenshaw was appointed to Howe's previous position.^[2] Arsenal's only other summer transfer news was that Jon Sammels left the club for Leicester City at a price of £100,000.^[3]

Arsenal began the season with a convincing win over Chelsea, followed up by beating Huddersfield.^[3] The dynamic Charlie George missed the opening of the season with cartilage trouble. However, Arsenal's fortunes soon turned and they were defeated three times in a row, including a loss to newly promoted Sheffield United at home, Arsenal's first loss at Highbury in 19 months.^[2]^[3]

Arsenal's inconsistencies prevented them from being serious title contenders. Injuries left John Radford, Charlie George, Peter Marinello, and Bob McNab out of the squad for parts of the seasons, and other players such as Peter Simpson and Peter Storey suffered from poor form. In December, Mee paid a Football League record fee of £200,000 for Everton's Alan Ball in order to strengthen the squad.^[4] Despite some of these issues, midway through the season, Arsenal went on a 14-match unbeaten run after a dismal 5-1 loss to Wolves.^[4] The run left them just four points from the top. However, they were to find rather less success with the rest of the season. They still affected the title race, as a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the penultimate game of the season handed the league championship to Derby County. Arsenal ended the season with a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham and finished fifth.

Arsenal featured in the European Cup for the first time, reaching the quarterfinals. Ball joined the team too late to be eligible for Arsenal's quarterfinal matchup. After beating Stroemsgodset 3-1 in their first game and 4-0 at home in the next, Arsenal faced Grasshopper Club Zurich, winning 5-0 on aggregate.^[3] Arsenal faced European Cup holders Ajax in the quarterfinals, playing against Johan Cruyff and other great young players. They lost 2-1 away, meaning a 1-0 victory at home would take Arsenal to the semifinals. Instead, Arsenal lost 1-0 thanks to a George Graham own goal.^[2]

New signing Ball was especially influential in Arsenal's FA Cup run. Facing Swindon in the third round, Ball provided first a goal and assist to help Arsenal ease past their opponents. Arsenal then muddled 2-1 away past Fourth Division Reading.^[5] Derby County in the fifth round took three games. The first was a 2-2 tie away at the Baseball Ground in which George netted twice, the field described as a "bog" and the game extremely tough.^[5] Then, the two teams tied 0-0 at Highbury. Arsenal won the second replay with a goal from Kennedy. In the quarterfinals, Arsenal faced Orient and beat them 1-0 away.^[2]

Arsenal's semifinal opponents were again Stoke City, with Arsenal fielding nearly an unchanged side from the same game the year before. Ball was included in place of Kennedy, all other starters from the previous season remained. After Armstrong opened the scoring, Arsenal's goalkeeper Bob Wilson was injured but left on the field. A mistake from Simpson trying to protect his goalkeeper led to an own goal and a tie. Wilson was pulled off the field for Kennedy, and Radford took to the goal to help his team stay in the Cup. Arsenal beat Stoke in the replay with goals from George and Radford, and faced Leeds United in the final. It was a tough match at Wembley, in front of the Queen and Prince Philip. Arsenal were outplayed and lost due to a headed goal from Allan Clarke.^[2]^[5]

Arsenal followed up their stellar Double season with disappointment in a fifth-place league finish and finalists medals in the FA Cup. The FA Cup final had been their fifth Cup final in five years.^[2]

Final league table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
3	Liverpool	42	24	9	9	64	30	2.133	57	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4	Manchester City	42	23	11	8	77	45	1.711	57	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
5	Arsenal	42	22	8	12	58	40	1.450	52
6	Tottenham Hotspur	42	19	13	10	63	42	1.500	51	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
7	Chelsea	42	18	12	12	58	49	1.184	48

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

^ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.

Results

Arsenal's score comes first^[6]

Legend

Win	Draw	Loss

Football League First Division

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
14 August 1971	Chelsea	H	3–0	49,174	Kennedy, McLintock, Radford
17 August 1971	Huddersfield Town	A	1–0	21,279	Kennedy
20 August 1971	Manchester United	A	1–3	27,649	McLintock
24 August 1971	Sheffield United	H	0–1	45,395
28 August 1971	Stoke City	H	0–1	37,637
4 September 1971	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–0	29,922	Roberts
11 September 1971	Leeds United	H	2–0	51,196	Graham, Storey (pen.)
18 September 1971	Everton	A	1–2	39,710	Kennedy
25 September 1971	Leicester City	H	3–0	40,201	Radford (2), Rice
2 October 1971	Southampton	A	1–0	23,738	Simpson
9 October 1971	Newcastle United	H	4–2	40,509	Armstrong, Graham, Kennedy, Kelly
16 October 1971	Chelsea	A	2–1	52,338	Kennedy (2)
23 October 1971	Derby County	A	1–2	36,480	Graham
30 October 1971	Ipswich Town	H	2–1	39,065	George, (o.g.)
6 November 1971	Liverpool	A	2–3	46,929	Kennedy, (o.g.)
13 November 1971	Manchester City	H	1–2	47,443	Nelson
20 November 1971	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	1–5	28,851	Kennedy
24 November 1971	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–1	52,884	Kennedy
27 November 1971	Crystal Palace	H	2–1	32,461	Radford, Kelly
4 December 1971	West Ham United	A	0–0	35,155
11 December 1971	Coventry City	H	2–0	28,597	Radford (2)
18 December 1971	West Bromwich Albion	H	2–0	28,177	Roberts (2)
27 December 1971	Nottingham Forest	A	1–1	42,750	Graham
1 January 1972	Everton	H	1–1	47,031	Simpson
8 January 1972	Stoke City	A	0–0	18,965
22 January 1972	Huddersfield Town	H	1–0	36,670	Armstrong
29 January 1972	Sheffield United	A	5–0	30,778	George (2), Graham, Kennedy, Simpson
12 February 1972	Derby County	H	2–0	52,055	George (2; 1 pen.)
19 February 1972	Ipswich Town	A	1–0	28,657	George
4 March 1972	Manchester City	A	0–2	44,213
11 March 1972	Newcastle United	A	0–2	33,907
25 March 1972	Leeds United	A	0–3	45,055
28 March 1972	Southampton	H	1–0	27,172	Marinello
1 April 1972	Nottingham Forest	H	3–0	33,895	George (pen.), Kennedy, Graham
4 April 1972	Leicester City	A	0–0	27,431
8 April 1972	Wolerhampton Wanderers	H	2–1	38,189	Graham (2)
11 April 1972	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	34,384	Ball, Radford
22 April 1972	West Ham United	H	2–1	42,251	Ball (2)
25 April 1972	Manchester United	H	3–0	49,125	Kennedy, Radford, Simpson
1 May 1972	Coventry City	A	1–0	23,509	McLintock
8 May 1972	Liverpool	H	0–0	39,289
11 May 1972	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–2	42,038

FA Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	15 January 1972	Swindon Town	A	2–0	32,000	Armstrong, Ball
R4	5 February 1972	Reading	A	2–1	25,756	Rice, (o.g.)
R5	26 February 1972	Derby County	A	2–2	39,622	George (2)
R5 R	29 February 1972	Derby County	H	0–0	63,077
R5 2R	13 March 1972	Derby County	N	1–0	40,000	Kennedy
R6	18 March 1972	Orient	A	1–0	31,768	Ball
SF	15 April 1972	Stoke City	N	1–1	56,576	Armstrong
SF R	19 April 1972	Stoke City	N	2–1	38,970	George, Radford
F	6 May 1972	Leeds United	N	0–1	100,000

League Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2	8 September 1971	Barnsley	H	1–0	27,294	Kennedy
R3	6 October 1971	Newcastle United	H	4–0	34,071	Graham, Kennedy, Radford (2)
R4	26 October 1971	Sheffield United	H	0–0	44,061
R4 R	8 November 1971	Sheffield United	A	0–2	35,461

European Cup


Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R2 L1	15 September 1971	Strømsgodset	A	3–1	23,000	Marinello, Simpson, Kelly
R2 L2	29 September 1971	Strømsgodset	H	4–0	27,176	Armstrong, Kennedy, Radford (2)
R3	20 October 1971	Grasshopper	A	2–0	23,000	Graham, Kennedy
R3	3 November 1971	Grasshopper	H	3–0	31,105	George, Kennedy, Radford
R4	8 March 1972	Ajax	A	1–2	63,000	Kennedy
R4 R	22 March 1972	Ajax	H	0–1	56,155

Squad

[1] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	GK	SCO	Bob Wilson
-	GK	ENG	Geoff Barnett
-	DF	NIR	Pat Rice
-	DF	SCO	Frank McLintock
-	DF	ENG	Peter Simpson
-	DF	ENG	Bob McNab
-	DF	NIR	Sammy Nelson
-	DF	WAL	John Roberts
-	DF	ENG	Brendon Batson
-	MF	ENG	George Armstrong
-	MF	SCO	George Graham


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	MF	ENG	Peter Storey
-	MF	ENG	Alan Ball
-	MF	SCO	Eddie Kelly
-	FW	WAL	Paul Davies
-	FW	ENG	Ray Kennedy
-	FW	ENG	John Radford
-	FW	ENG	Charlie George
-	FW	SCO	Peter Marinello

References

^ Mason, Peter (24 December 2015). "Don Howe obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1996). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 175–181. ISBN 0600588262.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Attwood, Tony (19 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s, part 5. After the double, double doubts". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b Attwood, Tony (24 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s part 6. The winter of blossoming hope. Nov 71 to Jan 72". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c Attwood, Tony (28 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s, part 7: The remains of 1971/2, revival and defeat". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
^ "Arsenal results for the 1971-1972 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

[table_note_res_TOT0.40065578622774-6] Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1971-72 UEFA Cup winners.

[1] Mason, Peter (24 December 2015). "Don Howe obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.

[:0-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1996). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 175–181. ISBN 0600588262.

[:1-3] Attwood, Tony (19 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s, part 5. After the double, double doubts". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.

[:2-4] Attwood, Tony (24 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s part 6. The winter of blossoming hope. Nov 71 to Jan 72". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.

[:3-5] Attwood, Tony (28 November 2015). "Arsenal in the 70s, part 7: The remains of 1971/2, revival and defeat". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 12 November 2023.

[7] "Arsenal results for the 1971-1972 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2017.

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Arsenal F.C. seasons
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