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[edit]

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[edit]

Arsenal's score comes first^[6]

Legend[edit]

Win	Draw	Loss

London War League[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]


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[edit]

^ 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[edit]

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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