1978–79 Arsenal F.C. season

During the 1978–79 English football season, Arsenal F.C. competed in the Football League First Division.

Arsenal F.C.
1978–79 season
ChairmanDenis Hill-Wood
ManagerTerry Neill
First Division7th
FA CupWinners
League CupSecond round
UEFA CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Frank Stapleton (17)
All:
Frank Stapleton (28)

Season summary

Arsenal had their first trophy since 1971, when they won the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Terry Neil had what was to be his only trophy as manager, and became the fifth Arsenal manager to win the FA Cup.

Arsenal had earned a place in the UEFA Cup with a fifth-place finish in the 1977-78 Football League. They faced Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Cup, but were eliminated in the third round of the competition. The Serbian side won 2-1 on aggregate, and the crucial last minute goal was scored by Dusan Savic at Highbury.[1]

For a while Arsenal had flirted with the notion of winning the league, but the marathon battle with Sheffield Wednesday in January 1979 had put all the focus on the FA Cup, and league results had been at best average in the second half of the season. Malcolm Macdonald announced his retirement in August 1979 at just 29 years old. [2] [3][4][5]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK Northern Ireland NIR Pat Jennings
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Pat Rice
- DF Northern Ireland NIR Sammy Nelson
- MF England ENG Brian Talbot
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL David O'Leary
- DF Scotland SCO Willie Young
- MF Republic of Ireland IRL Liam Brady
- FW England ENG Alan Sunderland
- FW Republic of Ireland IRL Frank Stapleton
- MF England ENG David Price
- MF England ENG Graham Rix
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF England ENG Steve Walford
- DF England ENG Steve Gatting
- DF Republic of Ireland IRL John Devine
- MF England ENG Mark Heeley
- FW England ENG Malcolm Macdonald
- GK England ENG Paul Barron
- MF Northern Ireland NIR Jim Harvey
- DF England ENG Kevin Stead
- FW England ENG Paul Vaessen
- DF England ENG Steve Brignall
- FW Australia AUS John Kosmina
- MF England ENG Brian McDermott

[6]

Results

First Division
Main article: 1978–79 Football League § First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
5 Leeds United 42 18 14 10 70 52 +18 50 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
6 Ipswich Town 42 20 9 13 63 49 +14 49
7 Arsenal 42 17 14 11 61 48 +13 48 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
8 Aston Villa 42 15 16 11 59 49 +10 46
9 Manchester United 42 15 15 12 60 63 −3 45
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. Arsenal qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1978–79 FA Cup winners.
19 August 1978 1 Arsenal 2–2 Leeds United London
Stadium: Highbury
22 August 1978 2 Manchester City 1–1 Arsenal Manchester
Stadium: Maine Road
26 August 1978 3 Everton 1–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Goodison Park
2 September 1978 4 Arsenal 5–1 Queen's Park Rangers London
Stadium: Highbury
9 September 1978 5 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Arsenal Nottingham
Stadium: City Ground
16 September 1978 6 Arsenal 1–0 Bolton Wanderers London
Stadium: Highbury
23 September 1978 7 Arsenal 1–1 Manchester United London
Stadium: Highbury
30 September 1978 8 Middlesbrough 2–3 Arsenal Middlesbrough
Stadium: Ayresome Park
7 October 1978 9 Arsenal 1–1 Aston Villa London
Stadium: Highbury
14 October 1978 10 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 Arsenal Wolverhampton
Stadium: Molineux
21 October 1978 11 Arsenal 1–0 Southampton London
Stadium: Highbury
28 October 1978 12 Bristol City 1–3 Arsenal Bristol
Stadium: Ashton Gate
4 November 1978 13 Arsenal 4–1 Ipswich Town London
Stadium: Highbury
11 November 1978 14 Leeds United 0–1 Arsenal Leeds
Stadium: Elland Road
18 November 1978 15 Arsenal 2–2 Everton London
Stadium: Highbury
25 November 1978 16 Coventry City 1–1 Arsenal Coventry
Stadium: Highfield Road
2 December 1978 17 Arsenal 1–0 Liverpool London
Stadium: Highbury
9 December 1978 18 Norwich City 0–0 Arsenal Norwich
Stadium: Carrow Road
16 December 1978 19 Arsenal 2–0 Derby County London
Stadium: Highbury
23 December 1978 20 Tottenham Hotspur 0–5 Arsenal London
Stadium: White Hart Lane
26 December 1978 21 Arsenal 1–2 West Bromwich Albion London
Stadium: Highbury
30 December 1978 22 Arsenal 3–1 Birmingham City London
Stadium: Highbury
13 January 1979 23 Arsenal 2–1 Nottingham Forest London
Stadium: Highbury
3 February 1979 24 Manchester United 0–2 Arsenal Manchester
Stadium: Old Trafford
10 February 1979 25 Arsenal 0–0 Middlesbrough London
Stadium: Highbury
13 February 1979 26 Queen's Park Rangers 1–2 Arsenal London
Stadium: Loftus Road
24 February 1979 27 Arsenal 0–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers London
Stadium: Highbury
3 March 1979 28 Southampton 2–0 Arsenal Southampton
Stadium: The Dell
10 March 1979 29 Arsenal 2–0 Bristol City London
Stadium: Highbury
17 March 1979 30 Ipswich Town 2–0 Arsenal Ipswich Town
Stadium: Portman Road
24 March 1979 31 Arsenal 1–1 Manchester City London
Stadium: Highbury
26 March 1979 32 Bolton Wanderers 4–2 Arsenal Bolton
Stadium: Burnden Park
3 April 1979 33 Arsenal 1–1 Coventry City London
Stadium: Highbury
7 April 1979 34 Liverpool 3–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Anfield
10 April 1979 35 Arsenal 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur London
Stadium: Highbury
14 April 1979 36 West Bromwich Albion 1–1 Arsenal West Bromwich
Stadium: The Hawthorns
16 April 1979 37 Arsenal 5–2 Chelsea London
Stadium: Highbury
21 April 1979 38 Derby County 2–0 Arsenal Derby
Stadium: Baseball Ground
25 April 1979 39 Aston Villa 5–1 Arsenal Birmingham
Stadium: Villa Park
28 April 1979 40 Arsenal 1–1 Norwich City London
Stadium: Highbury
5 May 1979 41 Birmingham City 0–0 Arsenal Birmingham
Stadium: St Andrew's
19 May 1979 42 Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal London
Stadium: Stamford Bridge

Football League Cup
Main article: 1978–79 Football League Cup
29 August 1978 Second round Rotherham United 3–1 Arsenal Rotherham
Stadium: Millmoor

FA Cup
Main article: 1978–79 FA Cup

Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, in which they were drawn to face Sheffield Wednesday.

6 January 1979 Third round Sheffield Wednesday 1–1 Arsenal Sheffield
Johnson Sunderland Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium
9 January 1979 Third round replay Arsenal 1–1 Sheffield Wednesday London
Brady Wylde Stadium: Highbury
15 January 1979 Third round 2nd replay Sheffield Wednesday 2–2 (aet) Arsenal Leicester
Hornsby (2, 1 pen) Brady
Sunderland		 Stadium: Filbert Street
17 January 1979 Third round 3rd replay Arsenal 3–3 (aet) Sheffield Wednesday Leicester
Stapleton (2)
Young		 Rushbury
Lowey
Hornsby (pen)		 Stadium: Filbert Street
22 January 1979 Third round 4th replay Sheffield Wednesday 0–2 Arsenal Leicester
Gatting
Stapleton		 Stadium: Filbert Street
27 January 1979 Fourth round Arsenal 2–0 Notts County London
Talbot
Young		 Stadium: Highbury
26 February 1979 Fifth round Nottingham Forest 0–1 Arsenal Nottingham
Stapleton 78' Stadium: City Ground
19 March 1979 Sixth round Southampton 1–1 Arsenal Southampton
Hayes Price Stadium: The Dell
21 March 1979 Sixth round replay Arsenal 2–0 Southampton London
Sunderland 32', 75' Stadium: Highbury
28 April 1979 Semi-Final Arsenal 2–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham
Stapleton 50'
Sunderland 79'		 Stadium: Villa Park
12 May 1979 Final Arsenal 3–2 Manchester United London
Talbot 12'
Stapleton 43'
Sunderland 89'		 McQueen 86'
McIlroy 88'		 Stadium: Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 100,000

UEFA Cup
Main article: 1978–79 UEFA Cup
13 September 1978 First round
(1st Leg)		 Arsenal England 3–0 East Germany Lokomotive Leipzig London
Stadium: Highbury
27 September 1978 First round
(2nd Leg)		 Lokomotive Leipzig East Germany 1–4
(1–7 agg.)		 England Arsenal Leipzig
Stadium: Bruno-Plache-Stadion
19 October 1978 Second round
(1st Leg)		 Hajduk Split Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 2–1 England Arsenal Split
Stadium: Plinara Stadion
1 November 1978 Second round
(2nd Leg)		 Arsenal England 1–0
(2–2 agg.)		 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Hajduk Split London
Stadium: Highbury
22 November 1978 Third Round
(1st Leg)		 Red Star Belgrade Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1–0 England Arsenal Belgrade
Stadium: Red Star Stadium
6 December 1978 Third Round
(2nd Leg)		 Arsenal England 1–1
(1–2 agg.)		 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Red Star Belgrade London
Stadium: Highbury


Top scorers

First Division

[7]

References
  1. "crvenazvezdafk".
  2. "arsenal-won-fa-cup-four-replays-sheffield-wednesday". 23 September 2023.
  3. "sheffield-wednesday-v-arsenal-fa-cup-1979/". 23 September 2023.
  4. Soar, Phil (2003). The official illustrerad history of Arsenal. Hamlyn. p. 134.
  5. "arsenal.malcolm-macdonald". 23 September 2023.
  6. "All Arsenal players: 1979".
  7. "thearsenalhistory". 1 April 2022.
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