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)

The 1978–79 season was Arsenal Football Club's 53rd consecutive season in the Football League First Division. The club finished seventh in the league but won the 1978-79 FA Cup. It was their second of three consecutive FA Cup finals under manager Terry Neill. Known as the "Five Minute Final," Arsenal went 2-0 up until the 85th minute, before Manchester United brought it to a tie. Alan Sunderland scored the winning goal for Arsenal and Arsenal won the FA Cup 3-2.

Arsenal were rather less successful in other cup competitions, going out to Rotherham United in the second round in the League Cup. The team had qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth the previous season, but went out in the third round to Red Star Belgrade.

In the transfer market, Neill brought in Brian Talbot from Ipswich Town halfway through the season to strengthen Arsenal's midfield, especially with a tough cup run. Paul Barron was brought in as the understudy to goalkeeper Pat Jennings at the beginning of the season.[1]

Season summary

Arsenal had their first trophy since 1971, when they won the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Terry Neill had what was to be his only trophy as manager,[2] 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 Lokomotiv Leipzig, Hajduk Split (a game which brought Liam Brady's first goal in Europe), and Red Star Belgrade. Arsenal were eliminated by Red Star Belgrade 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.[3][4] In the League Cup, Arsenal went out early, losing 3-1 to Rotherham United.

For a while Arsenal had flirted with the notion of winning the league as they sat in the top four by Christmas, 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.[5]

However, the focus on the FA Cup paid dividends as Arsenal reached the "Five Minute Final." Arsenal's toughest opponent in the run up had been Third Division side managed by Jack Charlton, Sheffield United. The tie went to five matches in sixteen days. Arsenal won the fourth replay 2-0.[6][7] After the first replay, Arsenal bought Brian Talbot from Ipswich for ₤400,000, an essential player in the team that had beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final the previous year. Talbot made his FA Cup debut in a 2-0 defeat of Notts Country before Arsenal faced Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the fifth round. Arsenal beat Forest 1-0 in a game where Forest hit the woodwork three times. It was Forest's first home defeat in 52 matches. Arsenal then beat Southampton in a replay, though lost Brady to injury thirty minutes from the end. Arsenal next faced Wolves under new manager John Barnwell in the semifinal. Alan Sunderland scored the second goal against his former club.[4][5]

Arsenal faced Manchester United the FA Cup final. United had beaten the world-class Liverpool in the semifinal and Arsenal had played 9 games in 34 days (about 1 in every 4 days) in the run up to the final.[5] Arsenal scored twice through Sunderland and Talbot. However, with five minutes remaining in the match, United recovered with goals from Gordon McQueen and Sammy McIlroy. From the second kick-off, Brady booted a pass to Graham Rix who crossed to the far post for Sunderland. United goalkeeper Gary Bailey misjudged the cross and Sunderland scored. Arsenal won the final, 3-2, with three goals of the five goals scored in the last five minutes of the match.[4][5][8] Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with the victory.

After the season, Brady announced that he would leave the club when his contract ran out in 1980, hoping for a new challenge in European football.[4] Malcolm Macdonald announced his retirement in August 1979 at just 29 years old. [9][10]

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

[11]

Results

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
26 August 1978 3 Everton 1–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Goodison Park
16 September 1978 6 Arsenal 1–0 Bolton Wanderers London
Stadium: Highbury
23 September 1978 7 Arsenal 1–1 Manchester United London
Stadium: Highbury
7 October 1978 9 Arsenal 1–1 Aston Villa London
Stadium: Highbury
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
30 December 1978 22 Arsenal 3–1 Birmingham City London
Stadium: Highbury
10 February 1979 25 Arsenal 0–0 Middlesbrough 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
24 March 1979 31 Arsenal 1–1 Manchester City London
Stadium: Highbury
3 April 1979 33 Arsenal 1–1 Coventry City London
Stadium: Highbury
7 April 1979 34 Liverpool 3–0 Arsenal Liverpool
Stadium: Anfield
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
19 May 1979 42 Chelsea 1–1 Arsenal London
Stadium: Stamford Bridge

Football League Cup

29 August 1978 Second round Rotherham United 3–1 Arsenal Rotherham
Stadium: Millmoor

FA Cup

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

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
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

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

[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Paul Barron". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Mason, Peter (31 July 2022). "Terry Neill obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 October 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Iz arhive: Kako smo bacili Arsenal na kolena". FK Crvena Zvezda (in Bosnian). 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 194–197. ISBN 0600588262.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Atwood, Tony (18 March 2014). "How Arsenal won the FA Cup in 1979". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Pye, Steven (23 September 2023). "When Arsenal won the FA Cup ... after playing four replays in the same round". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal, 1979 FA Cup". The 1888 Letter. 12 January 2019. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023.
  8. ↑ Brodkin, Jon (19 May 2005). "Five minutes that will live forever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  9. ↑ Soar, Phil (2003). The official illustrerad history of Arsenal. Hamlyn. p. 134.
  10. ↑ "Malcom Macdonald". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 5 November 2023.
  11. ↑ "All Arsenal players: 1979". 11 vs 11. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023.
  12. ↑ "Arsenal First Team Line ups". The Arsenal History. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
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