1979–80 Arsenal F.C. season

English football club season November 2020 May 2013 Arsenal F.C. 1979–80 Denis Hill-Wood Terry Neill First Division 4th Alan Sunderland/Frank Stapleton (14) Alan Sunderland (29) FA Cup Finalists League Cup Fifth round European Cup Winners' Cup Finalists Charity Shield Runners-up 1978–79 1980–81 _redborder _arsenal78h _redborder _arsenal69hl FFFFFF FF0000 FFFFFF FFFFFF _arsenal69a _arsenal7879a _arsenal69a _arsenal68al 0000FF The 1979–80 season was Arsenal Football Club's 54th consecutive season in the Football League First Division. The club finished the season in fourth after struggling with scoring goals and a congested schedule at the end of the season. Arsenal reached the finals in the 1979-80 FA Cup and the 1979-80 European Cup Winner's Cup but failed to win either. After winning the FA Cup the previous season, Arsenal would not reach another cup final until 1987. Alan Sunderland was the top scorer, with 14 goals in the league. Arsenal scored 52 goals in 42 league matches. Liam Brady left the team at the end of the season for Juventus. Season summary Prior to the season's beginning, Liam Brady announced that he would leave Highbury when his contract ran out at the end of the season. Despite an offer of increased wages and security from Arsenal, Brady wanted to experience European competition. Arsenal made few changes from the previous season in their squad, only bringing in midfielder John Hollins.14 June 2023 John Hollins 1946-2023 https://www.arsenal.com/news/john-hollins-1946-2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230615225258/https://www.arsenal.com/news/john-hollins-1946-2023 15 June 2023 3 November 2023 ArsenalPye Steven 31 March 2020 The season Arsenal played 70 games, reached two finals ... and won nothing https://www.theguardian.com/football/that-1980s-sports-blog/2020/mar/31/arsenal-season-played-70-games-lost-two-finals-liverpool-juventus https://web.archive.org/web/20231008190601/https://www.theguardian.com/football/that-1980s-sports-blog/2020/mar/31/arsenal-season-played-70-games-lost-two-finals-liverpool-juventus 8 October 2023 3 November 2023 The Guardian Alan Hudson left for Seattle Sounders.Alan Hudson https://www.arsenal.com/historic/players/alan-hudson https://web.archive.org/web/20230621102731/https://www.arsenal.com/historic/players/alan-hudson 21 June 2023 3 November 2023 Arsenal The season started with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool at Wembley in the Charity Shield in August 1979. Arsenal finished the league season in fourth place in the First Division. Arsenal reached the finals in two major cup competitions: the 1979-80 FA Cup and the 1979-80 European Cup Winner's Cup. Arsenal lost to Swindon in the quarterfinals of the League Cup, preventing them from progressing further. In the FA Cup, Arsenal faced Cardiff, Brighton, Bolton, and Watford (playing five replays in five rounds) before playing Liverpool in the semifinal. The semi-final fixtures against Juventus and Liverpool sandwiched each other around league games, making for a difficult schedule. Arsenal vs Liverpool went to a fourth match, the series concluding just nine games before the FA Cup final. Arsenal won the fourth game thanks to Brian Talbot's sole goal. Arsenal then faced West Ham in the final, in which Paul Allen became the youngest player to appear in a FA Cup final. Fatigue hit Arsenal hard with Talbot collapsing on the bus on the way home. In the Cup Winners Cup, Arsenal began their campaign with a win over Fenerbahce before being paired with Magdeburg. They then beat IFK Göteborg 5-0 in the semi-finals before facing Juventus in the semifinal. In the second leg of the semifinal, Arsenal beat Juventus thanks to a header by 18-year old Paul Vaessen, making Arsenal the first British team to beat Juventus on their home soil. Arsenal played in the final against Valencia just four days after their loss in the FA Cup final. The game was decided by penalty shootout. Valencia won 5-4, as Valencia's goalkeeper blocked both Liam Brady's and Graham Rix's shots. Arsenal had played fifteen matches in 45 days prior. In league performance, Arsenal struggled with consistency. At home, Arsenal won only eight of their games, drawing ten. Playing in a counter-attacking style, Arsenal did win ten of their away games. Cup competition late into the season caused fixture congestion and fatigue among Arsenal players. Due to such congestion, Arsenal even asked to rearrange the schedule for the North London Derby. Tottenham refused, but Arsenal won away at White Hart Lane - fielding six reserves! Although Arsenal had failed to qualify for European competition through their cup fixtures, they could qualify based on league position if they won their last two games. However, after winning their first game against Wolves, Arsenal lost 5-0 to Middlesbrough in their 50th game in the season, losing their position in European competition. With fifth placed Nottingham Forest qualifying for the following year's European Cup as holders after winning it again at the end of May and sixth placed Wolverhampton Wanderers having qualified for the UEFA Cup as winners of the League Cup, Arsenal were the only team in the top six not to qualify for Europe. It is a record that still stands. No team has played a 70-match season before or since in England. Arsenal played 70 games throughout the course of the 1979/80, including 27 Cup games, of which two were Cup Finals against West Ham and Valencia; the two happening within the space of five days. Despite finishing in fourth place in the league, they only scored 52 goals in 42 matches. Arsenal drew sixteen games throughout the league season, ten of them at home. In cup competitions, they drew a total of ten matches. Alan Sunderland finished the season as top goalscorer with 29, but only 14 of these came in the league.6 June 2020 As Bad As Things Got: Arsenal, 14th May 1980 https://twohundredpercent.net/bad-things-arsenal-may-1980/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220809235641/https://twohundredpercent.net/bad-things-arsenal-may-1980/ 9 August 2022 Two Hundred PercentSoar Phil Arsenal: Official History Tyler Martin Hamlyn 1989 0600588262 London 195–201 enSpurling Jon All Guns Blazing Aureus Publishing Ltd 2001 Squad yes yes NIR GK Pat Jennings yes NIR DF Pat Rice yes NIR DF Sammy Nelson yes ENG MF Brian Talbot yes IRL DF David O'Leary yes SCO DF Willie Young yes IRL MF Liam Brady yes ENG FW Alan Sunderland yes IRL FW Frank Stapleton yes ENG MF John Hollins yes ENG MF Graham Rix yes yes ENG MF David Price yes IRL DF John Devine yes ENG DF Steve Walford yes ENG DF Steve Gatting yes ENG FW Paul Vaessen yes ENG GK Paul Barron yes ENG MF Paul Davis yes ENG MF Brian McDermott All Arsenal players: 1980 http://www.11v11.com/teams/arsenal/tab/players/season/1980 https://web.archive.org/web/20231005195057/https://www.11v11.com/teams/arsenal/tab/players/season/1980/ 5 October 2023 11v11 Results FA Charity Shield 1979 FA Charity Shield As FA Cup winners, Arsenal contested the 1979 FA Charity Shield against League champions Liverpool. Liverpool won the match on 11 August 1979 by 3–1. FA Charity Shield 11 August 1979 Liverpool 3–1 Arsenal McDermott 38 65 Dalglish 63 Sunderland 88 London Wembley Stadium 92,800 L First Division 1979–80 Football League#First Division First Division y ARS 1 18 August 1979 Brighton & Hove Albion 0–4 Arsenal Brady (Pen), Stapleton, Sunderland (2) Brighton Goldstone Ground W 2 21 August 1979 Arsenal 0–2 Ipswich Town London Highbury L 3 25 August 1979 Arsenal 0–0 Manchester United London Highbury D 4 1 September 1979 Leeds United 1–1 Arsenal Stapleton Leeds Elland Road D 5 8 September 1979 Derby County 3–2 Arsenal Stapleton, Sunderland Derby Baseball Ground L 6 15 September 1979 Arsenal 2–0 Middlesbrough Stapleton, Sunderland London Highbury W 7 22 September 1979 Aston Villa 0–0 Arsenal Birmingham Villa Park D 8 29 September 1979 Arsenal 2–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Hollins, Stapleton London Highbury L 9 6 October 1979 Arsenal 0–0 Manchester City London Highbury D 10 9 October 1979 Ipswich Town 1–2 Arsenal Rix, Sunderland Ipswich Portman Road W 11 13 October 1979 Bolton Wanderers 0–0 Arsenal Bolton Burnden Park D 12 20 October 1979 Arsenal 0–0 Stoke City London Highbury D 13 27 October 1979 Bristol City 0–1 Arsenal Sunderland Bristol Ashton Gate W 14 3 November 1979 Arsenal 3–0 Brighton & Hove Albion Brady(Pen), Rix, Sunderland London Highbury W 15 10 November 1979 Crystal Palace 1–0 Arsenal London Selhurst Park L 16 17 November 1979 Arsenal 2–0 Everton Stapleton(2) London Highbury W 17 24 November 1979 Arsenal 0–0 Liverpool London Highbury D 18 1 December 1979 Nottingham Forest 1–1 Arsenal Stapleton Nottingham City Ground D 19 8 December 1979 Arsenal 3–1 Coventry City O'Leary, Stapleton, Sunderland London Highbury W 20 15 December 1979 West Bromwich Albion 2–2 Arsenal Nelson, Stapleton West Bromwich The Hawthorns D 21 21 December 1979 Arsenal 1–1 Norwich City Stapleton London Highbury D 22 26 December 1979 Arsenal 1–0 Tottenham Hotspur Sunderland London Highbury W 23 29 December 1979 Manchester United 3–0 Arsenal Manchester Old Trafford L 24 1 January 1980 Southampton 0–1 Arsenal Young Southampton The Dell W 25 12 January 1980 Arsenal 0–1 Leeds United London Highbury L 26 19 January 1980 Arsenal 2–0 Derby County Brady (Pen), Young London Highbury W 27 9 February 1980 Arsenal 3–1 Aston Villa Rix, Sunderland (2) London Highbury W 28 23 February 1980 Arsenal 2–0 Bolton Wanderers Stapleton, Young London Highbury W 29 1 March 1980 Stoke City 2–3 Arsenal Brady, Price, Sunderland Stoke on Trent Victoria Ground W 30 11 March 1980 Arsenal 0–0 Bristol City London Highbury D 31 15 March 1980 Manchester City 0–3 Arsenal Brady (Pen), Brady, Stapleton Manchester Maine Road W 32 22 March 1980 Arsenal 1–1 Crystal Palace Brady London Highbury D 33 28 March 1980 Everton 0–1 Arsenal Gatting Liverpool Goodison Park W 34 2 April 1980 Norwich City 2–1 Arsenal Rix Norwich Carrow Road L 35 5 April 1980 Arsenal 1–1 Southampton Sunderland London Highbury D 36 7 April 1980 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Arsenal Vaessen, Sunderland London White Hart Lane W 37 19 April 1980 Liverpool 1–1 Arsenal Talbot Liverpool Anfield D 38 26 April 1980 Arsenal 1–1 West Bromwich Albion Stapleton London Highbury D 39 3 May 1980 Coventry City 0–1 Arsenal Vaessen Coventry Highfield Road W 40 5 May 1980 Arsenal 0–0 Nottingham Forest London Highbury D 41 16 May 1980 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–2 Arsenal Stapleton, Walford Wolverhampton Molineux W 42 19 May 1980 Middlesbrough 5–0 Arsenal Middlesbrough Ayresome Park L Football League Cup 1979–80 Football League Cup Second round (1st Leg) 29 August 1979 Leeds United 1–1 Arsenal Leeds Elland Road D Second round (2nd Leg) 4 September 1979 Arsenal 7–0 8–1 Leeds United London Highbury W Third round 25 September 1979 Arsenal 1–0 Southampton London Highbury W Fourth round 30 October 1979 Brighton & Hove Albion 0–0 Arsenal Brighton Goldstone Ground D Fourth round replay 13 November 1979 Arsenal 4–0 Brighton & Hove Albion London Highbury W Fifth round 4 December 1979 Arsenal 1–1 Swindon Town London Highbury D Fifth round replay 11 December 1979 Swindon Town 4–3 (aet) Arsenal Swindon County Ground L FA Cup 1979–80 FA Cup Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, in which they were drawn to face Cardiff City. Third round 5 January 1980 Cardiff City 0–0 Arsenal Cardiff Ninian Park D Third round replay 8 January 1980 Arsenal 2–1 Cardiff City London Highbury W Fourth round 26 January 1980 Arsenal 2–0 Brighton & Hove Albion London Highbury W Fifth round 16 February 1980 Bolton Wanderers 1–1 Arsenal Bolton Burnden Park D Fifth round replay 19 February 1980 Arsenal 3–0 Bolton Wanderers London Highbury W Sixth round 8 March 1980 Watford 1–2 Arsenal London Vicarage Road W Semi-Final 12 April 1980 Arsenal 0–0 (aet) Liverpool Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium D Semi-Final replay 16 April 1980 Arsenal 1–1 (aet) Liverpool Birmingham Villa Park D Semi-Final 2nd replay 28 April 1980 Arsenal 1–1 (aet) Liverpool Sheffield Hillsborough Stadium D Semi-Final 3rd replay 1 May 1980 Arsenal 1–0 Liverpool Coventry Highfield Road W Final 10 May 1980 Arsenal 0–1 West Ham United London Wembley Stadium L European Cup Winners' Cup 1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup First round (1st Leg) 19 September 1979 Arsenal ENG 2–0 TUR Fenerbahçe S.K. London Highbury W First round (2nd Leg) 3 October 1979 Fenerbahçe S.K. TUR 0–0 0–2 ENG Arsenal Istanbul Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium D Second round (1st Leg) 24 October 1979 Arsenal ENG 2–1 DDR Magdeburg London Highbury W Second round (2nd Leg) 7 November 1979 Magdeburg DDR 2–2 3–4 ENG Arsenal Magdeburg Ernst Grube Stadium D Quarter-Final (1st Leg) 5 March 1980 Arsenal ENG 5–1 SWE IFK Göteborg London Highbury W Quarter-Final (2nd Leg) 19 March 1980 IFK Göteborg SWE 0–0 1–5 ENG Arsenal Gothenburg Ullevi D Semi-Final (1st Leg) 9 April 1980 Arsenal ENG 1–1 ITA Juventus London Highbury D Semi-Final (2nd Leg) 23 April 1980 Juventus ITA 0–1 1–2 ENG Arsenal Turin Stadio Comunale W Final 14 May 1980 Arsenal ENG 0–0 (aet) (4 – 5 pen.) ESP 1977 Valencia CF Brussels Heysel Stadium L Top scorers First Division ENG Alan Sunderland 14 IRL Frank Stapleton 14 IRL Liam Brady 7 Arsenal Official Handbook 1980 References External links Arsenal 1979–80 on statto.com Arsenal Category:Arsenal F.C. seasons