The 1945-46 Arsenal F.C. season was Arsenal Football Club's first post-war football season. The team finished eleventh and were knocked out in the third round of the FA Cup. It was George Allison's last full season as Arsenal manager.[1]

Arsenal
1945–46 season
ChairmanRobin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry
ManagerGeorge Allison
Football League South11th
FA CupThird round

Background

The 1945-46 season was the first peacetime football season since World War II began. In May 1945, the Football League announced that the FA Cup would return for the coming season, eliminating the wartime cup competitions. In July, the Football League came to an agreement that regional leagues would continue for one more season with some adjustments.[2]

Arsenal entered the season with ₤150,000 in pre-war debts. They also continued to play their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions and was still being used for that purpose.[3] Highbury had bombed during the war and required repairs before Arsenal could return.[4]

Arsenal performed poorly in the league, flirting with relegation before finishing thirteenth. Although some players remained from Arsenal's successful 1930s runs, age, injury, and attrition led to a much weaker team than took the field prior to the war. Cliff Bastin was aging and Ted Drake had retired. Arsenal struggled to find success.[5] Arsenal were knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham.

One notable occurrence was when Arsenal hosted Dynamo Moscow late in 1945, a rare European match. London was covered in a "pea-souper fog."[3] The fog was so bad that Dynamo wanted the match postponed but due to match sales, the FA refused. Arsenal manager George Allison brought in several guest players to strengthen Arsenal's side. Dynamo took an early lead in front of a 54,000 strong crowd. The fog was so thick that Russian referee Nikolay Latyshev had both of his assistants run the same side of the pitch. The first half finished 3-2 to Arsenal. At halftime, Arsenal's goalkeeper Wyn Griffiths was replaced by a spectator, QPR's Harry Brown, as he had taken several blows to the head and was unaware of even the score. The second half saw Sergei Solovyov equalize for Moscow and a George Drury red card for throwing a punch. Visibility continued to decrease. Dynamo went ahead and Arsenal had a goal disallowed. The game became increasingly rough. Dynamo won the match, and would go on to play one further match in their tour of England.[6]

Results

Arsenal's score comes first[7]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League South

Selected results from the league.

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
25 August 1945Coventry CityA0–2
27 August 1945West Ham UnitedA1–125,000
1 September 1945Coventry CityH0–0
3 September 1945Wolverhampton WanderersA1–1
8 September 1945Luton TownH0–2
15 September 1945Luton TownA2–1
22 September 1945Aston VillaH2–4
29 September 1945Aston VillaA1–5
6 October 1945Swansea TownH4–1
13 October 1945Swansea TownA2–3
20 October 1945Charlton AthleticH1–2
27 October 1945Charlton AthleticA2–6
3 November 1945FulhamA2–5
10 November 1945FulhamH2–0
17 November 1945Plymouth ArgyleH3–014,479
24 November 1945Plymouth ArgyleA4–026,419
1 December 1945PortsmouthA?–?
8 December 1945PortsmouthH?–?
15 December 1945Nottingham ForestH?–?
22 December 1945Nottingham ForestA?–?
25 December 1945Newport CountyA2–113,003
26 December 1945Newport CountyH7–016,536
29 December 1949Wolverhampoton WanderersH?–?
12 January 1946West Bromwich AlbionH?–?
19 January 1946West Bromwich AlbionA?–?
2 February 1946Birmingham CityH0–3
9 February 1946Tottenham HotspurH1–1
16 February 1946Tottenham HotspurA0–2
23 February 1946BrentfordA3–622,250
9 March 1946ChelseaH1–2
13 March 1946Birmingham CityA1–0
16 March 1946ChelseaA2–1
23 March 1946MillwallA?–?
30 March 1946MillwallH?–?
6 April 1946SouthamptonH?–?
13 April 1946SouthamptonA?–?
19 April 1946Derby CountyA?–?
20 April 1946Leicester CityH?–?
22 April 1946Derby CountyH?–?
27 April 1946Leicester CityA?–?
29 April 1946BrentfordH1–15,250
4 May 1946West Ham UnitedH2–130,000

Final League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts
9 Tottenham Hotspur 42 22 3 17 78 81 0.963 47
10 Chelsea 42 16 11 15 76 73 1.041 43
11 Arsenal 42 16 11 15 76 73 1.041 43
12 Millwall 42 17 8 17 79 105 0.752 42
13 Coventry City 42 15 10 17 70 69 1.014 40
Source: rsssf.com and War Hammers II[8]

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R3 L15 January 1946West Ham UnitedA0–6
R3 L29 January 1946West Ham UnitedH1–0

References

  1. ↑ "The Managers". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 26 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Foster, Richard (24 April 2020). "How English football responded to the second world war". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0600588262.
  4. ↑ "Arsenal at War". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  5. ↑ "Post-War Arsenal". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  6. ↑ Howells, Chris (13 November 2020). "Dynamo Moscow's 1945 tour of Britain: Was it really 'war minus the shooting?'". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  7. ↑ "Arsenal results for the 1945-1946 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Belton, Brian (2015). War Hammers II: The Story of West Ham United During the Second World War. The History Press. ISBN 075095602X.
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