Arsenal
1947–48 season
ChairmanSamuel Hill-Wood
ManagerTom Whittaker
StadiumHighbury
First Division1st
FA CupThird Round
Top goalscorerRonnie Rooke (33)

The 1947–48 season was Arsenal Football Club's 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[1][2] Having avoided relegation the previous season, Arsenal returned to their winning ways of the 1930s by winning the league title. Arsenal finished seven points ahead of title rivals Manchester United and Burnley.

Tom Whittaker won the league in his first season as manager but was unable to lift the FA Cup. The Gunners went out to lower-league Bradford Park Avenue in the third round.

Season summary

Joe Shaw returned from Chelsea to serve as Tom Whittaker's right-hand man in his first full season as manager. Arsenal made two new signings: Scottish international Archie Macauly from Brentford (whom Arsenal had unsuccessfully pursued a year prior) and Don Roper from Southampton.[3]

Arsenal began the season at home to Sunderland. Defender Joe Mercer served as captain as Les Compton was caught up with cricket responsibilities at Middlesex.[4] Finally back at Highbury after it had been used for Air Raid Precautions during World War II,[5] the pitch was reseeded and the track had been resurfaced. Arsenal won their first match 3-1, scoring thrice in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. The team then headed to Charlton, the FA Cup holders, and won 4-2, before demolishing them 6-0 at home a few weeks later. After beating Manchester United 2-1 at home and then extending their run of victories to six with a 2-0 win over Bolton, injuries began to set in. Les Compton returned to strengthen the team, insisting Mercer remained captain.[6] Arsenal fell into a slump in which goals were difficult to come by.[3]

Post-war match attendances soared. Arsenal played in front of a crowd of 67,277 at Stamford Bridge. 27,000 watched the reserve game between Arsenal and Chelsea that same afternoon. Arsenal beat 4-3 to Racing Club in Paris in a traditional international friendly[7] and then returned to league play. They remained unbeaten in the league until the end of November when they lost 1-0 away at Derby.[3]

On New Year's Day, Arsenal were five points clear at the top of the table after beating Bolton 1-0 on a snowmelt sodden pitch. Such highs were immediately contrasted by Arsenal's entrance into the FA Cup. Facing second-division Bradford Park Avenue, Arsenal found little success and went out of the Cup in their first game, losing 1-0. Arsenal then traveled to Manchester United, still playing their home matches at Maine Road due to wartime damage to Old Trafford, and tied in front of a then-record crowd of 83,260.[3][4]

Denis Compton, returning from a knee surgery, was recalled into the side in place of the injured Ian McPherson. Playing Burnley at home on Valentine's Day, Compton assisted the first goal fourteen minutes into the match, helping Arsenal to a 3-0 victory. Fielding one of the oldest sides in the competition, Arsenal held an eight-point advantage over the rest of the league.[3]

Whittaker brought in Cliff Holton, Peter Goring, and Alex Forbes mid-season to help strengthen the Arsenal side. Forbes, bought for ₤12,000 from Sheffield United, scored eight minutes into his debut at Wolves.[8] Whittaker had convinced him to come to the club by sending Macauly to convince him when Forbes had been laid up in the hospital, recovering from appendicitis.[3]

Arsenal had lost only thrice in their first thirty two games. However, Arsenal followed up such fine form with two losses in their next three matches, losing 2-0 to Chelsea at home and 3-0 away at Blackpool. Several ties and one more loss were to follow. However, Arsenal won the league with a 1–1 draw at Huddersfield Town, and after discovering that United and Burnley had lost via the newspapers at Doncaster Station on the journey, knew that they had won the league. They finished the season seven points ahead of their nearest rivals, Manchester United.[3] It was Arsenal's sixth league title.[9]

Over the course of the season Arsenal claimed some big wins, beating Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough 6-0 and 7-0 respectively, and hammering bottom club Grimsby Town 8–0 on the final day, with Ronnie Rooke netting four times to bring his final tally for the league season to 33 in 42 Division 1 matches, thus becoming the second Arsenal player-after Ted Drake in 1934–35 to win the Golden Boot.[4] Rooke, who played in every match of the season, was 36 at the time.[3]

Goalkeeper George Swindin conceded only 32 goals. A reliable "retreating defense" was essential to Arsenal's season-long success. Arsenal would leave the ball with the opposition and back off, packing the defense. Few teams could get through with only Derby County doing the double over Arsenal.[3]

Results

Arsenal's score comes first[10]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League First Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers
23 August 1947SunderlandH3–158,184Logie, Rooke, McPherson
27 August 1947Charlton AthleticA4–260,323Roper, Logie, Lewis, McPherson
30 August 1947Sheffield UnitedA2–139,123Roper, Rooke
3 September 1947Charlton AthleticH6–054,684Lewis 4, Rooke 2
6 September 1947Manchester UnitedH2–164,905Lewis, Rooke
10 September 1947Bolton WanderersH2–046,969Rooke(pen), McPherson
13 September 1947Preston North EndA0–040,060
20 September 1947Stoke CityH3–061,579Logie, McPherson 2
27 September 1947BurnleyA1–046,568Lewis
4 October 1947PortsmouthH0–062,461
11 October 1947Aston VillaH1–060,427Rooke
18 October 1947Wolverhampton WanderersA1–155,998Rooke(pen)
25 October 1947EvertonH1–156,645Lewis
1 November 1947ChelseaA0–067,277
8 November 1947BlackpoolH2–167,057Roper, Rooke(pen)
15 November 1947Blackburn RoversA1–037,447Rooke
22 November 1947Huddersfield TownH2–047,514Rooke, Logie
29 November 1947Derby CountyA0–135,713
6 December 1947Manchester CityH1–141,274Rooke(pen)
13 December 1947Grimsby TownA4–018,700Roper, Logie, Rooke 2
20 December 1947SunderlandA1–158,397Jones
25 December 1947LiverpoolA3–153,604Roper, Rooke 2
27 December 1947LiverpoolH1-256,650Lewis
1 January 1948Bolton WanderersA1–030,028Lewis
3 January 1948Sheffield UnitedH3–248,993Lewis, Rooke 2
17 January 1948Manchester UnitedA1–183,260Lewis
31 January 1948Preston North EndH3–063,132Rooke, Lewis 2
7 February 1948Stoke CityA0–044,836
14 February 1948BurnleyH3–062,125Roper, Rooke 2
28 February 1948Aston VillaA2–468,690Rooke, Moss(og)
6 March 1948Wolverhampton WanderersH5–257,711Roper, Logie, Rooke 2, Forbes
13 March 1948EvertonA2–064,059D.Compton 2
20 March 1948ChelseaH0–256,596
26 March 1948MiddlesbroughH7–057,557Roper, Rooke 3, D.Compton 2, Robinson(og)
27 March 1948BlackpoolA0–332,678
29 March 1948MiddlesbroughA1–138,249Rooke
3 April 1948Blackburn RoversH2–045,801Logie, Rooke
10 April 1948Huddersfield TownA1–138,110Roper
17 April 1948Derby CountyH1–249,677Roper
21 April 1948PortsmouthA0–042,250
24 April 1948Manchester CityA0–023,391
1 May 1948Grimsby TownH8–034,644Logie(pen), Rooke 4, Forbes, D.Compton 2

[11]

Final League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts
1 Arsenal (C) 42 23 13 6 81 32 2.531 59
2 Manchester United 42 19 14 9 81 48 1.688 52
3 Burnley 42 20 12 10 56 43 1.302 52
4 Derby County 42 19 12 11 77 57 1.351 50
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 19 9 14 83 70 1.186 47
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

FA Cup

Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round, in which they were drawn to face Bradford Park Avenue.

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorers
R310 January 1948Bradford Park AvenueH0–147,738

See also

References

  1. ↑ James, Josh (18 June 2013). "All-time Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Ross, James; Heneghan, Michael; Orford, Stuart; Culliton, Eoin (25 August 2016). "English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888–2016". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. pp. 99–104. ISBN 0600588262.
  4. 1 2 3 "Whittaker leads Arsenal to sixth title". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "29. Highbury transformed in wartime". Arsenal. 1 June 2017. Archived from the original on 5 May 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. ↑ "Arsenals Top Seasons 1947-48 – Our 7th Best". Arsenal Arsenal. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Attwood, Toy (10 October 2023). "Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris; a noble endeavour". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Glanville, Brian (4 August 2014). "Alex Forbes obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  9. ↑ Attwood, Tony (10 April 2022). "10 April 1948: Arsenal win the league for the sixth time". The History of Arsenal. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Arsenal results for the 1947-1948 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  11. ↑ James, Kelly & Andrews (2018). Arsenal: The Complete Record. decoubertin. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-909245-75-4.

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