1968–69 Arsenal F.C. Season

During the 1968–69 English football season, Arsenal Football Club competed in the Football League First Division. The team finished fourth in the league, an improvement on their ninth place finish the previous season.

Arsenal reached the final of the League Cup, losing 3-1 to Swindon Town in extra time. It was their second League Cup loss in two years. Arsenal went out in the fifth round of the FA Cup to West Brom.

John Radford was the top scorer in both the league and all competitions. The previous season's top scorer, George Graham, began to feature in midfield. Frank McLintock served as captain.

Season summary

Despite making several large bids, Arsenal did not bring in any major new players for the 1968-69 season. The team began the season with a victory at White Hart Lane, their first in eleven seasons. It kickstarted their best start to a season in twenty years, going eleven games unbeaten until a defeat at Elland Road.

Much of the 1968-69 season was represented in player growth. Bob Wilson, a former schoolteacher, improved markedly between the sticks. Peter Simpson became a more complete central defender, and manager Bertie Mee began to experiment with playing George Graham in midfield as his lack of pace was affecting his ability to play as a forward.

In the League Cup, Arsenal once again reached the final. Arsenal had showed their mettle in the semifinals against Tottenham with Radford scoring a crucial goal in the last minutes of the encounter at Highbury. Arsenal were to face Third Division side Swindon Town in the final. Wembley was in poor condition due to the International Horse of the Year Show, compounded by heavy rainfall. Upon match day, eight Arsenal players had just recovered from the flu while several Swindon players were recovering from injury. Arsenal, after a league record of letting in 18 goals in 30 games, conceded to Swindon in the 34th minute. The team recovered, playing against Swindon's second-half 9-1-0 formation, four minutes before time. Bobby Gould scored the equalizer. The game went into extra time, the pitch laden with mud. Don Rogers scored twice for Swindon in extra time and Arsenal lost their second League Cup final in two years.

Arsenal finished the season in fourth place, buoyed by their strong defensive record. They showed the ability to put streaks of success together, putting together a string of 6 consecutive wins with only one goal conceded in the middle of the season. Arsenal was becoming a team that could focus and find success, proved in their two League Cup finals and to be followed up with tangible successes in the coming seasons.

Final league table

Results

''Arsenal's score comes first''

Legend

Football League First Division

FA Cup

League Cup

Squad

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1968-69 Arsenal F.C. season
Arsenal F.C. seasons
Arsenal