The 1977–78 season was

Arsenal Football Club Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (incl ...

's 52nd consecutive season in the Football League First Division. It was

Terry Neill William John Terence Neill (8 May 1942 – 28 July 2022) was a Northern Irish football player and manager. A centre-back, he captained and later managed Arsenal, guiding the club to a European final in 1980 and three consecutive FA Cup final ...

's second season as manager. Arsenal finished fifth in the league. In cup play, Arsenal reached the semi-finals in the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

, losing to the previous season's league and European champions

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

. Arsenal were also in the finals of the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

, the first of three consecutive FA Cup finals that Arsenal would reach under Neill. They lost 1-0 to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

. In the transfer business, Pat Jennings joined the club from

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The team has playe ...

. He would go on to make over two-hundred appearances for Arsenal. Alan Sunderland joined Arsenal at centre forward where he would remain an important player for several seasons. Neill also brought in

Don Howe Donald Howe (12 October 1935 – 23 December 2015) was an English football player, coach, manager and pundit. As a right back Howe featured for clubs West Bromwich Albion and Arsenal together with the England national football team in his pla ...

as an assistant. Malcom Macdonald was again Arsenal's top scorer.

Season summary

Beginning with a difficult pre-season tour in Singapore and Australia, Terry Neill struggled with Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Hudson and disciplined them due to poor behavior. Arsenal had relied heavily especially on Macdonald in previous seasons and the management was hoping to strengthen team play, which Macdonald found difficult at times. After an eighth place finish in Neill's first season, the manager was looking to improve the squad. First, he brought in former Arsenal player and coach

for £40,000 as his assistant. Neill then looked to improve Arsenal's goalkeeping in the transfer market.

Jimmy Rimmer John James Rimmer (born 10 February 1948) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper in the Football League for Manchester United, Swansea City, Arsenal and Aston Villa. Rimmer, who won two European Cup winners medals, has been ...

, a solid performer in the 1975-76 season as Arsenal fought relegation, moved to Aston Villa. In came Pat Jennings at age 32 after spending thirteen years at Tottenham. Arsenal also brought in striker Alan Sunderland from Wolves for £70,000. Outgoing players included left-back Wilf Rostron, and midfielder (and former academy player) Trevor Ross. Arsenal began the season with a 1-0 loss to Ipswich while playing in a hailstorm in what would be an echo of the FA Cup final later in the season. Arsenal, though performing better than the previous season, struggled with the squad depth to challenge for the league championship. They ended up fifth in league play. In the League Cup, Arsenal beat Hull and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

at Highbury before going to a second game against Manchester City in the quarterfinals. Macdonald won a penalty which was put in by

Liam Brady William Brady (born 13 February 1956) is an Irish former footballer. He found success both in England with Arsenal, where he won an FA Cup in 1979, and in Italy with Juventus, winning two Serie A titles. Brady was capped 72 times for the Ireland ...

, who at that point had scored a goal every round. Arsenal then faced Liverpool, English and European Champions, in the semifinals. Arsenal lost 2-1 at Anfield, followed by a goalless draw at Highbury. In the FA Cup, Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2 in the second-round tie at Highbury. They then faced

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

who had knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup 45 years previous, beating them 4-1 soon after their semifinal loss to Liverpool in the League Cup. Arsenal beat

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...

3-2 in the next round before clearing Orient 3-0 in the semifinal. Arsenal was to face

Bobby Robson Sir Robert William Robson (18 February 1933 – 31 July 2009) was an English footballer and football manager. His career included periods playing for and later managing the England national team and being a UEFA Cup-winning manager at Ipswich ...

's Ipswich in the final. Arsenal struggled with injury problems, with Sunderland recovering from a broken foot, Macdonald requiring a knee operation, and Brady being carried off with an injured ankle versus Liverpool. All of them featured in the game. Roger Osborne scored the only goal for Ipswich. Macdonald went into surgery three days later, the beginning of the end of his career.

Squad

Results

First Division

Football League Cup

FA Cup

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

Sheffield United Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...

References

External links

* Arsenal 1977–78 o
statto.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1977-78 Arsenal F.C. season Arsenal Arsenal F.C. seasons