The 1983–84 season was

Arsenal Football Club The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional association football, football club based in London Borough of Islington, Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of ...

's 58th consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Arsenal finished sixth in the

Football League First Division The Football League First Division was the top division of the Football League in England from 1888 until the end of the 1991–92 season, when its teams broke away to form the Premier League. From 1992 to 2004, the name First Division was g ...

Charlie Nicholas Charles Nicholas (born 30 December 1961) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A striker, Nicholas is best known for his spells at Celtic and Arsenal. He won 20 international caps for Scotland, including playing at the 1986 FIFA World C ...

was brought to Arsenal from

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. However, he did not immediately perform.

Paul Mariner Paul Mariner (22 May 1953 – 9 July 2021) was an English Association football, football player and Coach (sport), coach. A centre forward during his playing days, Mariner began his career with Chorley F.C., Chorley. He became a professional p ...

was also bought to bolster the club in the latter half of the season. Tony Woodcock remained Arsenal's top scorer.

Graham Rix Graham Cyril Rix (born 23 October 1957) is an English former professional football player who later became a coach and manager. Rix played for Arsenal for thirteen years, then Brentford (on loan), Caen, Le Havre, Dundee and Chelsea. He also w ...

assumed the captaincy from

David O'Leary David Anthony O'Leary (born 2 May 1958) is a football manager and former player. The majority of his 20-year playing career was spent as a central defender at Arsenal, where his tally of 722 appearances stands as a club record. He played 68 time ...

. Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup at home by

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. After a run of dismal league results including five losses in six games, manager

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 ...

was sacked on 16 December 1983. He was succeeded by his assistant

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 ...

Season summary

The 1983-84 season was

’s final season as the Gunners manager. Neill had persuaded Scottish starlet

to spurn the advances of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and move to London in time for the 1983-84 season in a club-record signing from

. Nicholas cost £650,000 and was reportedly the highest paid footballer in Britain. The move wasn’t an immediate success, however, and by December Nicholas had only scored twice. Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup at home by

, a repeat of Wallsall's giant-killing act of 1933. Terry Neill, already under pressure due to early losses to Manchester United and Liverpool at home, had overseen a series of inconsistent results in the league. With Arsenal 16th in the table, a 1-0 loss at home to

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

led to "Neill Out" demonstrations by the supporters outside the ground. After Arsenal lost 3-1 away at

West Ham West Ham is a district in East London, England and is in the London Borough of Newham. It is an inner-city suburb located east of Charing Cross. The area was originally an ancient parish formed to serve parts of the older Manor of Ham, a ...

, on 16 December 1983 the club did the inevitable and sacked Neill. Don Howe first became caretaker-manager, and became permanent manager after the game against

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

on 28 April 1984, following a run of five wins and two draws in the last seven games. Arsenal were 6th – the highest position they had held that season after the second match of the season. Howe also brought Paul Mariner to Highbury in February 1984 for £150,000. Mariner scored seven times in the final fifteen games of the season.

Squad

Top scorers

First Division

* Tony Woodcock 21 *

11 *

7 *

Brian Talbot Brian Ernest Talbot (born 21 July 1953) is an English former football player and manager. He was capped six times for the England national team. Talbot played in midfield for Ipswich Town, Arsenal, Watford, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion ...

6 *

Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for Arsenal, West Ham United where he was their player of the season in 1988, and Coventry City. After his footballing ...

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

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

References

External links

* Arsenal 1983–84 o
statto.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1983-84 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Arsenal F.C. seasons