The 1942–43 season was Arsenal Football Club's fourth season playing wartime football during World War II. They won the Football League South and the Football League South Cup. Arsenal were finalists in the Football League War Cup.
| 1942–43 season | ||
|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry | |
| Manager | George Allison | |
| Football League South | 1st | |
| Football League South Cup | Winners | |
| Football League War Cup | Finalists | |
|
| ||
Background
editArsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions.[1]
After participating in the rebel London War League for the 1941-42 season, the Football League allowed the London clubs to rejoin their system. After the rebel clubs wrote formal apology letters and fines, the League South was created for the new season.[2]
Arsenal won the Football League South and the League South Cup. In the League South Cup final, Arsenal faced Charlton whom they beat 7-1 at Wembley.[1] Reg Lewis, a prolific wartime scorer with 142 goals in 128 wartime appearances, scored 4 goals in that final.[3][4] Lewis scored 53 goals in all competitions during the 1942-43 season, boosting the club's attendance numbers.[1]
Arsenal faced Blackpool in the finals of the Football League War Cup, a matchup which now pitted the winners of the League South and League North Cups against each other at Stamford Bridge. Blackpool won 4-2, making Arsenal the only team to reach two War Cup finals and lose.[5]
Results
editArsenal's score comes first[6]
Legend
edit| Win | Draw | Loss |
Football League South
editSelected results from the league.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 August 1942 | Charlton Athletic | A | 6–2 | ||
| 5 September 1942 | Southampton | H | 6–1 | ||
| 12 September 1942 | Millwall | A | 2–1 | ||
| 19 September 1942 | Luton Town | H | 2–0 | ||
| 26 September 1942 | Portsmouth | A | 2–2 | ||
| 3 October 1942 | Fulham | A | 4–3 | ||
| 10 October 1942 | Clapton Orient | A | 4–1 | ||
| 17 October 1942 | Brentford | H | 0–2 | 16,700 | |
| 24 October 1942 | Reading | H | 4–1 | ||
| 31 October 1942 | Crystal Palace | A | 7–1 | ||
| 7 November 1942 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | ||
| 14 November 1942 | Queen's Park Rangers | H | 3–0 | ||
| 21 November 1942 | Aldershot | A | 7–4 | ||
| 28 November 1942 | Charlton Athletic | H | 3–0 | ||
| 5 December 1942 | Southampton | A | 3–1 | ||
| 12 December 1942 | Millwall | H | ?–? | ||
| 19 December 1942 | Luton Town | A | ?–? | ||
| 25 December 1942 | Chelsea | A | 2–5 | ||
| 26 December 1942 | Chelsea | H | 1–5 | ||
| 2 January 1943 | Portsmouth | H | ?–? | ||
| 9 January 1943 | Fulham | H | ?–? | ||
| 16 January 1943 | Clapton Orient | H | ?–? | ||
| 23 January 1943 | Brentford | A | 1–0 | ||
| 30 January 1943 | Reading | A | ?–? | ||
| 6 February 1943 | Crystal Palace | H | ?–? | ||
| 13 February 1943 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | ?–? | ||
| 20 February 1943 | Queen's Park Rangers | A | ?–? | ||
| 27 February 1943 | Aldershot | H | ?–? |
Final League table
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 28 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 102 | 40 | 2.550 | 43 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 28 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 68 | 28 | 2.429 | 38 |
| 3 | Queen's Park Rangers | 28 | 18 | 2 | 8 | 64 | 49 | 1.306 | 38 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 28 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 66 | 52 | 1.269 | 35 |
| 5 | Southampton | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 86 | 58 | 1.483 | 33 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 80 | 66 | 1.212 | 33 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 28 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 52 | 45 | 1.156 | 32 |
| 8 | Aldershot | 28 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 87 | 77 | 1.130 | 30 |
| 9 | Brentford | 28 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 64 | 63 | 1.016 | 29 |
| 10 | Charlton Athletic | 28 | 13 | 3 | 12 | 68 | 75 | 0.907 | 29 |
| 11 | Clapton Orient | 28 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 54 | 72 | 0.750 | 27 |
| 12 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 28 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 64 | 72 | 0.889 | 25 |
| 13 | Reading | 28 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 67 | 74 | 0.905 | 24 |
| 14 | Fulham | 28 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 69 | 78 | 0.885 | 22 |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 28 | 7 | 5 | 16 | 49 | 75 | 0.653 | 19 |
| 16 | Millwall | 28 | 6 | 5 | 17 | 66 | 88 | 0.750 | 17 |
| 17 | Watford | 28 | 7 | 2 | 19 | 51 | 88 | 0.580 | 16 |
| 18 | Luton Town | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 47 | 114 | 0.412 | 16 |
Football League South Cup
edit| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GS | 6 March 1943 | Brighton & Hove Albion | A | 5–1 | ||
| GS | 13 March 1943 | Watford | H | 4–1 | ||
| GS | 20 March 1943 | West Ham United | A | 3–1 | ||
| GS | 27 March 1943 | Brighton & Hove Albion | H | 5–0 | ||
| GS | 3 April 1943 | Watford | A | 1–1 | ||
| GS | 10 April 1943 | West Ham United | H | 3–1 | ||
| SF | 24 April 1943 | Queen's Park Rangers | N | 4–1 | ||
| F | 1 May 1943 | Charlton Athletic | N | 7–1 | 75,000 |
Football League War Cup
editThe winners of the Football League South Cup and the Football League North Cup faced each other in the Football League War Cup.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 15 May 1943 | Blackpool | N | 2–4 | 55,195 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1995). Arsenal: Official History. London: Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0600588262.
- ^ Taylor, Matthew (2015). "The people's game and the people's war: football, class and nation in wartime Britain, 1939-1945". Historical Social Research. 40 (4): 270–297.
- ^ "Reg Lewis". Arsenal. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Arsenal at War". Arsenal. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 October 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
- ^ Becker, Matt (15 January 2015). "Keep Calm, Carry on and Play Soccer: The Football League War Cup". Paste. Archived from the original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ http://www.statto.com/football/teams/arsenal/1942-1943/results [dead link]