The 1991–92 season was the 96th season of competitive football played by Arsenal Football Club. The club, managed by George Graham, entered the season as Football League First Division champions, with only one defeat in the previous campaign. In spite of scoring the most goals in the division, Arsenal ended the season in fourth position, ten points behind league champions Leeds United. The club exited the FA Cup after defeat by Fourth Division opponents Wrexham and fell at the same stage of the Football League Cup to fellow First Division club Coventry City. Arsenal represented England in the European Cup; the club was the first to do so since the ban on English teams from playing in European club competitions. Their time in the competition was brief however as Portuguese team Benfica eliminated them in the second round.
Arsenal signed striker Ian Wright for a club record fee of £2.5 million in September 1991. Defender Pål Lydersen and midfielder Jimmy Carter later joined the club. Stuart Young moved to Hull City, whereas Michael Thomas joined Liverpool. This season saw the first appearance of the now-iconic 'bruised banana' away kit.
After undertaking a series of friendlies, Arsenal played Tottenham Hotspur in the Charity Shield and drew 0–0 to share the honour. Defeats by Everton and Aston Villa set the tone for the league season as the team were left with much to do; a poor run of form during the Christmas and New Year period effectively ruled the team out of retaining the championship. Arsenal finished the season strongly however – unbeaten in 16 matches, to end the campaign in fourth place. Wright was Arsenal's top goalscorer with 26 goals.
Background
Arsenal's failure to retain the league championship in the 1989–90 season prompted manager George Graham to make changes to improve his side; he signed goalkeeper David Seaman and Swedish winger Anders Limpar in the close season. Arsenal made a good start to the league campaign, but had two points deducted in October 1990, after ten of their players were involved in a brawl with Manchester United players, in a match at Old Trafford. In December, captain Tony Adams was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for drink driving. Despite these setbacks, Arsenal lost only one league match all season (away to Chelsea) and finished on 83 points, seven ahead of runners-up Liverpool. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur. Midfielder Paul Gascoigne scored from a free kick after just five minutes and Tottenham went on to win 3–1, ending hopes of a second Double. Nevertheless, the impressive league form prompted Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson to comment that Arsenal had the platform to "do really well next season", particularly in Europe.
It was the last season that Arsenal played in front of their famous North Bank terrace, which was being demolished over the summer of 1992 to make way for a new all-seater stand which was scheduled for completion during 1993, by which time Highbury was set to have an all-seater capacity of just under 40,000. These changes were necessary due to the Taylor Report, which required all clubs in the highest two divisions of English football to have an all-seater stadium by August 1994.
Transfers Striker Ian Wright moved from Crystal Palace to Arsenal a month into the season; at £2.5 million he became the club's most expensive signing yet. Palace chairman Ron Noades revealed the club had offered the player a new deal, but "Ian was hankering for a move. He wanted to play in Europe and Arsenal was the club he wanted to join." Arsenal paid £500,000 each for midfielder Jimmy Carter and Pål Lydersen, a Norwegian defender. Graham and Lydersen were in attendance for Norway's international match against the Soviet Union in September 1991; he later agreed personal terms to join Arsenal. In December 1991, Michael Thomas left Arsenal and moved to Liverpool, the club he famously scored against to win the league title for Arsenal in 1989.
In PositionPlayerTransferred fromFeeDateRefFWIan WrightCrystal Palace£2,500,00024 September 1991MFJimmy CarterLiverpool£500,0008 October 1991 DFPål LydersenI.K. Start£500,00020 November 1991
Out PositionPlayerTransferred toFeeDateRefMFKwame AmpaduWest Bromwich Albion£500,000June 1991FWStuart YoungHull CityFree11 July 1991MFMichael ThomasLiverpool£1,500,00013 December 1991
Loan out PositionPlayerClubDateReturnRefGKAlan MillerWest Bromwich Albion15 August 199118 December 1991Birmingham City19 December 199131 May 1992DFSteve Morrow Watford14 August 199129 October 1991Reading30 October 19913 March 1992Barnet4 March 199231 May 1992FWAndrew Cole Fulham5 September 199111 March 1992Bristol City12 March 1992One month
Pre-season and friendlies In preparation for the forthcoming season, Arsenal played a series of friendlies. The tour of Sweden was a success, with three wins in the space of a week. Arsenal then travelled back to England and beat Plymouth Argyle, before hosting Celtic, Panathinaikos and Sampdoria at Highbury. Arsenal ended their pre-season with a 3–1 victory against Watford, who staged their centenary match. Three further friendlies were played in 1992, one of which was a testimonial for Barry Fry, the manager of Barnet.
DateOpponentsVenueResultScoreScorersAttendance17 July 1991Team MalarvikAW4–1Campbell, Smith, (2) Groves3,21720 July 1991TrollhättanAW1–0Hillier3,50422 July 1991IFK EskilstunaAW6–1Dixon (pen.), Hillier, Campbell, Davis, Smith, Limpar6,01526 July 1991Plymouth ArgyleAW2–0Campbell, Smith7,71930 July 1991CelticHD2–2Dixon, Smith28,6393 August 1991PanathinaikosHW1–0Rocastle19,8834 August 1991SampdoriaHD1–1Merson18,2677 August 1991WatfordAW3–1Dixon, Campbell, o.g.10,01929 February 1992BarnetAW6–0Parlour, Wright, Campbell (2), Limpar, Smith4,4845 March 1992ShelbourneAD1–1Smith8,5005 May 1992APOELAD1–1Smith? Colour key: Green = Arsenal win; Yellow = draw; Red = opponents win. Arsenal score ordered first. Source:
FA Charity Shield
As league champions, Arsenal contested the 1991 FA Charity Shield against local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who had beaten Nottingham Forest to win the 1991 FA Cup Final. Anders Limpar was absent for Arsenal, as he had sustained a knee injury while on duty for Sweden. David O'Leary started in place of the injured Steve Bould and midfielder David Hillier was picked ahead of Michael Thomas in midfield. In spite of dominating territorial advantage, Arsenal were held to a 0–0 draw, meaning each team held the trophy for six months. Graham commentated that Arsenal played below their usual standard and accepted that his team needed to work on their finishing, in order to make use of their possession.
Football League First Division
A total of 22 teams competed in the First Division in the 1991–92 season. Each team played 42 matches; two against every other team and one match at each club's stadium. Three points were awarded for each win, one point per draw, and none for defeats. This was Arsenal's final season in the Football League; in 1992 they and 21 other clubs joined the newly formed Premier League, which became the top division of English football from the 1992–93 season onwards.
August–October Arsenal started their defence of the league championship at home to Queens Park Rangers on 17 August 1991. It was the visitors who had led the match right from the 15th minute, but for Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson to earn his side a point after equalising well into stoppage time. The draw according to The Independent showcased the need for reinforcements: "... not just to improve the squad, but also to cause a buzz in the dressing room". Arsenal were beaten 3–1 by Everton at Goodison Park three days after and lost to Aston Villa by the same scoreline. Graham dismissed any talk of crisis, saying "I have been in football too long to think it is going to be nice and comfortable every season" and felt the performance at Villa showed signs of improvement compared to the earlier league fixtures. A 2–0 win at home to Luton Town was followed by victory against Manchester City, where Alan Smith and Limpar scored a goal apiece.
September began with a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United. Arsenal's two-goal lead was overturned by the opposition, who secured a draw after Lee Chapman equalised in injury time. Had this been the winning goal, "it would have been a gross injustice for Arsenal" opined John Roberts of The Independent. Lee Dixon scored an "amazing" own goal against Coventry City on 7 September 1991, which set Arsenal on their way to their third defeat of the season. The team responded by defeating Crystal Palace 4–1; Kevin Campbell scored his first two goals of the league season. Arsenal scored four first half goals against Sheffield United on 21 September 1991 – the game ended 5–2, which moved them into seventh position – three places up from the previous weekend. To compare with 17-09-1991 By the time Campbell scored Arsenal's fourth "... the North Bank was entitled to sound the ironic chant, 'Boring, boring, Arsenal'," said reporter Jasper Rees. Wright scored three league goals for Arsenal on his league debut, away to Southampton.
Arsenal defeated Chelsea at home in the first weekend of October. The team found themselves two goals down after 20 minutes, but a converted Dixon penalty and goals from Wright and Campbell turned the score around in their favour. Arsenal came away from Old Trafford with a point against league leaders Manchester United on 19 October 1991. After a midweek European football match, Arsenal beat Notts County by two goals, a result which moved them fourth in the table.
November–February
The visit of West Ham United to Highbury produced a 1–0 defeat for Arsenal; the winning goal scored by Mike Small came in the 76th minute. Arsenal's conserved performance was attributed to their upcoming European Cup match, something Graham categorically denied: "I'm not even thinking about next Wednesday." Arsenal drew away to Oldham Athletic and then Sheffield Wednesday, extending a winless run of five games in all competitions. The team beat Tottenham on 1 December 1991 to go fourth in the league table, 10 points behind the leaders. Arsenal's aspiration to defend the league title suffered to Nottingham Forest; though the team scored twice in the second half they were unable to overturn the home side's three-goal lead and collected no points. David Hillier opined that his team "should have done better in the first half – that's when we really lost it." Wright scored all of Arsenal's four goals against Everton, but scored none in the team's Boxing Day defeat by Luton Town. Graham called it Arsenal's worst performance of the season and was critical of his players' attitude. Although the team's concentration and effort improved according to Peter Ball of The Times in their next game – away to Manchester City, Arsenal lost for the second consecutive league match. They ended the calendar year in seventh position, 16 points behind the leaders Manchester United.