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, having shown 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, in part due to their strong defensive record and a string of 6 consecutive wins with only one goal conceded during the middle of the season.

Final league table

Results Arsenal's score comes first

Legend WinDrawLoss

Football League First Division DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 10 August 1968 Tottenham HotspurA2–156,280 13 August 1968Leicester CityH3–032,164 17 August 1968 LiverpoolH1–143,535 21 August 1968 Wolverhampton WanderersA0–036,006 24 August 1968 Ipswich TownA2–125,825 27 August 1968 Manchester CityH4–140,776 31 August 1968 Queen's Park RangersH2–144,407 7 September 1968 SouthamptonA2–125,126 14 September 1968 Stoke CityH1–028,275 21 September 1968 Leeds UnitedA0–239,946 28 September 1968 SunderlandH0–035,277 5 October 1968 Manchester UnitedA0–061,843 9 October 1968 Manchester CityA1–133,830 12 October 1968 Coventry CityH2–135,240 19 October 1968 West Bromwich AlbionA0–135,624 26 October 1968 West Ham UnitedH0–059,533 9 November 1968 Newcastle UnitedH0–034,168 16 November 1968 Nottingham ForestA2–024,550 23 November 1968 ChelseaH0–145,588 30 November 1968 BurnleyA1–016,264 7 December 1968 EvertonH3–140,108 14 December 1968 Coventry CityA1–027,332 21 December 1968 West Bromwich AlbionH2–030,785 26 December 1968 Manchester UnitedH3–062,300 11 January 1969 Sheffield WednesdayH2–039,008 18 January 1969 Newcastle UnitedA1–234,227 1 February 1969 Nottingham ForestH1–135,585 15 February 1969 BurnleyH2–027,614 18 February 1969 Ipswich TownH0–223,891 1 March 1969 Sheffield WednesdayA5–021,436 22 March 1969 Queen's Park RangersA1–023,076 24 March 1969 Tottenham HotspurH1–043,972 29 March 1969 SouthamptonH0–028,740 31 March 1969 LiverpoolA1–144,843 5 April 1969 SunderlandA0–023,214 7 April 1969 Wolverhampton WanderersH3–131,011 8 April 1969 Leicester CityA0–035,573 12 April 1969 Leeds UnitedH1–244,715 14 April 1969 ChelseaA1–238,905 19 April 1969 Stoke CityA3–114,996 21 April 1969 West Ham UnitedA2–134,941 29 April 1969 EvertonA0–139,689

FA Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR34 January 1969 Cardiff CityA0–055,316R3 R7 January 1969 Cardiff CityH2–052,681R425 January 1969 Charlton AthleticH2–055,760R512 February 1969 West Bromwich AlbionA0–150,354

League Cup

RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorersR24 September 1968 SunderlandH1–028,460Neill 46'R325 September 1968 Scunthorpe UnitedA6–117,450R415 October 1968 LiverpoolH2–139,299R529 October 1968 BlackpoolH5–132,321SF L120 November 1968 Tottenham HotspurH1–055,237RadfordSF L24 December 1968 Tottenham HotspurA1–156,923F15 March 1969 Swindon TownN1–398,189Gould

Squad

References