The 1940–41 season was the second of Arsenal Football Club's seasons in the Wartime League, a football competition which temporarily replaced the Football League. Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. The team also reached the final of the Football League War Cup, losing to Preston North End at Wembley.
Background Arsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions. In October 1940, a 1,000lb bomb fell near the stadium and concrete was blown over the Clock End. On 17 April 1941, the North Bank was directly hit, causing significant damage.
Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. They also competed in both the Football League War Cup and the London War Cup. The London War Cup, a breakaway cup formed by twelve regional teams, began with a round-robin of two groups of six, where the group winners reached the finals. Arsenal did not win their group and did not reach the final.
Arsenal reached the final of the Football League War Cup, which was officially sanctioned by the Football League. The game was played at Wembley which had been a regular night-raid target during the Blitz. The first leg of the final was played in front of around 60,000 fans. However, after Leslie Compton missed a penalty in the third minute and Arsenal soon went down 1-0. Dennis Compton, Leslie Compton's younger brother, scored one for Arsenal, tying up the match and the score remained at 1-1. The final went to a replay, played at Ewood Park. Arsenal lost 2-1.
Results Arsenal's score comes firststatto.com
Legend WinDrawLoss
Football League South
Selected results from the league.
DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 21 September 1940 BrentfordA3–11,700 26 October 1940 BrentfordH3–31,200 25 December 1940 West Ham UnitedA4–29,000 14 April 1941 ChelseaA1–3
Final League table
London War Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersGS25 January 1941 West Ham UnitedA3–15,000GS17 May 1941 West Ham UnitedH3–07,365
Football League War Cup
+RoundDateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceGoalscorersR3 L115 March 1941 West Ham UnitedA1–014,000R3 L229 March 1941 West Ham UnitedH2–1F10 May 1941 Preston North EndN1–160,000F R31 May 1941 Preston North EndN1–245,000
References
External links Arsenal season-by-season line-ups