1986–87 Arsenal F.C. season
The 1986–87 season was Arsenal Football Club's 61st consecutive season in the top flight of English football.[1][2] The first season managed by George Graham, Arsenal improved on their seventh-place performance in the 1985-86 season by ending the campaign in 4th. Graham also helped Arsenal to their first major trophy in eight years, winning the 1987 League Cup.
| 1986–87 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood |
| Manager | George Graham |
| First Division | 4th |
| FA Cup | Quarter-finals |
| League Cup | Winners |
| Top goalscorer | League: Martin Hayes (19) All: Martin Hayes (24) |
One notable piece of business in the transfer window was the purchase of striker Alan Smith, but Arsenal immediately loaned him back to his former club Leicester for the rest of the season.[3]
Tony Adams was voted PFA Young Player of the Year after featuring in all of Arsenal's games.[4]
Season summary edit
This season saw the return of their former player George Graham as manager. Graham had been appointed just after the end of the previous season as successor to Don Howe who had resigned in late March. He had been a member of Arsenal's double winning team in 1971, but Arsenal had gone since 1979 without winning a major trophy, finishing seventh in the two seasons leading up to Graham's arrival and finishing as low as 10th in 1983.
On 9 June 1986 Graham’s first transfer activity was to sell Martin Keown to Aston Villa for £125,000, after refusing him an extra £50 a week, and giving a young Tony Adams the chance to establish himself in the side.[5]Perry Groves was signed from Colchester on 4 September for £75,000. He made his debut as a sub one week later against Luton Town.
Arsenal started the season well and were top of the league from mid-November to late January. Arsenal showed qualities of teamwork based on a traditional solidity in defence which might have prolonged their challenge but for injuries to key players, most notably Paul Davis, and a 10-match winless run went against their title hopes in the second half of the season, and they eventually finished fourth, with Everton finishing champions for the second time in three seasons. Though Arsenal finished fourth in Graham’s first season in charge, Arsenal did win the Football League Cup, in a campaign marked by comebacks. Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals; after losing 1–0 at Highbury in the first leg and conceding a second goal in the first half of the second leg at White Hart Lane, Arsenal scored twice through Viv Anderson and Niall Quinn to draw 2–2 on aggregate and force a replay; in the replay Spurs went 1–0 up, only for Arsenal to come back again with late goals from Ian Allinson and David Rocastle to win. The Wembley final against Liverpool was a repeat performance; after Arsenal had gone 1–0 down to an Ian Rush goal, two Charlie Nicholas goals brought Arsenal their first League Cup triumph and their first major trophy for eight years. However, UEFA voted to continue the ban on English clubs in European competitions that was imposed in the wake of the Heysel disaster in 1985 for a third season, and this meant that Arsenal were unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA-Cup.[6]
Tony Adams, the 20-year-old centre-half who played in every single game for Arsenal this season, was voted PFA Young Player of the Year.[4] Striker Niall Quinn and wingers David Rocastle and Martin Hayes both became regular members of the first team this season, with Hayes finishing as Arsenal's top scorer with 24 goals in all competitions.
Squad edit
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Results edit
First Division edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Liverpool | 42 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 72 | 42 | +30 | 77 | Disqualified from the UEFA Cup |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 21 | 8 | 13 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 71 | |
| 4 | Arsenal[a] | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 58 | 35 | +23 | 70 | |
| 5 | Norwich City | 42 | 17 | 17 | 8 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 68 | |
| 6 | Wimbledon | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 57 | 50 | +7 | 66 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
- ^ Arsenal would have qualified as League Cup winners.
| 23 August 1986 1 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Manchester United | London |
| Nicholas | Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 41,382 |
| 26 August 1986 2 | Coventry City | 2–1 | Arsenal | Coventry |
| Anderson | Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 11,182 |
| 6 September 1986 5 | Arsenal | 0–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 44,707 |
| 13 September 1986 6 | Luton Town | 0–0 | Arsenal | Luton |
| Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 9,876 |
| 20 September 1986 7 | Arsenal | 0–0 | Oxford United | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 20,676 |
| 27 September 1986 8 | Nottingham Forest | 1–0 | Arsenal | Nottingham |
| Stadium: City Ground |
| 4 October 1986 9 | Everton | 0–1 | Arsenal | Liverpool |
| Williams | Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 30,007 |
| 18 October 1986 11 | Newcastle United | 1–2 | Arsenal | Newcastle-upon-Tyne |
| Anderson Williams | Stadium: St. James' Park Attendance: 22,368 |
| 1 November 1986 13 | Charlton Athletic | 0–2 | Arsenal | London |
| Adams Hayes | Stadium: Selhurst Park |
| 8 November 1986 14 | Arsenal | 0–0 | West Ham United | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 36,084 |
| 15 November 1986 15 | Southampton | 0–4 | Arsenal | Southampton |
| Hayes pen.' Anderson Quinn Groves | Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 18,728 |
| 29 November 1986 17 | Aston Villa | 0–4 | Arsenal | Birmingham |
| Hayes Groves Rocastle own goal | Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 21,658 |
| 13 December 1986 19 | Norwich City | 1–1 | Arsenal | Norwich |
| Hayes pen.' | Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 21,409 |
| 26 December 1986 21 | Leicester City | 1–1 | Arsenal | Leicester |
| Hayes pen.' | Stadium: Filbert Street Attendance: 19,205 |
| 27 December 1986 22 | Arsenal | 1–0 | Southampton | London |
| Quinn | Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,118 |
| 4 January 1987 24 | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–2 | Arsenal | London |
| Adams Davis | Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 37,723 |
| 18 January 1987 25 | Arsenal | 0–0 | Coventry City | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 17,561 |
| 24 January 1987 26 | Manchester United | 2–0 | Arsenal | Manchester |
| Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 51,367 |
| 14 February 1987 27 | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | Arsenal | Sheffield |
| Quinn | Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 24,792 |
| 25 February 1987 28 | Oxford United | 0–0 | Arsenal | Oxford |
| Stadium: Manor Ground Attendance: 13,296 |
| 7 March 1987 29 | Chelsea | 1–0 | Arsenal | London |
| Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 29,301 |
| 17 March 1987 31 | Arsenal | 0–0 | Nottingham Forest | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 18,352 |
| 21 March 1987 32 | Watford | 2–0 | Arsenal | Watford |
| Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 18,172 |
| 8 April 1987 34 | West Ham United | 3–1 | Arsenal | London |
| Hayes pen.' | Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 26,174 |
| 14 April 1987 36 | Arsenal | 0–1 | Newcastle United | London |
| Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 17,353 |
| 25 April 1987 39 | Manchester City | 3–0 | Arsenal | Manchester |
| Stadium: Maine Road Attendance: 18,072 |
| 2 May 1987 40 | Arsenal | 2–1 | Aston Villa | London |
| Hayes pen.' | Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 18,463 |
| 4 May 1987 41 | Queens Park Rangers | 1–4 | Arsenal | London |
| Rix Merson Davis | Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 13,387 |
| 9 May 1987 42 | Arsenal | 1–2 | Norwich City | London |
| Merson | Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 24,001 |
Football League Cup edit
| 7 October 1986 Second round (2nd Leg) | Huddersfield Town | 1–1 (1–3 agg.) | Arsenal | Huddersfield |
| Hayes | Stadium: Leeds Road |
| 18 November 1986 Fourth round | Arsenal | 2–0 | Charlton Athletic | London |
| Quinn own goal | Stadium: Highbury |
| 8 February 1987 Semi-Final (1st Leg) | Arsenal | 0–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | London |
| C. Allen 39' | Stadium: Highbury |
| 1 March 1987 Semi-Final (2nd Leg) | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–2 (aet) (2–2 agg.) | Arsenal | London |
| C. Allen 16' | Anderson 51' Quinn 65' | Stadium: White Hart Lane, Tottenham |
| 4 March 1987 Semi-Final (replay) | Tottenham Hotspur | 1–2 | Arsenal | London |
| C. Allen 62' | Allinson 82' Rocastle 90' | Stadium: White Hart Lane, Tottenham |
FA Cup edit
Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, in which they were drawn to face Reading.
| 31 January 1987 Fourth round | Arsenal | 6–1 | Plymouth Argyle | London |
| Nicholas Anderson (2) Davis Quinn Rocastle | D. Rowbotham | Stadium: Highbury |
Top scorers edit
First Division edit
- Martin Hayes 19 (8 penalties)
- Niall Quinn 8
- Tony Adams 6
- Viv Anderson 4
- Charlie Nicholas 4
- Paul Davis 4
References edit
- ^ James, Josh (18 June 2013). "All-time Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Ross, James; Heneghan, Michael; Orford, Stuart; Culliton, Eoin (25 August 2016). "English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888–2016". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Smith, Alan (3 May 2016). "Leicester have come long way from greasy spoons and post-match pork pies". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Too much too young?". BBC Sport Online. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Spurling, Jon (2001). All Guns Blazing. Aureus Publishing Ltd. p. 130.
- ^ Arsenal: The Complete Record. James. Kelly. Andrews. deCoubertin Books. 2018
External links edit
- Arsenal 1986–87 on