Arsenal was established as Dial Square by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in 1886. Dial Square didn’t last long as a name, and the Arsenal bit was introduced as the club was renamed Royal Arsenal and subsequently Woolwich Arsenal in 1891 as it turned professional. Being the only southern club in the league at the time, Arsenal was geographically challenged and therefore attendances weren’t healthy. Bankruptcy beckoned but for the club’s takeover in 1910 by Henry Norris. He reasoned that he needed to move the club from its south London roots and in 1913 managed to do so as the club moved into the Highbury Stadium in north London. The club was by now a second division outfit when WWI intervened and it wasn’t until 1919 that elevation to the first division was won – allegedly by slightly questionable means AND at the expense of new neighbours Spurs. In 1925 the club secured the services of Herbert Chapman from Huddersfield Town, and the rest, as they say…
The Gunners’ very first honour came as it won the FA Cup in 1930 when they played Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. The match was especially poignant as Arsenal’s manager, Herbert Champan had been the architect of Town’s great team of the 1920’s which won three league championships in a row 1923-24, 24-25 and 25-26 (Chapman left at the end of the 24-25 season). Under Chapman’s tutelage Town had also been victorious in the FA Cup in 1922 (the last one not played at Wembley until 2001) when Preston North End had been beaten at Stamford Bridge with a penalty by Billy Smith. The FA Cup is lost without its traditions, and one was born at the 1930 final. Because of Chapman’s unique relationship with both clubs, the teams took to the pitch side by side for the first time ever.
Another recently established FA Cup tradition saw both teams joining the competition in the 3rd round. Huddersfield saw off Bury after a replay and Arsenal prevailed over Chelsea with a 2-0 home win. Moving into the fourth round, Huddersfield were too good for Sheffield United winning 2-1, whilst this time Arsenal needed a replay in seeing off Birmingham City. In the 5th round, both teams progressed satisfactorily, the Gunners too strong for Middlesbro and Town defeating Bradford City. So to the sixth round, where The Gunners defeated West Ham three-nil and Huddersfield enjoyed a 2-1 success versus Aston Villa. Thus the competition had reached the semi-final stage. Arsenal were paired with Hull City and won after a replay to reach the twin towers. Huddersfield was assured of its place in the final after the 2-1 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday at Old Trafford.
In the final, played at the end of April, Arsenal were much too good for Huddersfield. The easy 2-0 win coming courtesy of goals from Alex James and Jack Lambert. Surprisingly, Arsenal’s third all time top scorer Cliff Bastin (only Ian Wright and Thierry Henry have scored more) didn’t manage to score! Bastin was signed from Exeter City at the end of season 1928-29 by Herbert Chapman after he had seen him standing head and shoulders above the rest of the players in a game between Exeter and Watford – he only played 17 times for Exeter, scoring 6. In total, he notched 178 goals in only 395 appearances for Arsenal – this from the left wing, and despite the presence of Ted Drake in the team. Bastin had won a league title, an FA Cup winners’ medal and been capped by England before he was 19 years old. In total, he registered 12 times in 21 appearances for England. As WW2 started when Bastin was only 27 years old, it is perhaps worth considering what he could have achieved had he been able. It’s interesting to note that he was excused service in the army at the outbreak of war due to his being deaf so he served as an ARP warden, actually stationed at top of the stadium at Highbury!
Jack Lambert served Arsenal between 1926 and 1933. Signed from Doncaster Rovers, his record of 98 league goals from 143 appearances stands well in comparison with many of the all time goalscoring greats. His total haul of 109 goals in 161 games for Arsenal demonstrates that on average he scored 2 goals in every 3 games that he played. He broke through into the Arsenal first team in the 1929-30 season, scoring 18 times in 20 starts including the second goal in the 1930 Cup final. In the next season, 1930-31, Lambert notched 38 times in 34 appearances as the Gunners won their first championship, by seven points from Aston Villa.