A season I will never forget

There are many seasons that stick out for memorable wins and trophies then there are those that stick in the mind for their pure longevity the 1979/80 was one of those .

1979-80 season
Date Match Result Score Competition
11 Aug 1979 Liverpool v Arsenal L 3-1 FA Charity Shield
18 Aug 1979 Brighton and Hove Albion v Arsenal W 0-4 League Division One
21 Aug 1979 Arsenal v Ipswich Town L 0-2 League Division One
25 Aug 1979 Arsenal v Manchester United D 0-0 League Division One
29 Aug 1979 Leeds United v Arsenal D 1-1 League Cup
01 Sep 1979 Leeds United v Arsenal D 1-1 League Division One
04 Sep 1979 Arsenal v Leeds United W 7-0
Agg: 8-1 League Cup
08 Sep 1979 Derby County v Arsenal L 3-2 League Division One
15 Sep 1979 Arsenal v Middlesbrough W 2-0 League Division One
19 Sep 1979 Arsenal v Fenerbahçe W 2-0 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
22 Sep 1979 Aston Villa v Arsenal D 0-0 League Division One
25 Sep 1979 Arsenal v Southampton W 2-1 League Cup
29 Sep 1979 Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers L 2-3 League Division One
03 Oct 1979 Fenerbahçe v Arsenal D 0-0
Agg: 0-2 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
06 Oct 1979 Arsenal v Manchester City D 0-0 League Division One
09 Oct 1979 Ipswich Town v Arsenal W 1-2 League Division One
13 Oct 1979 Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal D 0-0 League Division One
20 Oct 1979 Arsenal v Stoke City D 0-0 League Division One
24 Oct 1979 Arsenal v Magdeburg W 2-1 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
27 Oct 1979 Bristol City v Arsenal W 0-1 League Division One
30 Oct 1979 Brighton and Hove Albion v Arsenal D 0-0 League Cup
03 Nov 1979 Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion W 3-0 League Division One
07 Nov 1979 Magdeburg v Arsenal D 2-2
Agg: 3-4 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
10 Nov 1979 Crystal Palace v Arsenal L 1-0 League Division One
13 Nov 1979 Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion W 4-0 League Cup
17 Nov 1979 Arsenal v Everton W 2-0 League Division One
24 Nov 1979 Arsenal v Liverpool D 0-0 League Division One
01 Dec 1979 Nottingham Forest v Arsenal D 1-1 League Division One
04 Dec 1979 Arsenal v Swindon Town D 1-1 League Cup
08 Dec 1979 Arsenal v Coventry City W 3-1 League Division One
11 Dec 1979 Swindon Town v Arsenal L 4-3 League Cup
15 Dec 1979 West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal D 2-2 League Division One
21 Dec 1979 Arsenal v Norwich City D 1-1 League Division One
26 Dec 1979 Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur W 1-0 League Division One
29 Dec 1979 Manchester United v Arsenal L 3-0 League Division One
01 Jan 1980 Southampton v Arsenal W 0-1 League Division One
05 Jan 1980 Cardiff City v Arsenal D 0-0 FA Cup
08 Jan 1980 Arsenal v Cardiff City W 2-1 FA Cup
12 Jan 1980 Arsenal v Leeds United L 0-1 League Division One
19 Jan 1980 Arsenal v Derby County W 2-0 League Division One
26 Jan 1980 Arsenal v Brighton and Hove Albion W 2-0 FA Cup
09 Feb 1980 Arsenal v Aston Villa W 3-1 League Division One
16 Feb 1980 Bolton Wanderers v Arsenal D 1-1 FA Cup
19 Feb 1980 Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers W 3-0 FA Cup
23 Feb 1980 Arsenal v Bolton Wanderers W 2-0 League Division One
01 Mar 1980 Stoke City v Arsenal W 2-3 League Division One
05 Mar 1980 Arsenal v IFK Göteborg W 5-1 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
08 Mar 1980 Watford v Arsenal W 1-2 FA Cup
11 Mar 1980 Arsenal v Bristol City D 0-0 League Division One
15 Mar 1980 Manchester City v Arsenal W 0-3 League Division One
19 Mar 1980 IFK Göteborg v Arsenal D 0-0
Agg: 1-5 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
22 Mar 1980 Arsenal v Crystal Palace D 1-1 League Division One
28 Mar 1980 Everton v Arsenal W 0-1 League Division One
02 Apr 1980 Norwich City v Arsenal L 2-1 League Division One
05 Apr 1980 Arsenal v Southampton D 1-1 League Division One
07 Apr 1980 Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal W 1-2 League Division One
09 Apr 1980 Arsenal v Juventus D 1-1 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
12 Apr 1980 Arsenal v Liverpool D 0-0 FA Cup
16 Apr 1980 Arsenal v Liverpool D 1-1 FA Cup
19 Apr 1980 Liverpool v Arsenal D 1-1 League Division One
23 Apr 1980 Juventus v Arsenal W 0-1
Agg: 1-2 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
26 Apr 1980 Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion D 1-1 League Division One
28 Apr 1980 Arsenal v Liverpool D 1-1 FA Cup
01 May 1980 Arsenal v Liverpool W 1-0 FA Cup
03 May 1980 Coventry City v Arsenal W 0-1 League Division One
05 May 1980 Arsenal v Nottingham Forest D 0-0 League Division One
10 May 1980 Arsenal v West Ham United L 0-1 FA Cup
14 May 1980 Valencia v Arsenal L 0-0 (5-4) UEFA European Cup Winners Cup
16 May 1980 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Arsenal W 1-2 League Division One
19 May 1980 Middlesbrough v Arsenal L 5-0 League Division One

I went to all but the Derby and Bristol home games and charity sheild as I was very ill for 1 and had 2 wisdom teeth out the day b4 on another and was knocked out !

Magdeburg was behind the iron curtain and we only had 1 coach allowed there ,at fernabache they fired guns into the air when the teams came out . Turin was mental and they didnt like losing at home for the first time in ages in euro comps,we stayed in the ground for outr own saftey for 2 plus hours !

I barely did a full weeks work in April and May in fact had loads of holiday time but in the end it all came to nought , Losing to west ham in the fa cup final followed by losing to valencia in the cup winners cup ,and the last loss at Boro which meant we didnt qualify for europe the next year was a crushing blow !

I find it difficult to summon the energy to go to the emirates which is 10 mins on the train for me .

Nostalgia’s a fucker but Id do it all again , I havent changed ,but they have

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Must’ve been one of the most brutal seasons following The Arsenal home and away given what happened. Heard a lot of great stories about the Gothenburg and Juventus trips in this season.

1993/94 for sure, only my second season as a fan and we won the European Cup Winners Cup, the only time I’ve ever seen us win a European trophy.

The domestic campaign was ok, I think we finished about 4th (naturally). I went to my first game at Highbury when we beat Liverpool 1-0 with a goal from The Merse. The European games were the real highlight though, staying up late for the first time and the matches were always so close and tense (except Standard Liege - 10-0 on aggregate :grinning:) - scraping past PSG 2-1 on aggregate in the semis but with the agony of Wright’s booking which got him suspended for the final.

And then the final itself, what a bloody night. Absolute underdogs against Parma, a raft of injuries and suspensions and we scraped it 1-0 with an Alan Smith volley. The agony of that second half was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Every minute was like an hour, and there was a disallowed goal for Parma towards the end. I’ll never forget Brian Moore abandoning all pretence of neutrality and saying “come on Arsenal” as the second half wore on.

Then there was the final whistle with all the Arsenal flags waving around the ground. Literally there’s never been anything to touch it in my time, maybe Old Trafford in 2002, but that was in my mid teens and it didn’t match the sheer childhood euphoria of winning that final as the underdogs.

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May 1980 must have a fucking tough month to deal with.

The Tuesday after the boro game was tough !

Lets not forget Brian Talbot started every game here. 70 matches on the spin.
Scored the winner in the semi final epic with Liverpool too.

Big memory of that season for me was Juventus at home. Noise in there was best ever that night.
Still remember Bettega following through on O Leary and ripping his sock to shreds.

Noddy as he was called was a class act , I was in a club called eltons in tottenham once on a thursday night and he was there barely able to stand ,we played liverpool home on the saturday .
He had to be carried out of the club he was so pissed .
Furous I watched him like a hawk to see how badly it effected his game .
He scored 2 goals and ran Liverpool off the Park and was outstanding MoM !

The day of the last semi final against Liverpool I had to go to Newcastle and on to Wearside to see a ship that my client bought b4 coming back to London Kings X then Euston then up to Coventry and got in the ground 2 mins b4 noddy scored !
The liverpool semis were something else !

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Out of interest whats the best noise at Highbury for you.

The noise that dirty Julie made in the clock end toilets when I used to shag her !

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:joy:

When it rains we get wet but we aint been taken yet were the clock end the clock end Highbury !

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Contrary to popular belief Highbury used to ROCK on some occasions ,euro nights at home where often loud but the loudest I really cant say.
One of the loudest was home V mufc 1991 when we had won the league .
The chant of you can stick your fucking 2 points up your arse sideways was classic especially as Graham Kelly was in the Directors Box but NOT seated with Our directors or MUFC’s but right at the back !

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This was a noisy night… I was in west upper.even they were noisy.

My unforgettable season was 1978. Mainly the pain it brought…

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Still gutted I was too young ( couldn’t afford it) to make it over whilst we played at Highbury.

I was at that game and I remember it was a great atmosphere from the start as we were already a goal ahead from the first leg.
I think it was a big crowd as well, probably more than 40,000.
I managed to get a ticket for the final against Luton but we won’t talk about that.

In the same season we beat Man U in the FA Cup and I remember the atmosphere was even better.
They missed a penalty in injury time and the whole of Highbury went berserk.
It was different then, there was no hassle getting tickets, they were cheaper and there was standing.

The Emirates is a great stadium but it has priced a lot of people out of going to football.

The cost of attending has gone through the roof ,football was cheap !

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