The 1978–79 season was Arsenal Football Club's 53rd consecutive season in the Football League First Division. The club finished seventh in the league but won the 1978-79 FA Cup. It was their second of three consecutive FA Cup finals under manager Terry Neill. Known as the "Five Minute Final," Arsenal went 2-0 up until the 85th minute, before Manchester United brought it to a tie. Alan Sunderland scored the winning goal for Arsenal and Arsenal won the FA Cup 3-2.
Arsenal were rather less successful in other cup competitions, going out to Rotherham United in the second round in the League Cup. The team had qualified for the UEFA Cup by finishing fifth the previous season, but went out in the third round to Red Star Belgrade.
In the transfer market, Neill brought in Brian Talbot from Ipswich Town halfway through the season to strengthen Arsenal's midfield, especially with a tough cup run. Paul Barron was brought in as the understudy to goalkeeper Pat Jennings at the beginning of the season.[1]
Season summary
Arsenal had their first trophy since 1971, when they won the FA Cup final against Manchester United. Terry Neill had what was to be his only trophy as manager,[2] and became the fifth Arsenal manager to win the FA Cup.
Arsenal had earned a place in the UEFA Cup with a fifth-place finish in the 1977-78 Football League. They faced Lokomotiv Leipzig, Hajduk Split (a game which brought Liam Brady's first goal in Europe), and Red Star Belgrade. Arsenal were eliminated by Red Star Belgrade in the third round of the competition. The Serbian side won 2-1 on aggregate, and the crucial last minute goal was scored by Dusan Savic at Highbury.[3][4] In the League Cup, Arsenal went out early, losing 3-1 to Rotherham United.
For a while Arsenal had flirted with the notion of winning the league as they sat in the top four by Christmas, but the marathon battle with Sheffield Wednesday in January 1979 had put all the focus on the FA Cup, and league results had been at best average in the second half of the season.[5]
However, the focus on the FA Cup paid dividends as Arsenal reached the "Five Minute Final." Arsenal's toughest opponent in the run up had been Third Division side managed by Jack Charlton, Sheffield Wednesday. The tie went to five matches in sixteen days. Arsenal won the fourth replay 2-0.[6][7] After the first replay, Arsenal bought Brian Talbot from Ipswich for £400,000, an essential player in the team that had beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final the previous year. Talbot made his FA Cup debut in a 2-0 defeat of Notts Country before Arsenal faced Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the fifth round. Arsenal beat Forest 1-0 in a game where Forest hit the woodwork three times. It was Forest's first home defeat in 52 matches. Arsenal then beat Southampton in a replay, though lost Brady to injury thirty minutes from the end. Arsenal next faced Wolves under new manager John Barnwell in the semifinal. Alan Sunderland scored the second goal against his former club.[4][5]
Arsenal faced Manchester United the FA Cup final. United had beaten the world-class Liverpool in the semifinal and Arsenal had played 9 games in 34 days (about 1 in every 4 days) in the run up to the final.[5] Arsenal scored twice through Sunderland and Talbot. However, with five minutes remaining in the match, United recovered with goals from Gordon McQueen and Sammy McIlroy. From the second kick-off, Brady booted a pass to Graham Rix who crossed to the far post for Sunderland. United goalkeeper Gary Bailey misjudged the cross and Sunderland scored. Arsenal won the final, 3-2, with three goals of the five goals scored in the last five minutes of the match.[4][5][8] Arsenal qualified for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup with the victory.
After the season, Brady announced that he would leave the club when his contract ran out in 1980, hoping for a new challenge in European football.[4]Malcolm Macdonald announced his retirement in August 1979 at just 29 years old. [9][10]
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
