1930–31 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1930–31 season was Arsenal's 12th consecutive season in the top division of English football. After winning the FA Cup the previous term, they claimed their first Division 1 title this season, finishing seven points clear of Aston Villa. Arsenal failed to retain the FA Cup, losing to Chelsea in the fourth round, but won the Charity Shield against Sheffield Wednesday in October 1930. Arsenal's top scorer in the league was Jack Lambert, who scored 38 league goals and 39 times overall. The club earned 66 points from 42 league matches, with 28 wins, 10 draws and 4 losses.^[1] Arsenal started the season well, winning the opening two matches 4–1 away from home, and won the first five league matches, and remained unbeaten for the first nine, before beating league champions Sheffield Wednesday 2–1 in the Charity Shield. They then suffered their first defeat of the season, 4–2, at Derby County, before making up for it with a 5–2 win over challengers Aston Villa nearly a month later. In December Arsenal beat Blackpool 7–1 to finish 1930 on a high. The following month they beat Aston Villa after a replay in the FA Cup third round, though the cup run ended in the next round at Chelsea. Arsenal then claimed their biggest-ever league win at Highbury in a 9-1 annihilation of Grimsby Town, with David Jack hitting four and Jack Lambert grabbing a hat-trick. A 7–2 win at Leicester City and a 6–3 victory over Derby County helped Arsenal in their title charge, but were stopped in their tracks on 14 March in a 5–1 loss at Aston Villa. Nonetheless, a 3–1 win over Liverpool on 18 April ensured Arsenal won the league for the first of thirteen times in their history.^[2]

Arsenal

1930–31 season
Chairman	Samuel Hill-Wood
Manager	Herbert Chapman
Stadium	Highbury
First Division	1st
FA Cup	4th Round
← 1929–30 1931–32 →

Results

Arsenal's score comes first^[3]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Football League First Division

Main article: 1930–31 Football League

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
30 August 1930	Blackpool	A	4–1	28,723
1 September 1930	Bolton Wanderers	A	4–1	20,684
6 September 1930	Leeds United	H	3–1	40,828
10 September 1930	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–2	20,863
13 September 1930	Sunderland	A	4–1	26,525
15 September 1930	Blackburn Rovers	A	2–2	25,572
20 September 1930	Leicester City	H	4–1	37,851
27 September 1930	Birmingham	A	4–2	31,693
4 October 1930	Sheffield United	H	1–1	47,113
11 October 1930	Derby County	A	2–4	29,783
18 October 1930	Manchester United	A	2–1	23,406
25 October 1930	West Ham United	H	1–1	51,918
1 November 1930	Huddersfield Town	A	1–1	25,772
8 November 1930	Aston Villa	H	5–2	56,417
15 November 1930	Sheffield Wednesday	A	2–1	43,671
22 November 1930	Middlesbrough	H	5–3	32,517
29 November 1930	Chelsea	A	5–1	74,667
13 December 1930	Liverpool	A	1–1	44,342
20 December 1930	Newcastle United	H	1–2	32,212
25 December 1930	Manchester City	A	4–1	56,750
26 December 1930	Manchester City	H	3–1	17,624
27 December 1930	Blackpool	H	7–1	35,113
17 January 1931	Sunderland	H	1–3	35,975
28 January 1931	Grimsby Town	H	9–1	15,751
31 January 1931	Birmingham	H	1–1	30,913
5 February 1931	Leicester City	A	7–2	17,416
7 February 1931	Sheffield United	A	1–1	49,602
14 February 1931	Derby County	H	6–3	34,785
21 February 1931	Manchester City	H	4–1	41,510
28 February 1931	West Ham United	A	4–2	30,361
7 March 1931	Huddersield Town	H	0–0	31,058
11 March 1931	Leeds United	A	2–1	12,212
14 March 1931	Aston Villa	A	1–5	60,997
21 March 1931	Sheffield Wednesday	H	2–0	47,872
28 March 1931	Middlesbrough	A	5–2	23,476
3 April 1931	Portsmouth	A	1–1	31,398
4 April 1931	Chelsea	H	2–1	53,867
6 April 1931	Portsmouth	H	1–1	40,490
11 April 1931	Grimsby Town	A	1–0	22,394
18 April 1931	Liverpool	H	3–1	39,143
25 April 1931	Newcastle United	A	3–1	21,747
2 May 1931	Bolton Wanderers	H	5–0	35,406

Final League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts
1	Arsenal (C)	42	28	10	4	127	59	2.153	66
2	Aston Villa	42	25	9	8	128	78	1.641	59
3	Sheffield Wednesday	42	22	8	12	102	75	1.360	52
4	Portsmouth	42	18	13	11	84	67	1.254	49
5	Huddersfield Town	42	18	12	12	81	65	1.246	48

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions

FA Cup

Main article: 1930–31 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	10 January 1931	Aston Villa	H	2–2	40,864
R3 R	14 January 1931	Aston Villa	A	3–1	73,668
R4	24 January 1931	Chelsea	A	4–2	62,945

See also

• English football portal

• 1930–31 in English football
• List of Arsenal F.C. seasons

References

1. "1930/31".
2. James, Andrew & Kelly (2018). Arsenal: The Complete Record. p. 160.
3. "Arsenal results for the 1930-1931 season – Statto.com". Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2018.