More Memries of Arsenal

[grafikhaus]

Memries of Arsenal (with plenty of copying and pasting from my original thread).

First up, Aubameyang – Arsenal’s leading scorer with 16 goals this season – will miss this game owing to a late red card awarded in the Palace game on January 16th. Also not certain to feature significantly is Gunners’ second-highest scorer Gabriel Martinelli after the striker was initially called up by Brazil for their upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. The 18-year-old has made an impressive start at Arsenal with eight goals in all competitions this season, but under Arteta he has played just 23 minutes so far after he came on as a late substitute in the 1-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup on Monday evening and the last 20 minutes v Palace last Saturday.

The Blades first met (Woolwich) Arsenal on 7th February, 1903 and have played them 95 times in the league. Our first appearance at The Emirates Stadium was the 23rd September, 2006 in the Premier League, where we lost 0-3. Prior to that – and since 1913 – Arsenal had played at the characterful Highbury Stadium, an Archibald Leitch-designed arena.

12 April 1913 – Woolwich Arsenal were relegated. One of the many myths of Arsenal's history is that the club has never been relegated. The Gunners have been in the top flight non-stop since 1919.

Recent games against Arsenal:



Full history Sheffield United v Arsenal

Complete League record v. Arsenal

Home: P: 48 W: 26 D: 14 L: 8 F: 101 A: 62
Away: P: 47 W: 9 D: 8 L: 30 F: 50 A: 113

As recently as 21st October 2019, we beat the Gunners 1-0 at Bramall Lane.

​

Prior to that, a strong-looking Blades line-up succumbed to a 0-6 defeat at The Emirates in The League Cup, where Arsenal fielded their youngest-ever starting line-up:

​

I’ve gone back to our recent meetings in the Premier League, but my ‘Memries of Arsenal’ go much further back - on 24th August 1971, during our incredible return to the top-flight where we started the season ten games unbeaten (8 wins, 2 draws)

and we won 1-0 at Highbury. The previous season (1970-71) Arsenal had won ‘the double’ and The Sheffield Morning Telegraph headline was a bold, large, ‘Mafeking Relieved’-dramatic font - SAY IT AGAIN. ARSENAL - 0 SHEFFIELD UNITED – 1. It really was that incredible.

So who sat on the ball?

29th January 1972 and The Gooners won 0-5 in a League Division One encounter at Bramall Lane. Our fabulous ten-game unbeaten start to the 1971-72 season had faded and we would eventually finish in tenth place. Our line-up that cold Saturday was:

1. Hope 2. Badger 3. Hemsley 4. Mackenzie 5. Colquhoun 6. Hockey 7. Woodward 8. Salmons 9. Dearden 10. Currie
11. Scullion 12. Reece.

While Arsenal’s line-up wasn’t too shabby:

​

This was the game when – with Arsenal leading 0-5 - Alan Ball sat on the ball near the halfway line, JSS side.

The favour was returned by TC on 4th September, 1973 when we beat Arsenal 5-0 at Bramall Lane.

We’d played Arsenal three times since the first ‘Alan Ball game’ (the 1-0 win of 7th October saw Alan Ball sent off) but this Tuesday night game saw us win 5-0. My memries of this game? Not many as I was still queuing to get on the kop 20 minutes after the game had started – and we were 4-0 up! I was in the ground to see an imperious TC sat on the ball when we were 5-0 up!

​

United scored four goals in the opening seventeen minutes (two from Currie) within the first in thirty five seconds. Currie in devastating form, sat on the ball near the end, completing United's revenge for the January 1972 defeat. Our other goals came from Dearden, Woodward and Jim Bone.

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[grafikhaus]

On 27th October 1981, we played a midweek League Cup second-round, second-leg game at Highbury. Leading 1-0 from the first leg, we lost 0-2 in the second leg. The published crowd was just 22,301 but the Blades took thousands – taking the entire ‘Clock End’. I was working in That London at the time and it was a quick tube ride up from my salubrious accommodation in Bethnal Green. Finding a pub near the ground and opposite the Arsenal underground station, I was in the bogs having a piss when a bloke joined me. The windows in the bog were slightly ajar and the main steps down from the tube station were just across the road.

‘What time your boys arriving, then?’ Said this denizen of the metropolis. Right on cue, the sound of glasses smashing, police dogs barking and a shout of ‘United! United!’

‘Er, I think they’re here, mate!’

On 6th January 1996, Howard Kendall’s Blades drew 1-1 in the FA Cup third round before winning the replay back at Bramall Lane two weeks later. We would exit the Cup in the next round – a 0-1 home defeat to Villa:

​

23rd February 1999 saw a ‘routine’ FA Cup Fifth Round tie at Highbury. The original tie played on 13 February 1999 (which also ended in a 2-1 win in Arsenal's favour) was declared void after Arsenal's plea for a replay was accepted by the FA in the interests of 'fair play'. This was because the 76th minute winner by Marc Overmars came after Sheffield United keeper Alan Kelly had kicked the ball out of play for an injured colleague to receive treatment. On his Arsenal debut, Nwankwo Kanu was unaware of the usual custom of returning the ball to their opponents in such circumstances, and crossed for Overmars to score. It was the first time in the 127-year history of the FA Cup that such a re-match had been ordered.

​

In the ‘Triple Assault Season’ (2002-03) Neil Warnock’s Blades met Arsenal in the semi-final of the FA Cup at Old Trafford. Arsenal were reigning Premier League Champions and United were in Division One (second tier). Freddie Ljungberg scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute but United were heroic and certainly didn’t deserve to lose. Starting line-ups:

​

The game was characterised by Arsenal’s goalie David Seaman making possibly ‘the best save ever’.

​

On 30th December, 2006 in the Premier League Neil Warnock handed a starting position to Christian Nade. On another ‘one of those nights’ under the Bramall Lane floodlights, Nade put the Blades 1-0 up at half-time but, in the second half, goalkeeper Paddy Kenny suffered a groin strain and had to go off. Unfortunately, United hadn’t name another keeper as sub and Phil Jagielka saw the game out between the sticks for United.

​

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[grafikhaus]

United have now gone 18 Premier League games in the capital without winning. (I’m not including Watford as being ‘in the capitaI’.)

Chelsea, West Ham, Spurs (2019); Charlton, Chelsea (2007); West Ham, Arsenal, Fulham, Spurs (2006); Chelsea, Spurs, West Ham (1994); Arsenal, Wimbledon, QPR, Wimbledon, Arsenal (1993); Crystal Palace (1992). Our last win there was 2-1 at Chelsea on 31/10/1992 (Littlejohn, Deane).

Premier League Table:

With over half the season gone, the Blades are in a fabulous sixth place:



Latest Premier League Table

Form Guide (last 6 league matches):

With mostly our Championship team from last season, the way our form has held up is fantastic:



Top Scorers:



Men to Watch:



From Left: Gabrielli Martinelli, Alexandre Lacazette, Nicolas Pépé in a club-record fee of €79 million (£72 million) from Lille on August 1st 2019 and Mesut Özil

The Manager:



Since our 1-0 win in October, Arsenal have sacked then-manager Unai Emery, drafted Freddie Ljungberg as stand-in and appointed Manchester City second-in-command and former Arsenal player Mikel Arteta as full-time coach on 22nd December, 2019. Since taking over, Arteta has won at home to a shocking Man. United, beat Leeds at home in the Cup and drawn at Palace. Hardly game-changing.

​

 

[Revolution]

The 1-0 win at Highbury in 1971 was our last away win against Arsenal: since then we've played 9 league games, 3 FA Cup games and 3 League Cup games at Highbury or the Emirates and not won any of them. We also lost the void game in 1999 and a Cup Semi on neutral ground.

15 away games without a win is our worst current run, though it isn't the worst in terms of league games: that's Aston Villa (no wins in 12 league visits since 1966, and we've won there in the Cup in that time).

We have avoided defeat twice away at Arsenal in my lifetime. which co-incidentally were the only two times I went to Highbury: the 1-1 draw in 1993 in front of the mural, when Littlejohn equalised in the last minute, and the 1-1 Cup draw in 1996 when Dane Whitehouse equalised from Adrian Heath's cross. Both good days out.

If ever we can win at the Emirates, it's this season.

 

[Aston max]

Memries of Arsenal (with plenty of copying and pasting from my original thread).

First up, Aubameyang – Arsenal’s leading scorer with 16 goals this season – will miss this game owing to a late red card awarded in the Palace game on January 16th. Also not certain to feature significantly is Gunners’ second-highest scorer Gabriel Martinelli after the striker was initially called up by Brazil for their upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. The 18-year-old has made an impressive start at Arsenal with eight goals in all competitions this season, but under Arteta he has played just 23 minutes so far after he came on as a late substitute in the 1-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup on Monday evening and the last 20 minutes v Palace last Saturday.

The Blades first met (Woolwich) Arsenal on 7th February, 1903 and have played them 95 times in the league. Our first appearance at The Emirates Stadium was the 23rd September, 2006 in the Premier League, where we lost 0-3. Prior to that – and since 1913 – Arsenal had played at the characterful Highbury Stadium, an Archibald Leitch-designed arena.

12 April 1913 – Woolwich Arsenal were relegated. One of the many myths of Arsenal's history is that the club has never been relegated. The Gunners have been in the top flight non-stop since 1919.

Recent games against Arsenal:

View attachment 68685

Full history Sheffield United v Arsenal

Complete League record v. Arsenal

Home: P: 48 W: 26 D: 14 L: 8 F: 101 A: 62
Away: P: 47 W: 9 D: 8 L: 30 F: 50 A: 113

As recently as 21st October 2019, we beat the Gunners 1-0 at Bramall Lane.

​

Prior to that, a strong-looking Blades line-up succumbed to a 0-6 defeat at The Emirates in The League Cup, where Arsenal fielded their youngest-ever starting line-up:

​

I’ve gone back to our recent meetings in the Premier League, but my ‘Memries of Arsenal’ go much further back - on 24th August 1971, during our incredible return to the top-flight where we started the season ten games unbeaten (8 wins, 2 draws)

and we won 1-0 at Highbury. The previous season (1970-71) Arsenal had won ‘the double’ and The Sheffield Morning Telegraph headline was a bold, large, ‘Mafeking Relieved’-dramatic font - SAY IT AGAIN. ARSENAL - 0 SHEFFIELD UNITED – 1. It really was that incredible.

So who sat on the ball?

29th January 1972 and The Gooners won 0-5 in a League Division One encounter at Bramall Lane. Our fabulous ten-game unbeaten start to the 1971-72 season had faded and we would eventually finish in tenth place. Our line-up that cold Saturday was:

1. Hope 2. Badger 3. Hemsley 4. Mackenzie 5. Colquhoun 6. Hockey 7. Woodward 8. Salmons 9. Dearden 10. Currie
11. Scullion 12. Reece.

While Arsenal’s line-up wasn’t too shabby:

View attachment 68686​

This was the game when – with Arsenal leading 0-5 - Alan Ball sat on the ball near the halfway line, JSS side.

The favour was returned by TC on 4th September, 1973 when we beat Arsenal 5-0 at Bramall Lane.

We’d played Arsenal three times since the first ‘Alan Ball game’ (the 1-0 win of 7th October saw Alan Ball sent off) but this Tuesday night game saw us win 5-0. My memries of this game? Not many as I was still queuing to get on the kop 20 minutes after the game had started – and we were 4-0 up! I was in the ground to see an imperious TC sat on the ball when we were 5-0 up!

View attachment 68687​

United scored four goals in the opening seventeen minutes (two from Currie) within the first in thirty five seconds. Currie in devastating form, sat on the ball near the end, completing United's revenge for the January 1972 defeat. Our other goals came from Dearden, Woodward and Jim Bone.

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Was that the game where Billy dearden twatted Charlie George as he ran back and left him in a heap

 

[Billyblade]

Loved reading that and watching the clips. Cheers.

However, the cup tie replay wasn't ordered as such. By the time we got back on the coach after the game, Arsene Wenger was on the radio saying that he wanted to replay the game as he didn't want to win it in such circumstances. All could have been avoided if they'd stepped back and allowed us to equalise from the resulting kick-off in an Aston Villa, Leeds styley

 

[coaxingstar71]

Good work grafikhaus

 

[John Street West Terrace]

On 27th October 1981, we played a midweek League Cup second-round, second-leg game at Highbury. Leading 1-0 from the first leg, we lost 0-2 in the second leg. The published crowd was just 22,301 but the Blades took thousands – taking the entire ‘Clock End’. I was working in That London at the time and it was a quick tube ride up from my salubrious accommodation in Bethnal Green. Finding a pub near the ground and opposite the Arsenal underground station, I was in the bogs having a piss when a bloke joined me. The windows in the bog were slightly ajar and the main steps down from the tube station were just across the road.

‘What time your boys arriving, then?’ Said this denizen of the metropolis. Right on cue, the sound of glasses smashing, police dogs barking and a shout of ‘United! United!’

‘Er, I think they’re here, mate!’

On 6th January 1996, Howard Kendall’s Blades drew 1-1 in the FA Cup third round before winning the replay back at Bramall Lane two weeks later. We would exit the Cup in the next round – a 0-1 home defeat to Villa:

​

23rd February 1999 saw a ‘routine’ FA Cup Fifth Round tie at Highbury. The original tie played on 13 February 1999 (which also ended in a 2-1 win in Arsenal's favour) was declared void after Arsenal's plea for a replay was accepted by the FA in the interests of 'fair play'. This was because the 76th minute winner by Marc Overmars came after Sheffield United keeper Alan Kelly had kicked the ball out of play for an injured colleague to receive treatment. On his Arsenal debut, Nwankwo Kanu was unaware of the usual custom of returning the ball to their opponents in such circumstances, and crossed for Overmars to score. It was the first time in the 127-year history of the FA Cup that such a re-match had been ordered.

​

In the ‘Triple Assault Season’ (2002-03) Neil Warnock’s Blades met Arsenal in the semi-final of the FA Cup at Old Trafford. Arsenal were reigning Premier League Champions and United were in Division One (second tier). Freddie Ljungberg scored the only goal of the game in the 34th minute but United were heroic and certainly didn’t deserve to lose. Starting line-ups:

View attachment 68689​

The game was characterised by Arsenal’s goalie David Seaman making possibly ‘the best save ever’.

​

On 30th December, 2006 in the Premier League Neil Warnock handed a starting position to Christian Nade. On another ‘one of those nights’ under the Bramall Lane floodlights, Nade put the Blades 1-0 up at half-time but, in the second half, goalkeeper Paddy Kenny suffered a groin strain and had to go off. Unfortunately, United hadn’t name another keeper as sub and Phil Jagielka saw the game out between the sticks for United.

​

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For. me one of the most memorable was 1-0 FA Cup win in 96 .. Gordon Cowans that night was outstanding.. he ran the show .. probably one the best performances I’ve seen from a Utd player in my time watching the lads

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

We have avoided defeat twice away at Arsenal in my lifetime.

19 February 2005

Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United

 

[Revolution]

19 February 2005

Arsenal 1-1 Sheffield United

ah yes, of course. I saw that too, albeit on TV.

 

[Greenblades]

Great post with some great clips. My main memory of that cup game was before the game we were drinking in Islington and as we came out a group of blades decided it was time for a piggy back race. Not a good idea with a tank full. Anyway as they were crossing the road one tripped and his mate went head first into the kerb knocking his teeth out. Not good at all but on the train home we met the same lads... teeth in a tissue he was on his way to the dental hospital.... the good old days ! No mobile phones then ! Still see him at the lane as well...looks like Klopp now

 

[Silent Blade]

We have avoided defeat twice away at Arsenal in my lifetime. which co-incidentally were the only two times I went to Highbury: the 1-1 draw in 1993 in front of the mural, when Littlejohn equalised in the last minute, and the 1-1 Cup draw in 1996 when Dane Whitehouse equalised from Adrian Heath's cross. Both good days out.

And the 0-0 draw in the League Cup in October 1971. My first visit to Highbury.

 

[Revolution]

And the 0-0 draw in the League Cup in October 1971. My first visit to Highbury.

I wasn't born.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Great thread.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Is Ramsdale playing on Monday?