# 1940–41 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1940–41 season was the second of Arsenal Football Club's seasons in the Wartime League, a football competition which temporarily replaced the Football League. Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. The team also reached the final of the Football League War Cup, losing to Preston North End at Wembley.

## Background

Arsenal played their home games at White Hart Lane, as Highbury had been transformed to support Air Raid Precautions. In October 1940, a 1,000lb bomb fell near the stadium and concrete was blown over the Clock End. On 17 April 1941, the North Bank was directly hit, causing significant damage.
Arsenal competed in the Football League South, finishing fourth. They also competed in both the Football League War Cup and the London War Cup. The London War Cup, a breakaway cup formed by twelve regional teams, began with a round-robin of two groups of six, where the group winners reached the finals. Arsenal did not win their group and did not reach the final.
Arsenal reached the final of the Football League War Cup, which was officially sanctioned by the Football League. The game was played at Wembley which had been a regular night-raid target during the Blitz. The first leg of the final was played in front of around 60,000 fans. However, after Leslie Compton missed a penalty in the third minute and Arsenal soon went down 1-0. Dennis Compton, Leslie Compton's younger brother, scored one for Arsenal, tying up the match and the score remained at 1-1. The final went to a replay, played at Ewood Park. Arsenal lost 2-1.

## Results

Arsenal's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League South

Selected results from the league.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance |
| 21 September 1940 | Brentford | A | 3–1 | 1,700 |
| 26 October 1940 | Brentford | H | 3–3 | 1,200 |
| 25 December 1940 | West Ham United | A | 4–2 | 9,000 |
| 14 April 1941 | Chelsea | A | 1–3 | |

#### Final League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts |
| 1 | Crystal Palace (C) | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 86 | 44 | 1.955 | 39 |
| 2 | West Ham United | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 70 | 39 | 1.795 | 34 |
| 3 | Coventry City | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 16 | 1.750 | 13 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 19 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 66 | 38 | 1.737 | 25 |
| 5 | Cardiff City | 24 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 75 | 50 | 1.500 | 29 |
| 6 | Reading | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 73 | 51 | 1.431 | 33 |
| 7 | Norwich City | 19 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 75 | 53 | 1.415 | 20 |
| 8 | Watford | 35 | 15 | 6 | 14 | 96 | 73 | 1.315 | 36 |
| 9 | Portsmouth | 31 | 16 | 2 | 13 | 92 | 71 | 1.296 | 34 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 23 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 53 | 41 | 1.293 | 23 |
| 11 | Millwall | 31 | 16 | 5 | 10 | 79 | 59 | 1.339 | 37 |
| 12 | Walsall | 32 | 14 | 7 | 11 | 100 | 80 | 1.250 | 35 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 28 | 13 | 5 | 10 | 83 | 69 | 1.203 | 31 |
| 14 | Leicester City | 33 | 17 | 5 | 11 | 87 | 79 | 1.101 | 39 |
| 15 | Northampton Town | 30 | 14 | 3 | 13 | 84 | 71 | 1.183 | 31 |
| 16 | Bristol City | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 55 | 48 | 1.146 | 22 |
| 17 | Mansfield Town | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 77 | 68 | 1.132 | 30 |
| 18 | Charlton Athletic | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 37 | 34 | 1.088 | 18 |
| 19 | Aldershot | 24 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 73 | 68 | 1.074 | 30 |
| 20 | Brentford | 23 | 9 | 3 | 11 | 51 | 51 | 1.000 | 21 |
| 21 | Chelsea | 23 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 57 | 58 | 0.983 | 24 |
| 22 | Birmingham | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 38 | 43 | 0.884 | 15 |
| 23 | Fulham | 30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 62 | 73 | 0.849 | 27 |
| 24 | Luton Town | 35 | 11 | 7 | 17 | 82 | 100 | 0.820 | 29 |
| 25 | Stoke City | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 76 | 96 | 0.792 | 27 |
| 26 | Queen's Park Rangers | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 47 | 60 | 0.783 | 19 |
| 27 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 25 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 51 | 75 | 0.680 | 23 |
| 28 | Nottingham Forest | 25 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 50 | 77 | 0.649 | 17 |
| 29 | Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 27 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 59 | 92 | 0.641 | 21 |
| 30 | Notts County | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 53 | 82 | 0.646 | 19 |
| 31 | Southend United | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 42 | 94 | 0.447 | 17 |
| 32 | Southampton | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 47 | 114 | 0.412 | 16 |
| 33 | Swansea Town | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 53 | 82 | 0.646 | 19 |
| 34 | Clapton Orient | 30 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 42 | 94 | 0.447 | 17 |
* ↑ 3 bonus points?

### London War Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| GS | 25 January 1941 | West Ham United | A | 3–1 | 5,000 | |
| GS | 17 May 1941 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | 7,365 | |

### Football League War Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance |
| R3 L1 | 15 March 1941 | West Ham United | A | 1–0 | 14,000 |
| R3 L2 | 29 March 1941 | West Ham United | H | 2–1 | |
| F | 10 May 1941 | Preston North End | N | 1–1 | 60,000 |
| F R | 31 May 1941 | Preston North End | N | 1–2 | 45,000 |