# 1975–76 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1975–76 season was Arsenal Football Club's 50th consecutive season in the Football League First Division. Arsenal finished seventeenth in the league, one position worse than the previous season, their worst finish since Herbert Chapman became manager of the club in 1925. Arsenal failed to find success in either the FA Cup or League Cup.
Manager Bertie Mee retired at the end of the season.

## Season summary

Bob McNab and Charlie George both departed Arsenal prior to the beginning of the season. McNab left on a free transfer to Wolves while George nearly joined manager Terry Neill at Tottenham but was tempted last-minute by Derby for £90,000. Alan Ball also requested a transfer but did not receive it. He was instead dropped for the opening games of the season and Eddie Kelly became the captain. This became a source of tension as many of the players still looked to Ball for leadership.
Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup at home by Everton and soon after, exited the FA Cup thanks to a loss to Wolves. Arsenal's season quickly became a fight against relegation.
Youngsters Frank Stapleton and David O'Leary both featured regularly in the first team. Within the team, morale was low. In March, Peter Storey walked out for ten days and faced a club suspension. Bertie Mee soon announced his own retirement at the end of the season.
Arsenal's season neared the end with an essential game in the battle for relegation between the 17th place Gunners and the 19th place Wolves. Terry Mancini's only first-team goal against Wolves ensured Arsenal stayed up that season, despite three consecutive losses closing out the season.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 15 | Newcastle United | 42 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 71 | 62 | 1.145 | 39 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 42 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 51 | 59 | 0.864 | 39 |
| 17 | Arsenal | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 47 | 53 | 0.887 | 36 |
| 18 | West Ham United | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 48 | 71 | 0.676 | 36 |
| 19 | Birmingham City | 42 | 13 | 7 | 22 | 57 | 75 | 0.760 | 33 |

## Results

Arsenal's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 16 August 1975 | Burnley | A | 0–0 | | |
| 19 August 1975 | Sheffield United | A | 3–1 | | Rice, Kidd, Brady |
| 23 August 1975 | Stoke City | H | 0–1 | | |
| 26 August 1975 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | | Kelly, Ball |
| 30 August 1975 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–0 | | |
| 6 September 1975 | Leicester City | H | 1–1 | | Stapleton |
| 13 September 1975 | Aston Villa | A | 0–2 | | |
| 20 September 1975 | Everton | H | 2–2 | | Stapleton, Kidd |
| 27 September 1975 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | | |
| 4 October 1975 | Manchester City | H | 2–3 | | Ball, Cropley |
| 11 October 1975 | Coventry City | H | 5–0 | | Ball, Cropley (2), Kidd (2) |
| 18 October 1975 | Manchester United | A | 1–3 | | Kelly |
| 25 October 1975 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | | Cropley, Hornsby |
| 1 November 1975 | Newcastle United | A | 0–2 | | |
| 8 November 1975 | Derby County | H | 0–1 | | |
| 15 November 1975 | Birmingham City | A | 1–3 | | Ball |
| 22 November 1975 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | | Ball, Armstrong, Greenhoff o.g. |
| 29 November 1975 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | | |
| 2 December 1975 | Liverpool | A | 2–2 | 47,751 | Ball, Kidd |
| 6 December 1975 | Leeds United | H | 1–2 | | Brady |
| 13 December 1975 | Stoke City | A | 1–2 | | Armstrong |
| 20 December 1975 | Burnley | H | 1–0 | | Radford |
| 26 December 1975 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | | |
| 27 December 1975 | Queen's Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | | Ball, Kidd |
| 10 January 1976 | Aston Villa | H | 0–0 | | |
| 17 January 1976 | Leicester City | A | 1–2 | | Ross |
| 31 January 1976 | Sheffield United | H | 1–0 | | Brady |
| 7 February 1976 | Norwich City | A | 1–3 | | Kidd |
| 18 February 1976 | Derby County | A | 0–2 | | |
| 21 February 1976 | Birmingham City | H | 1–0 | | Brady |
| 24 February 1976 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | | Radford |
| 28 February 1976 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–0 | | Radford |
| 13 March 1976 | Coventry City | A | 1–1 | | Powling |
| 16 March 1976 | Newcastle United | H | 0–0 | | |
| 20 March 1976 | West Ham United | H | 6–1 | | Armstrong, Ball (2), Kidd (3) |
| 27 March 1976 | Leeds United | A | 0–3 | | |
| 3 April 1976 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–2 | | |
| 10 April 1976 | Everton | A | 0–0 | | |
| 13 April 1976 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 2–1 | | Cropley, Mancini |
| 17 April 1976 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–2 | 26,659 | Stapleton |
| 19 April 1976 | Queen's Park Rangers | A | 1–2 | | Kidd |
| 24 April 1976 | Manchester City | A | 1–3 | | Armstrong |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 3 January 1976 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 9 September 1975 | Everton | A | 2–2 | | Cropley, Stapleton |
| R2R | 23 September 1975 | Everton | H | 0–1 | | |

## 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.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | GK | ENG | Jimmy Rimmer |
| - | DF | NIR | Pat Rice |
| - | DF | NIR | Sammy Nelson |
| - | DF | ENG | Richie Powling |
| - | DF | ENG | Terry Mancini |
| - | DF | IRL | David O'Leary |
| - | MF | ENG | George Armstrong |
| - | MF | ENG | Alan Ball |
| - | FW | IRL | Frank Stapleton |
| - | FW | ENG | Brian Kidd |
| - | MF | IRL | Liam Brady |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| - | MF | SCO | Alex Cropley |
| - | MF | SCO | Eddie Kelly |
| - | MF | ENG | Trevor Ross |
| - | FW | ENG | John Radford |
| - | DF | ENG | Peter Storey |
| - | DF | ENG | Peter Simpson |
| - | DF | ENG | Wilf Rostron |
| - | GK | ENG | Geoff Barnett |
| - | MF | ENG | John Matthews |

## Top scorers

Football League First Division
* Brian Kidd - 11
* Alan Ball - 9
* Liam Brady - 5