# 1947–48 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1947–48 season was Arsenal Football Club's 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football. Having avoided relegation the previous season, Arsenal returned to their winning ways of the 1930s by winning the league title. Arsenal finished seven points ahead of title rivals Manchester United and Burnley.
Tom Whittaker won the league in his first season as manager but was unable to lift the FA Cup. The Gunners went out to lower-league Bradford Park Avenue in the third round.

## Season summary

Joe Shaw returned from Chelsea to serve as Tom Whittaker's right-hand man in his first full season as manager. Arsenal made two new signings: Scottish international Archie Macauly from Brentford (whom Arsenal had unsuccessfully pursued a year prior) and Don Roper from Southampton.
Arsenal began the season at home to Sunderland. Defender Joe Mercer served as captain as Les Compton was caught up with cricket responsibilities at Middlesex. Finally back at Highbury after it had been used for Air Raid Precautions during World War II, the pitch was reseeded and the track had been resurfaced. Arsenal won their first match 3-1, scoring thrice in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. The team then headed to Charlton, the FA Cup holders, and won 4-2, before demolishing them 6-0 at home a few weeks later. After beating Manchester United 2-1 at home and then extending their run of victories to six with a 2-0 win over Bolton, injuries began to set in. Les Compton returned to strengthen the team, insisting Mercer remained captain. Arsenal fell into a slump in which goals were difficult to come by.
Post-war match attendances soared. Arsenal played in front of a crowd of 67,277 at Stamford Bridge. 27,000 watched the reserve game between Arsenal and Chelsea that same afternoon. Arsenal beat 4-3 to Racing Club in Paris in a traditional international friendly and then returned to league play. They remained unbeaten in the league until the end of November when they lost 1-0 away at Derby.
On New Year's Day, Arsenal were five points clear at the top of the table after beating Bolton 1-0 on a snowmelt sodden pitch. Such highs were immediately contrasted by Arsenal's entrance into the FA Cup. Facing second-division Bradford Park Avenue, Arsenal found little success and went out of the Cup in their first game, losing 1-0. Arsenal then traveled to Manchester United, still playing their home matches at Maine Road due to wartime damage to Old Trafford, and tied in front of a then-record crowd of 83,260.
Denis Compton, returning from a knee surgery, was recalled into the side in place of the injured Ian McPherson. Playing Burnley at home on Valentine's Day, Compton assisted the first goal fourteen minutes into the match, helping Arsenal to a 3-0 victory. Fielding one of the oldest sides in the competition, Arsenal held an eight-point advantage over the rest of the league.
Whittaker brought in Cliff Holton, Peter Goring, and Alex Forbes mid-season to help strengthen the Arsenal side. Forbes, bought for £12,000 from Sheffield United, scored eight minutes into his debut at Wolves. Whittaker had convinced him to come to the club by sending Macauly to convince him when Forbes had been laid up in the hospital, recovering from appendicitis.
Arsenal had lost only thrice in their first thirty two games. However, Arsenal followed up such fine form with two losses in their next three matches, losing 2-0 to Chelsea at home and 3-0 away at Blackpool. Several ties and one more loss were to follow. However, Arsenal won the league with a 1–1 draw at Huddersfield Town, and after discovering that United and Burnley had lost via the newspapers at Doncaster Station on the journey, knew that they had won the league. They finished the season seven points ahead of their nearest rivals, Manchester United. It was Arsenal's sixth league title.
Over the course of the season Arsenal claimed some big wins, beating Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough 6-0 and 7-0 respectively, and hammering bottom club Grimsby Town 8–0 on the final day, with Ronnie Rooke netting four times to bring his final tally for the league season to 33 in 42 Division 1 matches, thus becoming the second Arsenal player-after Ted Drake in 1934–35 to win the Golden Boot. Rooke, who played in every match of the season, was 36 at the time.
Goalkeeper George Swindin conceded only 32 goals. A reliable "retreating defense" was essential to Arsenal's season-long success. Arsenal would leave the ball with the opposition and back off, packing the defense. Few teams could get through with only Derby County doing the double over Arsenal.

## Results

Arsenal's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 23 August 1947 | Sunderland | H | 3–1 | 58,184 | Logie, Rooke, McPherson |
| 27 August 1947 | Charlton Athletic | A | 4–2 | 60,323 | Roper, Logie, Lewis, McPherson |
| 30 August 1947 | Sheffield United | A | 2–1 | 39,123 | Roper, Rooke |
| 3 September 1947 | Charlton Athletic | H | 6–0 | 54,684 | Lewis 4, Rooke 2 |
| 6 September 1947 | Manchester United | H | 2–1 | 64,905 | Lewis, Rooke |
| 10 September 1947 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–0 | 46,969 | Rooke(pen), McPherson |
| 13 September 1947 | Preston North End | A | 0–0 | 40,060 | |
| 20 September 1947 | Stoke City | H | 3–0 | 61,579 | Logie, McPherson 2 |
| 27 September 1947 | Burnley | A | 1–0 | 46,568 | Lewis |
| 4 October 1947 | Portsmouth | H | 0–0 | 62,461 | |
| 11 October 1947 | Aston Villa | H | 1–0 | 60,427 | Rooke |
| 18 October 1947 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 55,998 | Rooke(pen) |
| 25 October 1947 | Everton | H | 1–1 | 56,645 | Lewis |
| 1 November 1947 | Chelsea | A | 0–0 | 67,277 | |
| 8 November 1947 | Blackpool | H | 2–1 | 67,057 | Roper, Rooke(pen) |
| 15 November 1947 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–0 | 37,447 | Rooke |
| 22 November 1947 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–0 | 47,514 | Rooke, Logie |
| 29 November 1947 | Derby County | A | 0–1 | 35,713 | |
| 6 December 1947 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 41,274 | Rooke(pen) |
| 13 December 1947 | Grimsby Town | A | 4–0 | 18,700 | Roper, Logie, Rooke 2 |
| 20 December 1947 | Sunderland | A | 1–1 | 58,397 | Jones |
| 25 December 1947 | Liverpool | A | 3–1 | 53,604 | Roper, Rooke 2 |
| 27 December 1947 | Liverpool | H | 1–2 | 56,650 | Lewis |
| 1 January 1948 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–0 | 30,028 | Lewis |
| 3 January 1948 | Sheffield United | H | 3–2 | 48,993 | Lewis, Rooke 2 |
| 17 January 1948 | Manchester United | A | 1–1 | 83,260 | Lewis |
| 31 January 1948 | Preston North End | H | 3–0 | 63,132 | Rooke, Lewis 2 |
| 7 February 1948 | Stoke City | A | 0–0 | 44,836 | |
| 14 February 1948 | Burnley | H | 3–0 | 62,125 | Roper, Rooke 2 |
| 28 February 1948 | Aston Villa | A | 2–4 | 68,690 | Rooke, Moss(og) |
| 6 March 1948 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 5–2 | 57,711 | Roper, Logie, Rooke 2, Forbes |
| 13 March 1948 | Everton | A | 2–0 | 64,059 | D.Compton 2 |
| 20 March 1948 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 56,596 | |
| 26 March 1948 | Middlesbrough | H | 7–0 | 57,557 | Roper, Rooke 3, D.Compton 2, Robinson(og) |
| 27 March 1948 | Blackpool | A | 0–3 | 32,678 | |
| 29 March 1948 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–1 | 38,249 | Rooke |
| 3 April 1948 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 2–0 | 45,801 | Logie, Rooke |
| 10 April 1948 | Huddersfield Town | A | 1–1 | 38,110 | Roper |
| 17 April 1948 | Derby County | H | 1–2 | 49,677 | Roper |
| 21 April 1948 | Portsmouth | A | 0–0 | 42,250 | |
| 24 April 1948 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 23,391 | |
| 1 May 1948 | Grimsby Town | H | 8–0 | 34,644 | Logie(pen), Rooke 4, Forbes, D.Compton 2 |

#### Final League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 42 | 23 | 13 | 6 | 81 | 32 | 2.531 | 59 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 42 | 19 | 14 | 9 | 81 | 48 | 1.688 | 52 |
| 3 | Burnley | 42 | 20 | 12 | 10 | 56 | 43 | 1.302 | 52 |
| 4 | Derby County | 42 | 19 | 12 | 11 | 77 | 57 | 1.351 | 50 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 83 | 70 | 1.186 | 47 |

### FA Cup

Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round, in which they were drawn to face Bradford Park Avenue.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 10 January 1948 | Bradford Park Avenue | H | 0–1 | 47,738 | |