# 1996–97 Arsenal L.F.C. season

The 1996–97 season was Arsenal Ladies Football Club's 10th season since forming in 1987. The club participated in the National Division of the FA Women's Premier League, winning their third League Title since promotion, and were also able to retain the London County Cup for a third year in a row by defeating Millwall Lionesses in the Final. However, they failed to progress in the Premier League Cup and the FA Cup, losing to Doncaster Rovers Belles and Wembley respectively.

## Squad Statistics
### First team squad

| Name | Date of Birth (Age) | Since | Signed From |
| Goalkeepers ||||
| Sarah Reed | (1980-05-12) 12 May 1980 (age 44) | 1996 | Wembley |
| Sara King | | 1996 | |
| Defenders ||||
| Kirsty Pealling | (1975-04-14) 14 April 1975 (age 49) | 1987 | Homegrown |
| Faye White | (1978-02-02) 2 February 1978 (age 47) | 1996 | Horsham Ladies |
| Clare Wheatley | (1971-02-04) 4 February 1971 (age 54) | 1995 | Chelsea |
| Gill Wylie | | 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Kelley Few | | 1991 | Watford |
| Kim Jerry-Silver | (1977-10-06) 6 October 1977 (age 47) | 1996 | Wembley |
| Vicki Slee | (1973-03-09) 9 March 1973 (age 52) | 1991 | |
| Michelle Curley | (1972-04-30) 30 April 1972 (age 52) | 1987 | |
| Lisa Spry | | 1988 | |
| Midfielders ||||
| Joanne Broadhurst | (1967-11-27) 27 November 1967 (age 57) | 1995 | Doncaster Belles |
| Sian Williams (captain) | (1968-02-02) 2 February 1968 (age 57) | 1990 | Juve Siderno |
| Emma Coss | (1979-05-09) 9 May 1979 (age 45) | 1992 | Homegrown |
| Linda Watt | | 1995 | |
| Sarah Mulligan | | 1988 | |
| Forwards ||||
| Marieanne Spacey | (1966-02-13) 13 February 1966 (age 59) | 1993 | Wimbledon |
| Rachel Yankey | (1979-12-01) 1 December 1979 (age 45) | 1996 | Mill Hill United |
| Natasha Daly | (1979-11-29) 29 November 1979 (age 45) | 1996 | Mill Hill United |
| Kelly Smith | (1978-10-29) 29 October 1978 (age 46) | 1996 | Wembley |
| Emma Hastings | | 1995 | |
| Kara Lee Reynolds | | 1996 | |
| Unknown ||||
| Lizzy Benham | | 1995 | |
| Pat Pile | | 1994 | |
| Laura Ray | | 1996 | |
| Yvette Rean | | 1995 | |
| Siobhan Kane | (1975-03-28) 28 March 1975 (age 49) | 1996 | Castle Rovers |

## Transfers, loans and other signings
### Transfers in

| Announcement date | Position | Player | From club |
| 1996 | FW | Natasha Daly | Mill Hill United |
| 1996 | GK | Sarah Reed | Wembley |
| 1996 | DF | Faye White | Horsham Ladies |
| 1996 | FW | Rachel Yankey | Mill Hill United |
| 1996 | FW | Kara Lee Reynolds | |
| 1996 | GK | Sara King | |
| 1996 | | Laura Ray | |
| 1997 | FW | Kelly Smith | Wembley |
| 1997 | DF | Kim Jerry-Silver | Wembley |

### Transfers out

| Announcement date | Position | Player | To club |
| 1996 | MF | Samantha Britton | Cove Rangers |
| 1996 | | Carly Cruickshank | |
| 1996 | | Julie Newell | |
| 1996 | | Conchita Sanchez | |
| 1996 | GK | Rosa Serra | |
| 1996 | | Michelle Sneddon | |
| 1996 | | Kelly Townsend | |
| 1996 | GK | Kathy Simmonds | |

## Club
### Kit

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: JVC
| Home | Away |

## Competitions
### FA Women's Premier League
#### Partial league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 18 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 9 | +56 | 49 | Champions |
| 2 | Doncaster Belles | 18 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 44 | 15 | +29 | 41 | |
| 3 | Croydon | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 39 | 26 | +13 | 31 | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 18 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 30 | |
| 5 | Millwall Lionesses | 18 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 27 | |

#### Results Summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Ground | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | H | A |
| Result | L | W | W | D | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |