Ask most Arsenal supporters how many times Arsenal have done the double, and your will almost certainly be told three. Because we think of The Double as being victory in the FA Cup and the League Championship in the same season.
And yes we have won three of those doubles. But in 1992/3 we did another Double – an FA Cup and League Cup Double – the first ever club to do it.
Despite the fact that the record books record this, I’ve never seen anyone gather together all the games in one table – and just to see what it looks like I have done it below.
But before you sneak a look, see how well you know your Arsenal history with these questions:
1. Which teams did we play in both the League Cup and the FA Cup?
2. Which rounds needed a replay?
3. What was the result in normal play of the first three cup games of this momentous season?
4. Which club did we play that is no longer in existence?
5. How many games did we play in the FA Cup and League Cup together that season?
The answers become obvious from the table below. In the score in the final column Arsenal’s score is always shown first. The second round of the league cup was played on a home and away basis, irrespective of the score of the first match.
| 1992 | ||||
| 22 September | Millwall | League Cup 2 | Home | 1-1 |
| 7 October | Millwall | League Cup 2 | Away | 1-1; 3-1pens |
| 28 October | Derby County | League Cup 3 | Away | 1-1 |
| 1 December | Derby County | League Cup 3 replay | Home | 2-1 |
| 1993 | ||||
| 2 January | Yeovil T | FA Cup 3 | Away | 3-1 |
| 6 January | Scarborough | League Cup 4 | Away | 1-0 |
| 12 January | Nottingham F | League Cup 5 | Home | 2-0 |
| 25 January | Leeds Utd | FA Cup 4 | Home | 2-2 |
| 3 February | Leeds Utd | FA Cup 4 replay | Away | 3-2 AET |
| 7 February | Crystal Pal | League Cup SF | Away | 3-1 |
| 13 February | Nottingham F | FA Cup 5 | Home | 2-0 |
| 5 March | Ipswich T | FA Cup 6 | Away | 4-2 |
| 10 March | Crystal P | League Cup SF | Home | 2-0 |
| 4 April | Tottenham H | FA Cup SF | Wembley | 1-0 |
| 18 April | Sheffield W | League Cup Final | Wembley | 2-1 |
| 15 May | Sheffield W | FA Cup Final | Wembley | 1-1 AET |
| 20 May | Sheffield W | FA Cup Final replay | Wembley | 2-1 AET |
The answers are…
1. We played Nottingham Forest and Sheffield Wednesday in both cups
2. We played replays in the 3rd round of the league cup and the 4th round and Final of the FA Cup.
3. The result in normal play of the first three cup games of this momentous season were all 1-1.
4. The club no longer in existence is Scarborough Town. They were formed seven years before Arsenal, and went out of business on 20 June 2007 with debts of £2.5m. Their last ever game was played on 28 April 2007, and was Hucknall Town 0 Scarborough Town 1. A new club was established in 2008.
5. And we played 13 games to win the Cup Double.
Thus if anyone were to ask, when were the Arsenal’s Doubles the answer in full would be
- 1971: FA Cup and League Double
- 1993: FA Cup and League Cup Double
- 1998: FA Cup and League Double
- 2002: FA Cup and League Double
You might also like to add
- 2004: The Unbeaten Season.
Only seven teams have won the FA Cup and Football League Double in England: Preston, Villa, Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool have each done it once, while Man U and Arsenal have each done it three times. Liverpool and Chelsea have also won the League Cup and FA Cup double. Preston had one unbeaten season in 1888/9, but only played 22 league games that season.