Herbert Chapman at the Arsenal
If there three things you might know about Herbert Chapman one is that he was manager of the Arsenal, a second is that he brought Arsenal its first trophies and the third is, he’s one of only two Arsenal managers to be commemorated via a statue outside the ground, following an AISA campaign once the Emirates Stadium was opened.
But although Chapman is now commemorated at the Emirates Stadium, a question remains: what could possibly have persuaded a manager who had just won the FA Cup and the League twice in the last three seasons, to move to Arsenal, whose only achievement in the previous two campaigns had been the avoidance of relegation by the narrowest of margins.
And then of course we might also ask, having come to Arsenal, how on earth did he do transform the club as quickly as he did?
Rather strangely these are questions that few researchers have ventured into. For although have been books galore on the great Arsenal team of the 1930s, on the topic of what actually made Herbert Chapman take up the challenge and leave all that he had just achieved in his previous club, less is said.
But that’s not the only mystery, because when Arsenal did advertise for a new manager, the advert specifically stated that managers who achieved success solely by spending big in the transfer market, should not apply. And yet that is how Chapman had operated at Huddersfield.
So it’s all a bit of a mystery. However now, following some further research by the AISA Arsenal History Society we’re pretty sure we have the answer, and we’re now telling the whole story in more detail than has ever been revealed before.
The series in which we reveal exactly what happened 100 years ago, what brought Chapman to Arsenal, and what gave Arsenal its first ever trophies, is currently appearing on the AISA Arsenal History Society website. You can find the full list of articles so far published through that link, with more of the story appearing each week.
We’re also hoping that just as Arsenal FC listened to AISA when we proposed statutes of Chapman and Wenger outside the stadium, they will now work with us again on the idea of celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Chapman’s arrival.
We’ll keep you posted.