As the Gunners welcome the Blues to the Emirates this weekend with slim hopes of a title challenge, over a century ago the two clubs were battling at the opposite end of English football’s top-tier.
Arsenal and Chelsea have built a fierce rivalry since the first meeting between the sides back in 1907.
At the start of the twentieth century Southern football languished behind its Northern counterpart, tellingly so that the first side below the Midlands to win English football’s top division was Arsenal in 1931 – 38 seasons into the existence of the Football League.
London was not the hub for footballing success like the modern age is with Arsenal and Chelsea; instead the likes of Aston Villa andSunderland were consistently tasting league glories. At the beginning of the 1900’s the capital city only boasted three top tier clubs and, in one particular campaign, all three were in jeopardy of relegation to England’s second tier.
In stark contrast to present day Premier League football, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur were all struggling towards the bottom end throughout the 1909/10 season. Alongside the London trio, Bristol City, and the four representatives for Southern football in England’s top tier would eventually fill four of the league’s bottom six.
With six games remaining, the Gunners visited the Blues on Easter Monday in a vital all-London survival scrap. It would be another four years until Sir Henry Norris would be successful in his attempt to uproot Arsenal to North London, so during the 1909/10 campaign the now North-Londoners were still under the guise of Woolwich Arsenal in East London.
East headed West with Chelsea looking for revenge over Woolwich Arsenal, for the Gunners' 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture earlier in the season. Both sides had fellow Southern strugglers, Spurs and Bristol City to play, so two points (before the era of three points for a win) could prove vital over a relegation rival in the final league standings.
Charlie McGibbon, a centre-forward who had just returned to Woolwich after never making a first-team appearance in his first spell, struck a debut goal early on in the four-pointer. This resulted in the Gunners securing a 1-0 away victory and going level on points with the Blues with five games to play.
McGibbon’s late season return would prove a masterstroke for Woolwich Arsenal, as in a further three league appearances he netted the winner in a 1-0 win against eventual-league champions, Aston Villa, and an important equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Four league games after their Easter Monday clash, Arsenal would remain unbeaten, conceding only once and amassing six points from a possible eight. Meanwhile, an inconsistent Chelsea side would win twice but also suffer a further two league defeats, picking up four points from the eight available; as a result they would trail the then East Londoners by two points on the final day of the season.
Five teams, including the four Southern sides, occupied the league's bottom six before the last round of fixtures, although only one would be relegated, as rock-bottom Bolton Wanderers had already been consigned to second division football for the 1910/11 season.
At first glance Bristol City, Spurs, Arsenal and Middlesbrough were all within two points of 19th placed Chelsea and could mathematically be relegated alongside Bolton. However the fixture list proved favourable to Boro' and the Gunners, as Chelsea’s remaining league tie was at Tottenham, so without both sides able to record two points on the final day, the East Londoners and Teessiders were safe regardless of results, although the Robins could still suffer relegation on goal difference.
The win at Chelsea and victory against Bristol City, plus a point at Spurs, had proved crucial for Woolwich Arsenal, with their only loss within their final six league fixtures coming on the final day at home to Preston North End, knowing their bid to avoid the drop was already done.
The Blues however, with only two wins in 10 games before their short trip to Spurs, including the loss at home to the Gunners and further defeat to Bristol City, were in serious jeopardy of their first ever relegation and there was to be no miraculous recovery on the final day of the 1909/10 campaign.
A James Windredge goal early in the tie for Chelsea gave the visitors hope of continued top tier football for the 1910/11 Football League season, but any optimism was short-lived as Billy Minter levelled for the home side, whilst former Chelsea player, Percy Humphreys, secured victory for Tottenham in the second half. The Blues were officially relegated after their final day, 2-1 defeat in North London, whilst Spurs, like their now local rivals Arsenal, had survived relegation.
Chelsea would remain outside of England’s top tier for two years and upon their promotion back to Division One for the 1912/13 campaign, they avoided the drop, finishing just outside the relegation spots in 18th, whilst Woolwich Arsenal finally succumbed to division two football, as they ended rock-bottom during the same season.
Relegated Woolwich Arsenal would never appear in English football’s top flight again, as after two years in Division Two and the absence of the Football League due to the First World War, the ‘Woolwich’ was dropped from the Gunners name and they re-located to North London.
If the move from East to North London had not already upset many around the capital, Arsenal’s re-introduction to the Football League’s top division certainly raised further eyebrows, although a Chelsea side continuing to struggle towards the bottom end of Division One before the war, also benefited from the post-war voting process.
Chelsea and Tottenham had finished as Division One’s bottom two sides the season before the war, and Arsenal fifth in Division Two. As the Football League re-commenced for the 1919/20 campaign, it was widely expected the Blues and Spurs would win a demotion reprieve and remain in England’s top flight. However Arsenal owner, Sir Henry Norris, used his status and persuasive powers to ensure Arsenal were elected back into English football’s top tier, alongside Chelsea and at the expense of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
During the years until the 1930’s, Southern football remained behind clubs from the North, although entering the new decade, Arsenal were to buck English football’s trend by becoming First Division champions in 1931. The Gunners' title success sparked a dominance within the 30’s, as they shook off relegation fears and took initial steps towards the status the club holds at present.
Arsenal have never suffered demotion to England’s second tier in the post-war era, whilst Chelsea were consigned to second division football a further five times up to the inception of the Premier League, although they did achieve their sole pre-Premiership title glory in 1955.
As the Gunners look to close to the gap on champions-elect, Chelsea, this coming Sunday, the top two all-London clash has a familiar look within the modern-age; distant memories as to when the duo battled at the opposite end of the table over 100 years ago.
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