In my opinion, the best piece of transfer business Arsenal has conducted in my lifetime.
Dennis Bergkamp Signs For Arsenal On This Day, 20th June 1995
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The Arsenal Casualty List Grows On This Day, 19th June 1935
I am sure that were this to happen today, Arsène would be thoroughly chastised for ignoring the stats whilst Sky News would be permanently parked outside the hospital for every update possible.
Building The New East Stand At Arsenal, On This Day, 18th June 1936
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Arsenal Return Home From Brazil On This Day, 17th June 1951
With five defeats in six matches – the solitary victory coming against Sao Paulo – Arsenal returned home chastened from their 1951 tour of Brazil.
Margate Become Arsenal’s Nursery Club On This Day, 16th June 1934
It was not unusual in the 1930s for First Division clubs to have arrangements with a non-league counterpart for developing players, Northfleet were Tottenham’s nursery club for example.
Arsenal had links with Margate before this; Gerry Keizer, a Dutch goalkeeper from Ajax, played for the East Kent club in 1930 before moving to Arsenal and becoming the first European player in the Football League.
According to the history of Margate FC, George Allison had a daughter at a local school and the ties were built through friendships in the area. More information can be found in the Soccer History magazine’s article.
Arsenal Sign Jackie Milne On This Day, 15th June 1935
Whilst the financial equivalent of £5,000 today is £1.5m, the English record still stood for the signing of David Jack by Arsenal for £10,890. For a true comparison it would be around £15m, making Milne more of an Arshavin than a Gervinho.
The complication comes with Tony Matthews Who’s Who of Arsenal, quoting a fee of £1,500 which seems more realistic. Arsenal may have been England’s wealthiest club at the time but it is scarcely credible that they would have written off such an expensive transfer so quickly.
Milne played 54 times for the club, pulling in a decent return of 19 goals. He left the club unexpectedly, signing for Middlesbrough eighteen months later for a £5,000 fee.
Transfer Demands Met At Arsenal On This Day, 14th June 1993
Demands from supporters for activity in the transfer market is nothing new. In those days, the transfer window was something that the troubled continental clubs; English clubs could sign anyone between June and March which prodivided plenty of opportunity to scout players, find those who would strengthen the squad, fill gaps with their technical ability and prowess and drive the squad on to glory.
George Graham thought Eddie McGoldrick was the perfect fit for that criteria. If someone asked you to describe a typical late-era Graham signing, the Republic of Ireland international would be the player you describe; hard-working and erm, that’s probably it.
This was probably the highlight of McGoldrick’s immensely talentless career (about 8’19 on the video). If you think that a harsh judgement, just remember that the Irish international said he would not cross the road to p*ss on an Arsenal fan if he were on fire.
So, Eddie McGoldrick. Everything that went wrong with George Graham’s reign summed up in one player.
