THE TACTICS IN EFFECT
— Eddie Hapgood | 25/05/1939 —

This may seem very curious; but I admit that Arsenal's first victory in the championship — that of 1931 — was the easiest to obtain. All the other championships that we played afterwards (and we won five of them...), were infinitely harder.

I believe this proves that English football, from 1931 to 1938, continued to progress and that the average level of British players continued to rise.

All the championship matches have also been affected by this progress. And I personally believe that the further we go, the more our new will improve.

ENGLISH FOOTBALL CHANGES.

I would like to point out a common error on the continent: that which consists of saying that English football does not change!

Our football is, on the contrary, subject to constant transformations; in the composition of teams; in the tactics used.

At Arsenal, a man can boast of being the promoter of all developments. This man is Herbie Roberts. Although he has stopped playing, he is still a member of the club.

Herbie Roberts took over for us from another great player: Jack Utler, who had been nicknamed the reckless.

Centre-half, the latter was not confined to the defensive position. On the contrary, he always moved forward. He never hesitated to leave a hole in the defensive lines. He believed that it was always better to go on the attack. Also, he was often found in the forward line.

On the contrary, Roberts, who succeeded him, only ever sought to do the work of the full-back; sometimes even that of a goalkeeper! And this is always extremely effective.

It is to this new tactic that we owe all the changes football has undergone in recent years.

HOW ARSENAL WAS CALLED THE "LUCKY CLUB".

Many people might be surprised that a club which changed the position of centre-half to that of stopper was nevertheless able to score one hundred and twenty-seven goals in a single season!

How did this happen?

It is not easy to answer such a question briefly. However, I will try to do it.

While our centre-half essentially became a defensive element, other players were called upon to fill the job that was previously done by him.

It was during the 1931 season that we were named the Lucky Club. It has stuck with us ever since.

How and why?

It's quite simple: we won every match, even those we seemed likely to lose, until the last moment. But then luck and rage were on our side and we won another victory in extremis.

It has been said that we have won some of our difficult matches thanks to three moves:

1st, our goalkeeper, in possession of the ball following an attack by our opponents, clears by serving one of our wingers; 2nd, the latter dribbles straight ahead and crosses; 3rd, the player who receives the ball shoots and scores the goal.

This is why Arsenal are infinitely more dangerous in defence than in attack, because it is always thanks to a defensive game that it triggers an offensive. This seems like a paradox but, in fact, nothing could be more true.

DANGEROUS TEAMS ARE THOSE WE DON'T KNOW...

But there is something else to consider in football. This is because a team which has never revealed itself with a sensational victory remains, so to speak, unknown. We therefore do not know exactly what it is worth. It is quite different when, on the contrary, it has secured a great reputation. The following year, people become suspicious of it, spy on its methods and try to familiarise themselves with its game.

This is why it is essential for a great team to change its game and its tactics.

ARSENAL'S STANDARD GAME.

Arsenal created a standard game. We are judged by this “standard”. We are, in spite of ourselves, obliged to maintain ourselves at a certain level otherwise we will be depreciated considerably. We must always repeat the feat achieved once. We wouldn't understand why we couldn't.

The same applies to individual players. For example, spectators insist on comparing the two greatest players England has ever known: David Jack and Alex James. However, there is no point of comparison between these two athletes; one played inside right and the other inside left.

I think it's not respecting "fair play" to want to compare two players who are so different. No two footballers are alike. There cannot be another David Jack or another Alex James. A football player is not made to measure.

But I don't understand why we don't want to admit that there can be players who do as well as others in the same position with different means.