The Real Arsenal Story (Alan Roper)

Alan Roper
The Real Arsenal Story : In the Days of Gog

A history of the early days of The Arsenal until the end of the 19th century and a little bit after. To be honest it's probably more for Arsenal fans rather than the casual reader although does give an excellent insight into the game and clubs as it and they were fully formed. Match reports suggest very different style of play which I guess is inevitable. If we moan about offside and VAR these days there was originally a 3 player rule where you had to have 3 defenders between you and the goal otherwise you were offside. The other angle is the fans who were just as feisty, if not more so, than today regarding perceived injustices by the umpires. There is a fair bit about the lives of the players and hardships they endured which is one reason that The Arsenal were the first team to go professional in the south thereby being banned from competitions and shunned by other clubs. All very well ex public schoolboys with wealth bleating that the game should be played by amateurs but as the northern rugby clubs decided why shouldn't working lads get paid for a job. Typical of Arsenal to be innovative and to look out for local workers. Of course it also meant that they could attract top players from other clubs thereby attracting larger crowds so the club owners had an eye on the money much as they do now. The story ends just before WWI also there is a bit about the 1930s I think a bit gratuitously although interesting to Gooners.