In his latest column for leedsunited.com, lifelong supporter Jon Howe looks at the history between Leeds United and Arsenal, ahead of this weekend's fixture.

Howe is the author of two books on the club, ‘The Only Place For Us: An A-Z History of Elland Road’ - which has been updated as a new version for 2021 - and ‘All White: Leeds United’s 100 Greatest Players’ in 2012.



There was a period in the early 1990s when David Batty saw more of Nigel Winterburn than his own wife and kids. And if you woke up on a day with a ‘Y’ in it, chances are Leeds were playing Arsenal. The evolution of football scheduling means we are unlikely to meet the Gunners six times in a single season ever again, like we did in 1990/91, but even so, the spectre of Arsenal remains unavoidable and omni-present in our lives and somehow, the North London club is forever indelibly linked to us.

Saturday’s Premier League meeting at the Emirates Stadium will be the 127^th face-off between the two clubs, and if we’re talking simply about numbers, Arsenal are second in the list of teams we have played most in our history (we have only played Leicester more, with 128 matches to date). If that famous FA Cup tie hadn’t been settled in the third replay back in 1991, when we faced George Graham’s men four times in 21 days, then Arsenal would be sitting pretty at the top, and that feels about right, because there’s something dogged and enduring about Arsenal that Leeds United can’t quite shake off.

Legendary Arsenal figures George Graham and David O’Leary swapped Highbury for Elland Road in the 1990s and left a significant imprint on Leeds United’s history too, while John Lukic perhaps took the association too far and spent his entire career indulging in transfers between the two clubs; playing nearly 600 first team games over two separate spells with both Leeds and the Gunners. 

But it’s true that the ubiquitous presence of Arsenal goes back to before Leeds United were even formed. Elland Road resided in the borough of Islington when it was first created as the Old Peacock Ground in the late 19^th century; a small area betwixt Beeston and Holbeck that has been lost in the midst of time since the scything construction of the M621 ravaged the heart and soul from the area and bulldozed postcodes into forgotten history. Islington is the North London borough where Arsenal still reside today but a vast migration of workers from the Capital landed in Leeds to work in the clay and brickworks in the area around Elland Road about 200 years ago, and brought a place name with them.   

Leeds City’s manager at the point that they ceased to be in 1919 was one Herbert Chapman; a true innovator who was turning around City’s fortunes at the point of their untimely demise, and went on to win three First Division titles at Huddersfield before winning Arsenal’s first ever silverware and turning them into a dominant force in the 1930s. Also, once Leeds United formed and finally established themselves in the top tier of the game, one of their first high profile transfers was the infamous hard man Wilf Copping, an England international who Arsenal bought for £6,000 in 1934.

From there it’s largely a case of those 126 games playing out against a backdrop of feisty encounters, colourful characters and a plotline of good news and bad news. The bad news first? Well, our first ever game against Arsenal was a 6-1 defeat in 1924, Arsenal are responsible for our joint-biggest losing margin, a 7-0 thrashing away in a League Cup replay in 1979, and between 2002 and 2004 Arsenal beat us 4-1 at Elland Road on three consecutive occasions, including once, inevitably, in the FA Cup.

Of course our relationship with the FA Cup is dysfunctional at best, and even though Arsenal are responsible for our one golden moment in the competition, they are otherwise another rotten reminder that Leeds United and the FA Cup are not compatible bedfellows. That magical day in May 1972 is one of only two wins versus Arsenal in 17 FA Cup encounters, the other one coming at Highbury in 1997 thanks to a solitary Rod Wallace goal. Elsewhere it is a story of heart-breaking replays, often in extra-time for added misery, and the stubborn persistence of an Arsenal team who seem to cling on to FA Cup ties like a red wine stain on the carpet.

Even our arduous 16-year sojourn outside the top flight saw us maintaining acquaintance with Arsenal. We met them three times in the FA Cup while a Championship club between 2011 and 2020, losing all three obviously, but at least once forcing an Elland Road replay. But it’s true that while returning to the Premier League has allowed Leeds fans to enjoy visiting some of the best and most famous grounds in the country, it’s fair to say that some will have already done the Emirates to death. 

But I spoke about some good news also, didn’t I? Well of course we won our first ever silverware against Arsenal, when Terry Cooper’s goal settled a fractious League Cup Final in 1968, and Allan Clarke’s stooping header, also at Wembley, four years later brought arguably our most glorious celebratory moment.

Of those 126 matches we have won 41, a 33% win record, which might not sound great but is better than our record against many other clubs. And indeed, two of our most famous victories came in relatively recent history when we twice denied Arsene Wenger’s magical team the Premier League title, and duly handed it to Manchester United in the process. In 1999 a diving header from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at the back post gave David O’Leary’s young guns a statement victory at Elland Road, while in 2003 Peter Reid’s escape act was complete when Mark Viduka’s curling finish settled a pulsating contest and secured Leeds United’s Premier League survival with a 3-2 win.

Alas, this was our last victory over Arsenal to date, and we have failed to win in 13 subsequent contests. Many people might view Saturday’s match against the table-topping Gunners as a ‘free hit’ for Leeds, but that’s not something we can necessarily afford, and while this impending fixture puts the win at Wolves into perspective, it is also an opportunity to maintain some momentum. In reality, most Leeds fans will be happy if we are competitive and resilient in the game whatever the outcome, particularly given the injury news that has been seeping back from the dreaded international break. But we can’t forget how close we were to forcing a result in the baffling 1-0 defeat at Elland Road earlier this season, and as I seem to have written about a dozen times over the last couple of years, we really, really owe Arsenal one and a win is well overdue.

It’s true we have bigger battles ahead, not least next Tuesday against Nottingham Forest at Elland Road, but in a title run-in, the leaders often have a curveball hiccup in them, and with the ominous presence of Manchester City breathing down their necks, that wouldn’t be altogether surprising. Leeds have a history of popping Arsenal’s celebratory balloon, so you never know. What we do know is that win, lose or draw, Arsenal will be on our agenda again very soon and forever more, and a historical match-up which appears to be stitched into the fabric of English football will continue to deliver intrigue, heart-break and elation; that’s just the way life is.