1971–72 Arsenal F.C. season

The 1971–72 season was Arsenal Football Club's 46th consecutive season in the Football League First Division. Arsenal finished fifth in the league.

In Cup play, Arsenal featured for the first time in the European Cup, but went out to defending champions Ajax in the quarterfinals. Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup in the fourth round by Sheffield United. In the FA Cup, Arsenal reached the final, their fifth cup final in five years. However, the team couldn't follow up on the previous year's victory and lost 1-0 to Leeds United.

Ray Kennedy was the top scorer in both the league and in all competitions. Frank McLintock served as captain.

In June 1971, the club saw the exit of Don Howe as manager Bertie Mee's hands-on coach. He was replaced with Steve Burtenshaw. In December, midfielder Alan Ball joined Arsenal to strengthen the squad.

Season summary
Following up the 1970-71 Double was always going to be difficult. On June 15, that proposition was made even harder by the departure of Don Howe, the hands-on second-in-command to Bertie Mee who was widely considered the architect of the Double. Howe accepted an offer to become the manager of West Brom. Two other Arsenal staff, George Wright and youth coach Brian Whitehouse, also moved to West Brom. Steve Burtenshaw was appointed to Howe's previous position. Arsenal's only other summer transfer news was that Jon Sammels left the club for Leicester City at a price of £100,000.

Arsenal began the season with a convincing win over Chelsea, followed up by beating Huddersfield. The dynamic Charlie George missed the opening of the season with cartilage trouble. However, Arsenal's fortunes soon turned and they were defeated three times in a row, including a loss to newly promoted Sheffield United at home, Arsenal's first loss at Highbury in 19 months.

Arsenal's inconsistencies prevented them from being serious title contenders. Injuries left John Radford, Charlie George, Peter Marinello, and Bob McNab out of the squad for parts of the seasons, and other players such as Peter Simpson and Peter Storey suffered from poor form. In December, Mee paid a Football League record fee of £200,000 for Everton's Alan Ball in order to strengthen the squad. Despite some of these issues, midway through the season, Arsenal went on a 14-match unbeaten run after a dismal 5-1 loss to Wolves. The run left them just four points from the top. However, they were to find rather less success with the rest of the season. They still affected the title race, as a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the penultimate game of the season handed the league championship to Derby County. Arsenal ended the season with a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham and finished fifth.

Arsenal featured in the European Cup for the first time, reaching the quarterfinals. Ball joined the team too late to be eligible for Arsenal's quarterfinal matchup. After beating Stroemsgodset 3-1 in their first game and 4-0 at home in the next, Arsenal faced Grasshopper Club Zurich, winning 5-0 on aggregate. Arsenal faced European Cup holders Ajax in the quarterfinals, playing against Johan Cruyff and other great young players. They lost 2-1 away, meaning a 1-0 victory at home would take Arsenal to the semifinals. Instead, Arsenal lost 1-0 thanks to a George Graham own goal.

New signing Ball was especially influential in Arsenal's FA Cup run. Facing Swindon in the third round, Ball provided first a goal and assist to help Arsenal ease past their opponents. Arsenal then muddled 2-1 away past Fourth Division Reading. Derby County in the fifth round took three games. The first was a 2-2 tie away at the Baseball Ground in which George netted twice, the field described as a "bog" and the game extremely tough. Then, the two teams tied 0-0 at Highbury. Arsenal won the second replay with a goal from Kennedy. In the quarterfinals, Arsenal faced Orient and beat them 1-0 away.

Arsenal's semifinal opponents were again Stoke City, with Arsenal fielding nearly an unchanged side from the same game the year before. Ball was included in place of Kennedy, all other starters from the previous season remained. After Armstrong opened the scoring, Arsenal's goalkeeper Bob Wilson was injured but left on the field. A mistake from Simpson trying to protect his goalkeeper led to an own goal and a tie. Wilson was pulled off the field for Kennedy, and Radford took to the goal to help his team stay in the Cup. Arsenal beat Stoke in the replay with goals from George and Radford, and faced Leeds United in the final. It was a tough match at Wembley, in front of the Queen and Prince Phillip. Arsenal were outplayed and lost due to a headed goal from Allan Clarke.

Arsenal followed up their stellar Double season with disappointment in a fifth-place league finish and finalists medals in the FA Cup. The FA Cup final had been their fifth Cup final in five years.

Results
Arsenal's score comes first