Despite playing for near neighbours and bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Herbert Chapman remains an Arsenal legend who would lead the Gunners to their first major trophy while also changing the philosophy and fortunes of the football club forever.
Born near Rotherham in 1878, Herbert Chapman’s playing career was a largely forgettable one but like so many coaches that didn’t seem to hinder him when it came to management as he went on to become one of greatest leaders in the history of the game.
After representing over a dozen clubs, including Spurs, his playing days had ended in controversy when he received a lifetime ban following wartime financial irregularities while at Leeds City which involved a number of illegal payments and at least two attempts at blackmail.
But his ban was eventually overturned on appeal allowing him to become manager of Huddersfield Town in 1921, a glorious period for the club which saw them win the FA Cup in 1922, their first major honour, and then the first of three consecutive league titles a year later; a feat which not surprisingly attracted the attention of bigger sides.
So when Arsenal came calling and offered Chapman the astronomical wage of £2,000 a year on June 11, 1925, the Terriers gave him their blessing; still going on to become the first side in history to win three consecutive league titles the following season despite his departure.
Chapman joined an Arsenal side which had fought against relegation during the previous campaign but his impact was immediate as he led them to an FA Cup quarter-final in his first season as well as the runners-up spot in the league; the highest the club had ever finished at the time.
In 1927 Arsenal found themselves in their first ever FA Cup final, which they lost to Cardiff at Wembley, but three years later did finally lift the cup after beating, of all sides, Chapman’s old Club Huddersfield; a victory which signalled one of the greatest periods in the club’s history.
They won their first Division One title in 1931 after accumulating a record breaking 66 points and narrowly missed out on defending the championship the following year, only to regain the trophy 12 months later.
And it wasn’t just the playing style which Chapman was credited with revolutionising; he was a true pioneer of the game and responsible for the iconic red shirts and white sleeves that the club still wear today after a friend appeared for a round of golf one day wearing a sleeveless red sweater over a white shirt.
As well as the playing kit Chapman also recommended that players wear numbers on their jerseys while also being behind the introduction of white footballs and public address systems at games; even employing future Gunners boss Tom Whittaker as football's first modern physiotherapist.
He was extremely keen on pre-determined training schedules and even asked those players who drove cars at the time to turn on their headlights to illuminate the training ground in the days before floodlight pylons.
Chapman can also be credited for championing goal line technology almost a century before it was eventually introduced, once claiming: “Goal judges must come. I am convinced that referees need their help, if they are to avoid mistakes and injustices.”
A very tactically astute coach his revolutionary WM formation saw his Arsenal side employ a three-man back line and a three-pronged attack both with two men lying in support to prevent counter attacks or bolster offensive sorties; an approach which would later be adopted by a number of sides.
A shrewd player in the transfer market Chapman was also very keen on scouting his upcoming opponents and as Arsenal looked to secure a hat-trick of Division One titles he headed north to watch Sheffield Wednesday on New Year’s Day of 1934, ahead of an upcoming clash with the Owls later that month.
On returning he fell ill and initially believing it was just a cold continued with his managerial duties only to be admitted to hospital as his condition deteriorated and eventually died of pneumonia on January 6 that year as stunned fans and shocked players learned of his passing in the newspapers ahead of the game with Wednesday.
Such was his impact on the North London club that his presence can still be seen everywhere. A bronze bust remains in the marble halls of Highbury's reception despite the fact that the club left in 2006, while a statue stands outside the club’s new home; just a few hundred yards from the old Gillespie Road Tube station which Chapman decided should be renamed; Arsenal, of course.
