HISTORY: “No European Honors Are Due to Arsenal” It Is Untrue To Say That How The Gunners Won Their First European Trophy Is Shown Here 🏆

How Arsenal’s 1970 Inter Cities Fair Cup victory was set up by goals from Jon Sammels

After defeating Belgian powerhouse RSC Anderlecht at home to win the European Inter-Cities Fair Cup, Arsenal celebrated opening Europe for the first time at the end of the 1969–1970 season.

The Gunners faced the Irish team Glentoran in the first round. Bobby Gould and George Graham scored two goals apiece in the first leg at home, as the League of Ireland team was defeated 3-0 at Highbury. With just 13,000 spectators, Glentoran unexpectedly defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the away match.

Sporting Lisbon, who put up a fight in the first leg, was Arsenal’s opponent in the second round. In Lisbon, above. With a strong defense, The Lions held off The Gunners, resulting in an exciting 90-minute match that ended in a 0-0 draw. Graham scored another brace of goals, and John Radford’s strike made it 3-0 for Arsenal, who overcame the Lions, who were unable to defeat Arsenal in North London.

The pleasure of hosting the first leg of the third-round, two-leg match between Rouen, who currently compete in the third division of French football, and Arsenal. The Red Devils held Arsenal to a scoreless 0-0 draw in France once more.Jonathan Sammels’ goal gave the Gunners the much-needed 1-0 victory, and they were almost certain of victory in the second leg at home against Rouen.

As the tournament moved into the quarterfinals, Arsenal easily defeated Romanian team Dinamo Bacau, winning 9-1 on aggregate over the course of the two legs. Thanks to goals from Radford and Sammels, The Gunners easily defeated The Yellow and Blues 2-0 at home in the first match.Thanks to goals from Charlie George (2), Graham, Radford (2), and Sammels (2), Arsenal trampled over The Romanians 7-1 at Highbury.

Arsenal was forced to play Ajax in the semifinals; Ajax would go on to win the UEFA Champions League and the European Cup four times. Arsenal dominated the semifinals, defeating the Dutch heroes 3-1 thanks to two crucial goals from George and one from Sammels. 32,000 spectators cheered with delight as Ajax narrowly defeated Arsenal 1-0 in the decisive leg in Amsterdam, far from the red-light district. Now the Gunners stood a chance to win silverware for the first time in Europe!

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup spotlight was now solely on Arsenal, who needed the ammunition they would eventually possess to defeat RSC Anderlecht. After suffering a crushing 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Purple and Whites in Belgium, Arsenal finally woke up and smelled the coffee.

That meant that in order to win the much-desired European title, Arsenal needed to score three goals or more in the decisive game at Highbury. In front of a sold-out Highbury crowd of 51,612 supporters, the Gunners would put up the fight of their lives as they gradually defeated Anderlecht 3-0 thanks to goals from Edward Kelly, Radford, and Sammels (his sixth of the season).

The men of Bertie Mee had succeeded! They had successfully won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the first of Arsenal’s two major European trophies in history.