Norris at the Arsenal: The first suggestion that Arsenal could be elected to the 1st division.

By Tony Attwood

January 1919.

With the war over, and the general election having been held to elect a new government, discussions about football’s future in England began to heat up.  It had already been decided to keep the wartime leagues running throughout the first four months of 1919 in order to give everyone involved in football time to consider what they wanted to do next and this turned out to be a good decision – there was an awful lot to talk about.

The London Combination had been the first to add a new idea to the mix: a London Victory Cup knock out competition.  This was a contest that was going to have significant consequences for Sir Henry Norris, although at the time of the first match on 1 January 1919 it seemed innocuous enough.  The result was Millwall Athletic 0 Arsenal 1 with 6,000 in the crowd.

Meanwhile an...