Arsenal FA Cup Semi-Final v Stoke 1970-71 

As a Stoke fan this result still hurts like mad as we lost the replay and the chance of playing liverpool in the final of what was then the most famous cup competition in the world. I was a lad then but this stoke team is still my favourite ever as it was best team in our history fabulous memories. It was a fabulous era proper football then real men and characters and proper atmosphere. The modern game I'm afraid is artificial and garbage in comparison.

I was in and amongst the Arsenal fans! Thousands had travelled from down south! I had travelled from the North. Great day out!

If an arsenal player was fouled badly the crowd would chant Storey, Storey and he would paw the ground with his studs looking at the player , and about 10 minutes later there would be a sickening crunch tackle (crowd would actually shudder) and Storey would leave the poor sod on the ground........but he was a great player as well

Stoke should have won that game. They gave Arsenal some grief that season, walloping them 5-0 in the league and then dominating most of this game. But credit to Arsenal-resilient bastards!

Storey’s first goal was an absolute rocket. What a goal. What the hell was Charlie George thinking on that back pass?

Stoke city in the 70s were the best team to not win the FA cup

Great to see this. Was standing down the Kop end with my Dad and remember him cursing the ball hitting the post when it had actually been handled, then his jubilation when the ref pointed to the spot. Wonderful memories.

@BORROVAN26 In 1971, Arsenal looked more like Stoke do today. Robust defending, long throws, plenty of high balls into the box for Radford and Kennedy. In fact, out of the two teams, Stoke probably played the better football in the seventies!

@stokey72 Looks like you are a Stoke supporter. Although I wasn't at the game, I remember watching it on the telly. Stoke should have buried Arsenal that day but credit to Arsenal for not giving up. That Stoke team under Tony Waddington was a very good team with some great players.

What a team the Arsenal had never give in attitude won the Double that season !!!

@Paul James I've spent a while looking for "bad tackles" by Peter Storey but found only one from behind on Chivers in 73. Of course he was no joke. No full-back or defensive midfielder was then. But Ron Harris (who has said he regarded Storey as the hardest in his era) made a lot more wild tackles than Storey and these _are_ on video. You see a lot of determined clearances from behind an opponent but you see these today too. But Christ he was one helluva player after moving from right-back to midfield in 1969/70. He was everywhere - winning the ball, pushing forward, passing and getting in at the far post for an overhit centre. I know that no one likes the idea of a sporting hero being associated with a brothel. But I feel that it simply isn't good enough for a modern football club - and indeed its former players, especially the others of the Arsenal 70/71 squad - to just totally wash its hands of an ex-player for doing X (crimes affecting women) whilst extending the fatherly embrace to another for doing Y (alcoholism/drugs/gambling/assault/racist abuse/adultery). For those who don't know, children are the biggest victims of alcoholism and addiction. Everyone in the Arsenal 70/71 first-team bar Storey was a guest on Bob Wilson's _This Is Your Life._ Even a few peripheral squad members like Marinello and Nelson were there. Okay, that was in the late 90s when Storey's carry-on was still fresh in the public mind. Today I think it's fair to say that Storey's juices have simmered and he should get fair sporting mention for his crucial role in the Arsenal 60s and 70s teams - in public as well as in private.

Listened to this live on the radio then went to Villa Park for the replay. Magic memories

The glory of Peter Storey! The Arsenal wouldn't have won the double in 1971 without this stupendous effort from Peter Storey. 'Great back pass... Charlie?' - Ha! I wonder what Frank McIntock's comments were at that moment?

@barrywebb The funny thing about this clip is that Peter is chatting quite freely. Not that I knew him personally but I gather off the pitch he was a very shy character, prone to long silences when being ferried to training. Yes, I agree I would be happy to have his steely determination in the team now, with out diluting the passing game too much!

Anyone else remember Arsenal's Bob McNab's appearance in the 70's sit-com "On the Buses?"

I think the 'Lucky Arsenal' tag was definitely in the making at this point. Great game though, and brilliant commentary.

Peter Storey was the hero who scored the two goals for Arsenal we where two goals down but we recovered.

I just realised Arsenal beat Stoke City in 2 FA Cup Semi Finals 70-71 and 71-72 at Villa Park both Replays and Arsenal smashing them both times

Sir Gordon Banks ( RIP) seems to have had a 'mare of a game.

Real real men hard as nails and proper gentlemen ah I’m from 80s but loved early football great sides about our rivalry was Leeds and Liverpool

As a Stoke supporter I was at this game with my Dad. Stoke scored twice and were the better team, but Arsenal never gave it up. We were virtually there, in an FA cup final for the first time until the faithful last minute penalty. As Storey ran up to take it, my Dad said "Banksy will save this" but it was not to be, Banks was not on top form that day! We had our chance, in the replay at Villa Park, Arsenal played like a team back from the dead, took their chances 2-0 by half time and Stoke just couldn't come back. Fabulous games! Still hurts 50 years on! We did give them a few spankings😃 in the Prem later on, Arsene could never accept the Potters giving his "Footballing purists" a good beating at the Brit! Happy Days!

@walesdad He was a very quiet man off the pitch which he talks about in his book. Well worth a read if you haven't had a change to get your hands on a copy. A very gifted footballer. In one England game, due to injuries, I saw him play in a more forward midfield role that he usually did for either England or Arsenal. It was a revelation. Hardly a misplaced pass all match. An, unlike many footballers today, he was truly two footed. One of my favorite Arsenal players of all time.

hey guys, there were many of the Arsenal players in the side that my team - Birmingham City - knocked out in consecutive years 67 and 68 as a second div team. Oh those were the days, and I saw all three games -one was a replay and both were 5th round games

@converse91970 I couldn't agree more. A vastly under appreciated footballer. Both for Arsenal and England. It's funny, but Peter would probably fit into the current Arsenal setup quite nicely as, with him living in France, he probably speaks fluent French! The stories that him and Arsene could tell with their respective lives behind the bar.

I was at the other FA Cup semi final this day when Everton played Liverpool at Old Trafford. My overriding memory from that game was Everton leading 1-0 at half time, and my friends, after the half time score came through from Hillsborough that Stoke were leading 2-0 all said it was a certain Everton / Stoke final. At full time, Everton had given an awful second half performance to allow Liverpool two goals from defensive errors, and Arsenal had gained a 2-2 draw. And went on the beat Liverpool in the final to completedouble. They were a great team. Strong defence, top finishers. My own team Everton had won the league a year earlier and never recovered from the semi final loss, days after going out of European Cup. If Greenhoff and Mahoney had scored from clear goal chances when 2-0 up, maybe a different history would have been written, Which shows the immense character of this Arsenal team.

Jimmy Greenhoff next to Trevor Francis my favourite Birmingham player seen him 4 on his debut against Portsmouth fantastic player

@barrywebb Thanks for the reply,I might well give that book a read.It would appear that there was more to Peter Storey than the 'midfield destroyer' tag he has been labelled with.Cheers.

Peter Storey might have had a 'Hard Man' reputation but he comes over as shy and unassuming in the post-match interview.

@converse91970 I believe the 1970-71 squad was a pretty close knit group which always adds to both the team's and individual's confidence. The events after the end of his playing career must have taken a huge toll on him. But, as you would expect, he has emerged relatively unscathed. I always think of the Arsenal as a family and I am much happier now that Peter is closer to his footballing family. He was a greater 2 footed passer. A very underestimated player by many.

It wasn't a corner. A foul on Banks I think. But I think this experienced helped Stoke in the next year when we won the League Cup. I was at this game with my mom and dad and two brothers. Only two of us alive now, me and my older brother, great memories.

It really is interesting to see the interview with Peter Storey after the highlights.He comes across as an introverted sort of man.As one who is old enough to remember him in his playing days,I can say that of all the seventies 'hard man',the usual suspects of Hunter,Harris,Bremner,etc,I think that Peter Storey was the most uncompromising.This clip shows that he could play a bit as well.

@MarkB1ngham Not quite 13 but close. Goalkeepers: Wilson, Barnett Defense: Rice, McLintock, Simpson, Roberts, McNab, Nelson Midfield: Storey, Kelly, Graham, Armstrong, Sammels, Marinello, George Forward: Radford, Kennedy A total of 17 players. And in those days it was 22 teams in the first division (42 games), games in the FA Cup (plus multiple replays), League Cup and the Inter-City Fairs Cup. An amazing physical as well as sporting achievement.

@LiterallyMad So true!

And Gordon Banks didn’t wear gloves....imagine that today

He was a great goalie but this was not his best game. I think the thought of Stoke making it to Wembley got the better of him. By the way, that was the 1970 World Cup you're thinking of, the year before this game.

@LiterallyMad Perhaps we need someone a little faster! When you look at those old clips, you realize how much faster the modern game has become. But judged on skill, commitment and heart alone, he would be perfect. And as an added bonus, he can speak French!

@vordman Perhaps so. But at the time he was considered the best goalkeeper in the World. I think he was genuinely taken by surprise partly because Storey didn't hit the ball that well. But it's often harder for a keeper to stop a ball that is close to you (including through the legs) than it is if it had been better struck.

What a comeback by Arsenal..😘

I must buy that book too.....Peter Storey is Arsenal Legend!

I hope your Dad's still supporting the Gunners. Although the 1970-71 Double team was a great team, the boys under Wenger's tutelage are something special. Another great reult today against Newcastle in the Carling Cup. I bought my dad Peter Storey's book, "True Storey, Myy life and crimes as a football hatchet man" from Amazon in the UK. He thought it was a brilliant read.

@Poopingbotham So true. The score could have been 4 - 1 to Stoke at one point and I don't think Arsenal were coming back from that. For those whose football knowledge doesn't extend beyond the Premier League, Stoke, under Tony Waddington, were a very good side. Banks had a nightmare. I can't remember seeing him that excited before. The prospect of an FA Cup final must have got the better of him. The penalty: Considering how good a keeper Bank's was, he didn't move at all.

4 their away games very rarely they wore red on away games

Why did both teams change their kits? Arsenal's Red wouldn't have clashed with Stoke's White and Stoke's Red & White stripes wouldn't have clashed with Arsenal's yellow!!

Why were both teams in their change strips?

I remember banks,the greatest goalie inthe world,according to brian moore,not in this game ,he looks like a school goalie,the year before he made that wonder save from the great Pele,but he looks a mess in this game.

Note the average price of a ticket. £1.60p

As an Arsenal fan, good ol' reliable Storey eh. Imagine donkey Jon Walters taking it or any of the so called modern lot who keep MISSING from the spot?? I had forgotten how GOOD 70's footie was despite the hype about Premier League. Great.

most of the time arsenal wore yellow

I've watched a lot of these reruns from this era, god the football was primitive no wonder we never won the world Cup again and the pitches aaaggghh!! wouldn't play rugby on most of them, we just couldn't see it at the time though, because that's all we knew!!

he didnt have a good day stoke should have won 4-1

Stoke should’ve won that easily

stoke had the greatest goal keepe r in english history gorden banks

Never seen Banks play so poorly. Loads of silly errors

Brian Moore keeps insisting , Banks is 'World's number 1'. Not true, by then he was over the hill and making too many silly mistakes. Maier and Mazurkiewicz were much better keepers by 1971.

When football was played by real men.

Banks should have saved that penalty, it was practically down the middle.

We are RED WE ARE WHITE WE ARE FUCKING DINIMITE LA LA LA YOU ARE MY ARSENAL MY ONLY ARSENAL !!! WHEN THE RED AND WHITE TRAIN COMES OVER THE HILL !!! WHEN IT RAINS WE GET WET KNOW ONE HAS TAKEN THE CLOCKEND YET !!1 😂😅😂😘😂😅

Great days...no women

Banks was useless

The best team in England won moaning stoke fans

Gee Stoke were given that 2nd goal.