Hello there, fellow Gooners! Welcome to a special European edition of WIITW in the week that Arsenal kick-off their 2017-18 Europa League campaign.

It may come as a surprise to you, but Arsenal haven’t always been the Champions League competing, round-of-16 exiting European giants that we’ve become accustomed to. Historically speaking, we’re no strangers to the not so elite level of European competition…

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European competition played between 1955 and 1971. It was originally set-up to promote international trade fairs in Europe and featured clubs from cities that would host these fairs.

Arsenal first participated in the Fairs Cup in the 1963-64 season as the London representative. It was the first time the club took part in any European competition.

The first team Arsenal faced in a European game were a Copenhagen XI, also known as Staevnet. They were a Danish football league representation side, made up of players from 11 different member clubs and participated exclusively in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. When they faced Arsenal in 1963, it was their fifth time participating in the competition.

The Gunners were big winners on their European debut, beating Staevnet 7-1 in Copenhagen. Joe Baker and Geoff Strong both got hat-tricks. In the return leg at Highbury, Arsenal won 3-2 and advanced to the Second Round.

In round two, Arsenal came up against Belgian side RFC Liegeois (now known as RFC Liege). The five-time Belgian champions proved to be too strong for the Gunners and ended up winning 4-2 on aggregate. Arsenal’s maiden European adventure came to an end. It would be five seasons before the Gunners competed in the Fairs Cup again but it was a far more successful adventure second time around.

Arsenal returned to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969-70 and made it all the way to their first ever European final. It was during a time when English sides were dominating the tournament – Leeds (twice) and Newcastle had won the Fairs Cup in the previous three seasons. Newcastle, Liverpool and Southampton joined Arsenal in the ’69-’70 Fairs Cup.

The Gunners saw off Glentoran, Sporting CP and French side Rouen in the earlier rounds of the competition. A comfortable quarter-final tie followed when Arsenal beat Dinamo Bacau 9-1 on aggregate. This set up a semi-final meeting with Dutch giants Ajax. A year before Ajax went on to lift their first European Cup, Arsenal beat them 3-0 at Highbury in the semi-final first leg. Despite a 1-0 defeat in Amsterdam, Arsenal went on to the Fairs Cup Final.

Belgian side Anderlecht were our Final opponents. They had seen off Newcastle and Inter Milan in the previous rounds. The Final was played over two legs and it couldn’t have gone much worse for the Gunners in the first. A 3-1 away defeat meant Arsenal had it all to do in the return leg at Highbury but a late Ray Kennedy goal in Belgium gave some hope.

The second leg proved to be one of the most memorable European nights in Arsenal history. A first half goal from Eddie Kelly reduced the aggregate deficit to just one goal. With 15 minutes left in the match, John Radford headed Arsenal’s second goal and the Highbury crowd were delirious – Arsenal were ahead on away goals. Barely a minute later, it got even better when Jon Sammels took down a cross-field ball from Charlie George and rifled a shot into the bottom corner. Arsenal won it 3-0 on the night, 4-3 on aggregate and lifted their first European trophy.

Arsenal competed in the final Inter-Cities Fairs Cup the following season. They saw off Lazio, Sturm Graz and Beveren to make it to the quarter-finals. Unfortunately, they couldn’t repeat the heroics of the previous season. Despite a 2-1 win in the first leg, Arsenal went out on away goals after losing 1-0 in the second. Quite interestingly, the team that beat us that year are also the same side that come to the Emirates on Thursday to kick off the Europa League campaign: FC Koln.

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup ended in 1971 when it came under the control of UEFA and it was replaced by the UEFA Cup. It was dominated by English teams in the latter years of its run. Leeds United won the final iteration of the competition, meaning that an English side lifted the trophy in each of the final five years in which it was played.

UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup

The UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup was a European knockout tournament played between 1960 and 1999. The competition was played between domestic cup winners from European football associations, such as the FA Cup. Arsenal qualified for this competition three times – 1979-80, 1993-94 and 1994-95. The Gunners made it to the final each time they featured in the tournament, winning it once in 1993-94.

In 1979-80, Arsenal sailed through to the Final after wins over Fenerbahce, FC Magdeburg, IFK Goteburg and Juventus. The semi-final win over Juventus came courtesy of a 1-0 second leg win in Turin. 18-year old Paul Vaessen scored the crucial goal that saw Arsenal through to the Final.

The 1980 Cup Winners’ Cup Final was played at Heysel Stadium and it featured Arsenal and Valencia. It was the only final in the competition’s history that was decided on penalties. With no goals scored after 120 minutes of play, the game went to spot-kicks and, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be Arsenal’s night. Both sides missed their opening penalties but then went on to score each of their next four, which meant sudden-death was necessary. Ricardo Arias scored Valencia’s sixth penalty before Graham Rix saw his effort saved. Valencia won the Cup.

Arsenal returned to the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1993-94 and went one step further than their previous appearance in the competition. Their run to the final included wins over Odense, Standard Liege, Torino and PSG. A particular highlight was a 7-0 away victory against Standard Liege. The run also spawned, or at least popularised, one of the most well known Arsenal chants, “One-nil to the Arsenal!”. The Gunners beat Torino and PSG by that scoreline to advance to the next round on each occasion. Though it was arguably never sung as loudly as it was in the Final in Copenhagen.

Italian side Parma were the opponents in the Final. They were the defending champions too, having beaten Royal Antwerp at Wembley a year earlier. The Parma attack was spearheaded by Gianfranco Zola and Faustino Asprilla – they both went on to play in the Premier League. But on the night, they were kept quiet by the Arsenal defence. The Gunners were without Jon Jensen, Martin Keown and, most notably, Ian Wright for the Final but prevailed thanks to a first-half Alan Smith goal. It ended up being the only goal of the night and Arsenal were victorious – “One-nil to the Arsenal!”

The Gunners competed in the Cup Winner’s Cup again the following season (1994-95) and were looking to become the first side to successfully defend the trophy. But for a freak goal, we may well have done it too…

Arsenal eased past Cypriot minnows Omonia in the first round before beating Danish side Brondby in round two. Auxerre were the quarter-final opponents and Arsenal advanced, 2-1 on aggregate. The semi-final saw Arsenal face Sampdoria and the tie finished 5-5 after two legs. It went to a penalty shoot-out in Genoa and the Gunners won it 3-2, setting up a meeting with Real Zaragoza in the Final.

The Final was played in the Parc de Princes in Paris. Arsenal were led by caretaker manager Stewart Houston, who’d taken charge following the sacking of George Graham in February 1995. The first goal didn’t come until the 68th minute when Juan Esnaider put Zaragoza in front. Their lead lasted less than 10 minutes though – John Hartson levelled it and the match went to extra time. It looked destined for penalties when Spanish midfielder Nayim (a former Tottenham player, to make matters even worse) hit a looping shot from 45 yards, catching out David Seaman and giving Zaragoza the lead with just seconds left in the match.

It was a sickening end to the competition for Arsenal but you can’t help but feel particularly bad for Ian Wright. He had missed the 1994 Final through suspension but was our best player throughout the 1994-95 campaign. He finished the competition as top scorer with 9 goals, scoring in every game except the Final.

European Super Cup

Up until 1999, the Cup Winners’ Cup champions would qualify to face the European Cup/Champions League champions in the UEFA Super Cup. In 1994, Arsenal faced Champions League winners AC Milan over two legs. It’s the only time Arsenal have played in the Super Cup.

Despite being billed as the 1994 Super Cup, the tie wasn’t played until February 1995 – some nine months after their respective European triumphs. The first leg was at Highbury and finished 0-0. Preparations for the game were overshadowed by violence at Milan’s domestic match against Genoa a few days earlier. Fans clashed before the game and Vincenzo Spagnolo, a Genoa supporter, was stabbed and died while receiving treatment. The Milan-Genoa match was ultimately suspended once news of Spagnolo’s death became known. Ahead of the Super Cup first leg, the teams observed a moment of silence. The game was also notable in that it featured the return of Paul Merson to the Arsenal side. He’d spent the previous three months in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction. Merson made a 15 minute substitute appearance in the game.

The second leg was played in Milan a week later. Paul Merson started the game for Arsenal but it was Milan who ended up victorious. They won it 2-0 on the night. The Milan side was coached by Fabio Capello at the time and featured the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi, Marcel Desailly and Paolo Di Canio. Victory meant Milan lifted the Super Cup for the third time. They’ve won it twice since then and are the joint-most successful side in the Super Cup along with Barcelona.

And that’s that…

Well, for now at least. Tomorrow I’ll be having a look at Arsenal in the UEFA Cup so be sure to come back and check that one out!