17 February 1940 - Highbury Hits The Silver Screen

On 17 February 1940, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery opened in theaters across Britain. Directed by influential English filmmaker Thorold Dickinson, the movie was one of the first to include football in a prominent role.

The story follows Inspector Anthony Slade (played by Leslie Banks) as he attempts to solve the murder of a football player who died from poisoning while his amateur side, the fictitious Trojans, were playing a friendly against Arsenal at Highbury. The movie was actually filmed at Highbury, with several Arsenal players, including forward Cliff Bastin and full back Eddie Hapgood, playing parts. But of all the Gunners players and staff to appear in the film, only manager George Allison (pictured) had a speaking role.

To film scenes of the match between Arsenal and the Trojans, Dickinson shot footage of an actual league match between the Gunners and Brentford, played on 6 May 1939. In order to double as the Trojans, the Brentford players wore a special striped kit for the occasion.

The actual match ended as a 2-0 win for Arsenal. It was the last match for either side before the league suspended football for the duration of World War Two.

14 November 1934 - The Battle Of Highbury

On 14 November 1934, England defeated Italy 3-2 before a crowd of 56,000 at Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, London. Ostensibly a "friendly," the match was a violent affair, resulting in several injuries, including broken bones, earning it the nickname "The Battle of Highbury."

The match generated a lot of excitement, pitting World Cup-holders Italy against traditionally strong England. The Three Lions had not participated in the 1934 World Cup and viewed the match as an opportunity to stake their claim as the world's best side. Similarly, Italy sought to solidify their status as world champions. Prime Minister Benito Mussolini reportedly offered the Italian players a victory bounty including a car and the equivalent of £150 if they beat the English team.

Italy got off to a rough start, as center half Luis Monti suffered a broken foot after a challenge by England center forward Ted Drake in the second minute and had to leave the pitch. At that time, the rules did not allow for substitutions, so Italy played the remainder of the match with 10 men.

Monti's injury sparked retaliation by the Italians and English full back Eddie Hapgood received a broken nose, while outside left Eric Brook had his arm broken. Nevertheless, England took a 3-0 lead into the break with goals from Brook (3', 10') and Drake (12').

Despite being down a man, Italy fought back in the second half with a brace from inside forward Giuseppe Meazza (58', 62'). He came to close to completing a hat-trick, but his potential equalizer hit the woodwork and the match ended 3-2.

In addition to providing a dramatic display of international football, the match set an English record by including seven starters from Arsenal--the first (and to date, only) time the English national team started seven players from the same club.

6 September 1913 - Say "Hi" To Highbury

On 6 September 1913, Arsenal defeated Leicester Fosse 2-1 on the first day of the 1913-14 Second Division season. It was the first match played at the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury.

In that match, Leicester's Tommy Benfield scored the first Highbury goal, while George Jobey was the first Arsenal player to score there.

Highbury was designed by renowned architect Archibald Leitch and was built at a cost of £125,000. Leitch's original design included only one stand on the east side, with banked terraces on the other three sides. The stadium was redesigned twice--once in the 1930s and again in 1992. The earlier renovations added the West Stand and roofing over the North Terrace, while the later renovations converted the stadium into an all-seater in the aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster.

The last match at Highbury was played on 7 May 2006, a 4-2 Arsenal Premier League victory over Wigan, as the Gunners moved to a new stadium for the 2006-07 season. Over the course of its service, Highbury hosted 2,101 competitive Arsenal matches and 12 England matches.

It also featured prominently in two films--The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939) and Fever Pitch (1997).