Neill was recruited by the Arsenal board to replace Bertie Mee on 9 July 1976 and at the age of 34 he became the youngest Arsenal manager to date. With new signings like Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Jennings, and a crop of talent in the side such as Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton, the club enjoyed their best form since the 1971 double, reaching a trio of FA Cup finals (1978, 1979 and 1980).
Arsenal lost the other two FA Cup finals that Neill guided the club to, but were victorious in the 1979 final, with the Gunners winning 3–2 against Manchester United in one of the most exhilarating endings to an FA Cup final in history. In the 86th minute, Arsenal were leading 2–0. United scored two late goals to equalise. With the game poised for extra time, Alan Sunderland scored a last-minute winner for Arsenal to end the match 3–2.[3]
In 1979, Neill came close, but was unsuccessful in his attempt to pull off a major transfer coup for Arsenal by signing Diego Maradona as a highly rated teenager from Argentinos Juniors.[4] Neill also wanted to sign midfielder Glenn Hoddle from Spurs, but Hoddle had reservations about moving across North London to join his team's arch rival. Hoddle later said: "I don't think my brother would have ever spoken to me again if I had joined Arsenal."[5]
Neill guided Arsenal to the 1980 final of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In the semi-final against Juventus, Arsenal drew 1–1 in the first leg at Highbury, and were expected to have a formidable task in the second leg in Turin. But a late goal two minutes from time by Arsenal's teenage substitute Paul Vaessen gave Arsenal a 1–0 away victory and a 2–1 aggregate win. It was the first time Juventus had lost to a British team on home soil.[6] In the final, Arsenal lost on penalties to Valencia in front of 40,000 people at Heysel Stadium.[7]
Arsenal's success in cup competitions could not be matched in the league. The retirement of Malcolm Macdonald at the premature age of 29 due to a knee injury, and the departures of stars such as Brady and Stapleton, hampered Arsenal's league title ambitions.
In the 1980–81 season, Neill guided Arsenal to a third-place finish in the final table – the closest in 10 years that they had come to winning the league title.[8] In the 1981–82 season, Arsenal finished fifth in the league.
Neill's 1982 summer signing of striker Lee Chapman from Stoke City for £500,000 was not a success, with Chapman scoring just 4 goals in 23 appearances for Arsenal before being sold to Sunderland for £200,000. In the 1982–83 season, Arsenal reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup and the League Cup, but lost both semi-finals to Manchester United.
In June 1983, Neill signed striker Charlie Nicholas, from Celtic for £800,000. Liverpool and Manchester United had also been keen to buy Nicholas, who had scored an impressive total of 50 goals in all competitions for Celtic in the 1982–83 season. Nicholas reportedly became the highest paid footballer in Britain after his move to Arsenal, and later became a cult figure at the club.[9][10]
After being given an improved three-year contract at the start of the 1983–84 season, Neill was sacked by Arsenal on 16 December 1983. The dismissal was a decision which club chairman Peter Hill-Wood had reportedly agonised over.[11][12] Neill subsequently retired from football when only 41 years old.
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