Continuing our series of looking to create the Greatest Ever Arsenal team we move onto Goalkeepers this week. There will be information about various keepers during the week and a vote on Saturday to determine Arsenal Arsenal’s number 1.

1. James Ashcroft: 1900–1908

James was our keeper for 8 seasons and played in 303 games.

Born in Liverpool he played his youth football with Wilbyn’s United FC, Anfield Recreation Club and Garston Copper Works, all in Liverpool. He began with Everton FC Amateurs in 1897 and joined Gravesend United FC in the 1899 close season.

In June, 1900 he was signed for the Gunners by Harry Bradshaw, our manager from 1899 to 1904. He was the first Gunner to keep goal for Arsenal in the top flight, the first to play international football for England, winning 3 caps, the first to play in over 300 games and the first to play in 8 consecutive seasons while starting in over 30 games each season.

He made his first-team debut in the third game of the 1900/1 season at Burton Swifts after which he didn’t miss a game for more than four years, playing in 154 consecutive games, before sitting out the trip to Blackburn in October 1904. From his first game on he only let in 26 goals in the next 34 games, including 17 clean sheets and six consecutive games without conceding a goal. In 1903/4 he let in 22 goals in 34 games including 20 clean sheets.

The 1904/05 season was the Club’s first in Division One after they had won promotion the previous May and Jimmy remained the regular No 1 as Arsenal secured a top -10 finish in the top flight.

He secured another Arsenal goalkeeping first in 1906 after starting the Club’s maiden FA Cup Semi-Final against Newcastle. Arsenal lost that game and suffered the same fate a year later when Sheffield Wednesday beat them at the same stage of the competition with Ashcroft again between the posts.

He passed away in 1943 aged 64.

2. Dan Lewis 1924-1931

Dan was our keeper for 7 years and played in 167 games

Dan was born in Maery, Glamorgan, and after playing for clubs in his area moved to Clapton Orient before joining Arsenal in 1924 he made his debut in a 3-2 victory over Everton in November that year.

Dan worked in the coal mines before taking up football and was a popular choice for Herbert Chapman; but was forced to fight for his place throughout. When Chapman arrived in 1925 he competed for the No. 1 shirt with Jock Robson and Bill Harper; eventually becoming the first choice keeper after they departed in 1926 and 1931 respectively.

The most infamous moment of Lewis’ Arsenal career was the 1927 FA Cup Final against Cardiff City at Wembley it was the Gunners’ first Cup final, which we lost 1-0 due to an error by Lewis. In the 74th minute, Cardiff striker Hughie Ferguson hit a tame shot straight at Lewis, who dived down to make what should have been a comfortable save. However, Lewis fumbled the ball as he gathered it, and it slipped between his body and the crook of his elbow; Lewis turned around and tried in vain to reclaim the ball but only succeeded in knocking it with his elbow into the back of the net.

Flickering Pathe newsreel footage shows Lewis, a hapless Chaplinesque figure in baggy shorts, go down on his knees to gather Ferguson’s shot, only for the ball to slip between his body and the crook of his elbow. As his calamity unfolds, in slow motion, the greasy leather ball appears to wriggle through his grasp like a slippery salmon.

On receiving his losers’ medal from King George V, a disgusted Lewis reportedly cried “This is not for me,” before flinging it as far as he could into the Wembley crowd. “According to legend, the entire Arsenal team went back out on to the pitch afterwards and got down on their hands and knees to look for it.” Years later Lewis’s Arsenal team-mate, Bob John, reflected: “Poor Dan. I don’t think he was ever the same again.”

Another version of the story is that Lewis’s son Dave, an Arsenal fan, has kept the solid gold artefact at his Hertfordshire home since his father’s death in 1965. “He said, it has a little dent in it possibly caused by my dad chucking it across the dressing room,” One wonders where the truth actually lies?

Lewis blamed his brand new jersey for the error, saying the wool was too greasy for him to grip the ball properly; since then, according to club legend, no Arsenal goalkeeper has played in a new jersey before it is washed first.

He remained the number one for another three seasons playing in 95 games. He missed out on playing in our 1930 FA Cup Final victory over Huddersfield (our first trophy) after getting injured in a game against Leicester City. He was transferred to Gillingham in 1927.

3. Frank Moss 1931-1937

Frank was our keeper for 6 years and played in 161 games.

He signed for Arsenal from Oldham Athletic in November 1931.

Moss immediately took the first-team keeper’s jersey from Charlie Preedy and was a near regular for the Gunners for the next four seasons; he won a hat-trick of First Division titles 1932-33, 1933-34 and 1934-35 he also played in the 1932 FA Cup Final which Arsenal lost to Newcastle United after a controversial equaliser from Jack Allen where the ball went behind the goal-line and out of play before being crossed back in for Allen to score.

Moss also played five times for England, making his debut on 14 April 1934 against Scotland at Wembley keeping a clean sheet as England won 3-0. His final match for England was the “Battle of Highbury” match against World Champions Italy on November 14th 1935 at Highbury, in which seven Arsenal players started the match; England won 3-2.

Moss is the only Arsenal goalkeeper to score in a first-class match. On 16 March 1935, in a First Division match against Everton, Moss dislocated his left shoulder; with no substitutes allowed in those days, Moss was forced to play the rest of the game on the left wing and incredibly, he scored Arsenal’s first goal in a 2-0 win.

4. George Swindin: 1936– 1954

George played in 297 games over an 18 year career, which included WW11.

Swindin was born in Campsall, Doncastor, and Yorkshire. He played as an amateur for various local clubs, turning professional in 1934 with Bradford City where he played 26 times before being signed by Arsenal in 1936 for £4,000. He played seventeen games in 1937-38 the most of Arsenal’s three keepers, and won a First Division medal.

WW11 interrupted his career somewhat, but Swindin continued to play through the war for Arsenal, whilst acting as a PT instructor for the Army.

By the time first-class football had resumed after the war, he became Arsenal’s undisputed No. 1, and stayed there for the next six seasons. He was a commanding keeper who was especially known for his aerial ability and assured handling of crosses, as well as his strong physical resilience. He won his second League title in 1947-48 he also played in two FA Cup finals; winning against Liverpool in 1950 but losing to Newcastle in 1952.

By 1952-53 he was beginning to show his age, and another talented keeper, the Welshman Jack Kelsey took his first-team place. Nevertheless, George in played 14 matches that season as Arsenal won the title again, giving him his third Championship winner’s medal.

Despite his excellent form for Arsenal, he was never capped by England.

Written by GunnerN5 and compiled by Gooner in Exile