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Neill and Howe's mixed fortunes (1976–86)

Under Neill, Arsenal moved back into the top half of the table, inspired in part by the emergence of Irish superstar Liam Brady. Brady formed part of a large Irish contingent at Highbury, which included Pat Rice, Frank Stapleton, Pat Jennings and the young David O'Leary. Although they could not challenge the League dominance of Liverpool at the time, towards the end of the decade they proved their mettle in the FA Cup. Arsenal reached three finals in a row (1978, 1979, and 1980), but won only one, the 1979 final against Manchester United. Largely inspired by Brady, Arsenal went 2-0 up through Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and looked to be coasting to victory; with five minutes to go, United scored twice in quick succession to level the match. Extra time loomed, but Alan Sunderland converted Graham Rix's cross in injury time to secure a famous 3-2 win.

The next season, 1979-80, proved to be cruel as Arsenal played a record-breaking 70 matches and reached two cup finals, only to end the season empty-handed. Arsenal were favourites to beat Second Division West Ham United in the FA Cup final, but lost 1-0 to a Trevor Brooking header. Meanwhile, they had also reached the Cup Winners' Cup final against Valencia, after Paul Vaessen's goal had given them a famous victory over Juventus in the semi-finals; the final finished goalless and Arsenal lost on penalties, with Brady and Rix missing from the spot.

Liam Brady left Arsenal for Juventus in the summer of 1980, and the team entered another barren period. They continued to finish in the top four at the start of the eighties, though Arsenal were never title challengers, and could not rediscover their FA Cup form either; their best season was when they reached both cup semi-finals in 1982-83, only to be knocked out in both by Manchester United.

Towards the end of Neill's tenure, he fell out with several senior players; team spirit was at a low as the squad split into factions. In addition many of his signings, such as Charlie Nicholas, tended to be disappointing flops. Neill was sacked in December 1983 after a poor start to the 1983-84 season, which included a shock defeat in the League Cup at the hands of Walsall.

Don Howe, a long-time servant of the club, succeeded Neill but he could not get the side anywhere near a trophy either. Although Arsenal were never terrible (finishing sixth and seventh) under Howe, the fans were getting increasingly disillusioned with the club's muddling performances and attendances started to dip beneath 20,000. In March 1986, after hearing rumours he was to be replaced by Terry Venables, Howe resigned.