The 1930–31 season was Arsenal's 12th consecutive season in the top division of English football. After winning the FA Cup the previous term, they claimed their first Division 1 title this season, finishing seven points clear of

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. Arsenal failed to retain the FA Cup, losing to Chelsea in the fourth round, but won the Charity Shield against

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an off ...

in October 1930. Arsenal's top scorer in the league was Jack Lambert, who scored 38 league goals and 39 times overall. The club earned 66 points from 42 league matches, with 28 wins, 10 draws and 4 losses. Arsenal started the season well, winning the opening two matches 4–1 away from home, and won the first five league matches, and remained unbeaten for the first nine, before beating league champions

2–1 in the Charity Shield. They then suffered their first defeat of the season, 4–2, at

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club in Derby, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English football league system. One of the 12 founder members of the English Football ...

, before making up for it with a 5–2 win over challengers Aston Villa nearly a month later. In December Arsenal beat

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

7–1 to finish 1930 on a high. The following month they beat Aston Villa after a replay in the FA Cup third round, though the cup run ended in the next round at Chelsea. Arsenal then claimed their biggest-ever league win at Highbury in a 9-1 annihilation of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, with

David Jack David Bone Nightingale Jack (3 April 1898 – 10 September 1958) was an English footballer who played as an inside forward. He scored 267 goals from 490 appearances in the Football League playing for Plymouth Argyle, Bolton Wanderers and Arsen ...

hitting four and Jack Lambert grabbing a hat-trick. A 7–2 win at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

and a 6–3 victory over Derby County helped Arsenal in their title charge, but were stopped in their tracks on 14 March in a 5–1 loss at

. Nonetheless, a 3–1 win over

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

on 18 April ensured Arsenal won the league for the first of thirteen times in their history.

Results

''Arsenal's score comes first''

Legend

Football League First Division

Final League table

FA Cup

References