Former Arsenal manager Terry Neill has died aged 80, the Premier League club announced Thursday.
His seven-season spell as manager of the Gunners was best known for the north London club reaching three successive FA Cup finals in 1978, 1979 and 1980.
Either side of losing to Ipswich and West Ham at Wembley, Arsenal defeated Manchester United in the 1979 showpiece, the so-called ‘five-minute’ final where a flurry of late goals saw Arsenal win 3-2.
A former Arsenal player, Northern Ireland midfielder Neill became the club’s youngest captain when appointed to the role as a 20-year-old by England great Billy Wright.
He left Arsenal in 1970 and after a managerial career that included a brief stint in charge of arch-rivals Tottenham, returned to Highbury in 1976 to succeed Double-winning boss Bertie Mee.
Under Neill, Arsenal also reached the 1980 European Cup Winners’ Cup final, where they were beaten on penalties by Valencia, before he was replaced by former assistant Don Howe three years later.
