This is the first of a series of five Arsenal Vintage posts bringing you a four-decade collection of striking images featuring some of the club’s great (and not-so-great) players. Click any of the images to open the gallery.

This particular post spans the 1950s and the first half of the 1960s, a somewhat mixed decade for the club. Achieved under the stewardship of Tom Whittaker, title wins in 1948 and 1953 and an FA Cup success in 1950 suggested the club was set for another golden era to match its 1930s heyday. It wasn’t to be though and as the 1950s advanced, Arsenal would fall away towards a lengthy and barren spell of mediocrity.