Bob McNab

Who is Bob McNab?

Robert "Bob" McNab is an English former footballer.

McNab started out at his local club, Huddersfield Town, playing nearly seventy times in three seasons. He was signed by Bertie Mee for Arsenal in October 1966, and immediately won a place in the Arsenal side, making his debut against Leeds United on 15 October 1968 and at the 1969 Football League Cup Final final.

McNab made his debut for England on 6 November 1968 against Romania; McNab made four appearances in all for England, but never became a regular. However, he certainly had success domestically, winning the 1969-70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and then the Double in 1970-71. A stalwart in the back line alongside Pat Rice and Frank McLintock, McNab played 62 matches in Arsenal's double-winning season, missing just two games.

McNab continued to play through much of the early 1970s for Arsenal, including the FA Cup final loss to Leeds United in 1972; however he missed much of the 1971-72 season due to injury. This was referenced in the film Fever Pitch, when Paul Ashworth correctly predicts part of the lineup for the FA Cup Semifinal between Arsenal and Stoke City, on neutral ground at Villa Park in Birmingham: "McNab won't play. Bertie Mee wouldn't risk him."