Arsenal F.C.
Encyclopedia
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cup
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
s. Arsenal holds the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and is the only side to have completed a Premier League season unbeaten
The Invincibles (football)
In English football, "The Invincibles" has been used to refer to either the Preston North End team of the 1880s, or the Arsenal team of the 2003–04 season...
.
Arsenal was founded in 1886 in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
and in 1893 became the first club from the south of England to join the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. In 1913, it moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
in Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
. In the 1930s the club won five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years it won the League and FA Cup Double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
, in the 1970–71 season
1970-71 in English football
The 1970–71 season was the 91st season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Arsenal won the league championship at the end of a season which would soon be followed by their FA Cup final tie with Liverpool. Arsenal secured the league title at White Hart Lane, the home of bitter rivals...
, and in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century won two more Doubles and reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...
.
Arsenal has a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, with whom it regularly contests the North London derby
North London derby
The North London derby is the name of the football local derby between the two major teams in North London – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.-History:...
. Arsenal is also the third most valuable Association football club in the world as of 2010, valued at $1.2 billion.
History
Royal Arsenal
The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...
in Woolwich, south-east London, and was renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. The club was renamed again to Woolwich Arsenal after becoming a limited company
Limited company
A limited company is a company in which the liability of the members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by shares or by guarantee. And the former of these, a limited company limited by shares, may be...
in 1893. The club became the first southern member of the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
in 1893, starting out in the Second Division
Football League Second Division
From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
, and won promotion to the First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
in 1904. The club's relative geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall. Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
in Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year. Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but were nevertheless elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
, by reportedly dubious means.
Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...
as manager in 1925. Having already won the league twice with Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town F.C.
Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
in 1923–24 and 1924–25 (see Seasons in English football), Chapman brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as Alex James
Alex James (footballer)
Alexander Wilson James was a Scottish footballer, and is most noted for his success with Arsenal, where he is regarded as one of the club's greatest players of all time. James played as an inside forward, as a supporting player for the main strikers...
and Cliff Bastin
Cliff Bastin
Clifford Sydney Bastin was an English football player.Born in Heavitree near Exeter, Bastin started his career at Exeter City, making his debut for the club in 1928, at the age of 16...
, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s. Under his guidance Arsenal won their first major trophies – victory in the 1930 FA Cup Final
1930 FA Cup Final
The 1930 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals from Alex James and Jack Lambert...
preceded two League Championships, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In addition, Chapman was behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal
Arsenal tube station
Arsenal tube station is a London Underground station located in Highbury, London. It is on the Piccadilly Line, in Travelcard Zone 2, between Holloway Road and Finsbury Park. Originally known as Gillespie Road, it was renamed in 1932 after Arsenal Football Club, who at the time played at the nearby...
", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.
Chapman died suddenly of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in early 1934, leaving Joe Shaw and George Allison
George Allison
George Frederick Allison was an English football journalist, broadcaster and manager. He was the BBC's first sports commentator and Arsenal's second longest serving manager.-Journalism career:...
to carry on his successful work. Under their guidance, Arsenal won three more titles, in 1933–34, 1934–35 and 1937–38, and the 1936 FA Cup
1936 FA Cup Final
The 1936 FA Cup Final was a football match between by Arsenal and Sheffield United on 25 April 1936 at Wembley. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 64th Cup final, and the fourteenth at Wembley.Each team received a...
. As key players retired, Arsenal had started to fade by the decade's end, and then the intervention of the Second World War meant competitive professional football in England was suspended.
After the war, Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success under Allison's successor Tom Whittaker
Tom Whittaker (footballer)
Thomas James "Tom" Whittaker MBE was an English football player, trainer and manager, chiefly associated with Arsenal Football Club...
, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1950. Their fortunes waned thereafter; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. Even former England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.
Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee
Bertie Mee
Bertram "Bertie" Mee OBE was an English football player and manager, noted for managing Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971. He was the younger brother of fellow footballer Georgie Mee.-Early life:...
as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
finals, they won their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
in 1970–71
1970-71 in English football
The 1970–71 season was the 91st season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Arsenal won the league championship at the end of a season which would soon be followed by their FA Cup final tie with Liverpool. Arsenal secured the league title at White Hart Lane, the home of bitter rivals...
. This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals, in 1972, 1978 and 1980, and lost the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
in the 1979 FA Cup Final
1979 FA Cup Final
The 1979 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 12 May 1979 at Wembley Stadium. The match was contested by Arsenal and Manchester United. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever finishes in an FA Cup final. For over 85 minutes the game had been unremarkable, with Arsenal taking...
, widely regarded as a classic.
The return of former player George Graham
George Graham (footballer)
George Graham is a Scottish former football player and manager. He is best remembered for his success at Arsenal, as a player in the 1970s and then as manager from 1986 until 1995.-Early life:...
as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1986–87, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1988–89, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season
Liverpool 0–2 Arsenal (26 May 1989)
The final match of the 1988–89 English Football League season was contested on 26 May 1989, between Liverpool and Arsenal, at Liverpool's Anfield ground. By sheer coincidence, it was the match between the top two teams in the First Division and the teams were close enough on points for the match to...
against fellow title challengers Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, won the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993, and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994. Graham's reputation was tarnished when he was found to have taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge
Rune Hauge
Rune Hauge is a Norwegian football agent.In English football, Hauge is best known as the agent who represented John Jensen and Pål Lydersen during their transfers to Arsenal in the early 1990s. This would lead to Arsenal manager George Graham becoming embroiled in allegations that Hauge paid him a...
for signing certain players, and he was dismissed in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch
Bruce Rioch
Bruce David Rioch is an English-born football manager and former player. He was manager of Aalborg BK in the Danish Superliga, until his sacking on 23 October 2008....
, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
as manager. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray
Galatasaray S.K. (football team)
Galatasaray Anonim Şirketi is a Turkish football club, part of the Galatasaray S.K. multi-sport club of Istanbul. Galatasaray is a major sports club in Turkey, holding 17 Turkish Super League titles and the highest number of Turkish Cups....
), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles
The Invincibles (football)
In English football, "The Invincibles" has been used to refer to either the Preston North End team of the 1880s, or the Arsenal team of the 2003–04 season...
". The club went 49 league matches unbeaten in that season, a national record
Football records in England
This page details football records in England. Unless otherwise stated, records are taken from the Football League or Premier League. Where a different record exists for the top flight , this is also given.-League:Records in this section refer to The Football League and the Premier...
.
Arsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first eleven seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title. As of March 2011, they were one of only four teams, the others being Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers F.C.
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. The team currently competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football....
and Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992. Arsenal had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
until 2005–06; in that season they became the first club from London in the competition's fifty-year history to reach the final
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...
, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
. In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium
Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...
, after 93 years at Highbury.
Arsenal reached the final of the 2007 and 2011 League Cup final, losing 2-1 to Chelsea and Birmingham City repsectively. The club has not gained a major trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.
Crest
Unveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first crest featured three cannonCannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
s viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich
Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich
The Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich was a Metropolitan borough in the County of London from 1900 to 1965.-Formation:The borough was formed from the civil parishes :*Eltham *Plumstead...
. These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel
Cascabel (artillery)
A cascabel is a subassembly of a muzzle loading cannon - a place to attach arresting ropes to deal with the recoil of firing the cannon.Generally comprising the knob and the neck , with particular models also featuring a filet . By some definitions, the cascabel additionally includes the base of...
on each are clear indicators that they are cannon. This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, The Gunners, inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.
Blackletter
Blackletter, also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura, was a script used throughout Western Europe from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century. Fraktur is a notable script of this type, and sometimes...
, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington
Metropolitan Borough of Islington
The Metropolitan Borough of Islington was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury to form the London Borough of Islington.-Boundaries:...
and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly-adopted Latin motto
Motto
A motto is a phrase meant to formally summarize the general motivation or intention of a social group or organization. A motto may be in any language, but Latin is the most used. The local language is usual in the mottoes of governments...
, Victoria Concordia Crescit "victory comes from harmony", coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer. For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green.
Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
it. Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise, Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable. The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif
Sans-serif
In typography, a sans-serif, sans serif or san serif typeface is one that does not have the small projecting features called "serifs" at the end of strokes. The term comes from the French word sans, meaning "without"....
typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.
Until the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
of the club's initials in red on a white background.
The monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors. From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname "The Gunners", in the 1990s.
In the 2011–2012 season, Arsenal will celebrate their 125th year anniversary. The celebrations will include a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season. The crest is all white, surrounded by 15 oak leaves to the right and 15 laurel leaves to the left. The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub. The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club. The laurel leaves also represent strength.To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto "Forward" at the bottom of the crest.
Colours
For much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley
Fred Beardsley
Frederick William Beardsley was an English footballer, chiefly associated with the foundation of Arsenal Football Club.Born at Nottingham, Beardsley started working in a government munitions factory. In his spare time he was a keen goalkeeper, and played for Nottingham Forest as an amateur...
and Morris Bates
Morris Bates
Joseph Morris Bates , usually known as Morris Bates, was an English footballer.Bates first played as an amateur for Nottingham Forest, before moving south to London to take up work at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich...
, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball. The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and blue socks.
In 1933, Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box
Pillar box
A pillar box is a free-standing post box. They are found in the United Kingdom and in most former nations of the British Empire, members of the Commonwealth of Nations and British overseas territories, such as the Republic of Ireland, Australia, India and Gibraltar...
red. Two possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the white sleeves. One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster
Tom Webster (cartoonist)
Gilbert Thomas Webster was a British cartoonist and caricaturist.Born in Bilston, West Midlands, Webster specialised in sporting cartoons. He originally worked in a railway booking office and taught himself to draw. In 1904 he won a newspaper cartoon contest, and this started off his career in...
, with whom Chapman played golf.
Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts; this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the next season. In the 2008–09 season, Arsenal replaced the traditional all-white sleeves with red sleeves with a broad white stripe.
Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs. In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time; in 1938, Hibernian
Hibernian F.C.
Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...
adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip. In 1920, Sporting Clube de Braga's manager returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit to a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of Os Arsenalistas. These teams still wear these designs to this day.
For many years Arsenal's away colours were white shirts and either black or white shorts. Since the 1969–70 season, they have worn yellow and blue, but there have been exceptions. They wore a green and navy away kit in 1982–83, and since the early 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly. During this period the designs have been either two-tone blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season, and the yellow and dark grey used from 2005 to 2007.
As of 2009, the away kit is changed every season, and the outgoing away kit becomes the third-choice kit if a new home kit is being introduced in the same year.
Arsenal's shirts have been made by manufacturers including Bukta
Bukta
- History :Edward Buck and Sons founded the company in 1879, mainly producing shorts for soldiers fighting in the Boer Wars. In 1884 football team Nottingham Forest were pictured wearing kit produced by Bukta....
(from the 1930s until the early 1970s), Umbro
Umbro
Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
(from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
(1986–1994), and Nike
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
(since 1994). Like those of most other major football clubs, Arsenal's shirts have featured sponsors' logos since the 1980s; sponsors include JVC
JVC
, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
(1982–1999), Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
(1999–2002), O2 (2002–2006), and Emirates (from 2006).
Stadiums
Manor Ground, Plumstead
The Manor Ground in Plumstead, south east London was a football stadium which, between 1888 & 1890, and 1893 & 1913, was the home of the football club formerly known as Royal Arsenal, renamed Woolwich Arsenal in 1893, and later simply Arsenal F.C...
in Plumstead
Plumstead
Plumstead is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. Plumstead is a multi cultural area with large Asian and Afro-Caribbean communities, in similarity to local areas such as Woolwich and Thamesmead...
, apart from a three-year period at the nearby Invicta Ground
Invicta Ground
The Invicta Ground was a football stadium in Plumstead, south-east London, that was the home of Royal Arsenal between 1890 and 1893....
between 1890 and 1893. The Manor Ground was initially just a field, until the club installed stands and terracing
Terrace (stadium)
A terrace or terracing in sporting terms refers to the traditional standing area of a sports stadium, particularly in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in the 1894–95 season), until the move to north London in 1913.
Widely referred to as Highbury, Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium
Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, North London, which was the home ground of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006...
was the club's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch
Archibald Leitch
Archibald "Offside Archie" Leitch was a Scottish architect, most famous for his work designing football stadia throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-Early work:...
, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing. The entire stadium was given a massive overhaul in the 1930s: new Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
West and East stands were constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and a roof was added to the North Bank terrace, which was bombed during the Second World War and not restored until 1954.
Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators at its peak, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Report
Taylor Report
The Hillsborough Stadium Disaster Inquiry report, better known as the Taylor Report is a document, whose development was overseen by Lord Taylor of Gosforth, concerning the aftermath and causes of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. An interim report was published in August 1989, and the final...
and Premier League regulations obliged Arsenal to convert Highbury to an all-seater stadium
All-seater stadium
An all-seater stadium is a sports stadium in which every spectator has a seat. This is commonplace in football stadiums in nations such as the United Kingdom, Spain, and the Netherlands. Most soccer and American football stadiums in the United States and Canada are all-seaters, as are most baseball...
in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators. This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
matches to accommodate additional advertising boards, so much so that for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000, Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.
After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,361-capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove, since renamed the Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium
Ashburton Grove, currently known as the Emirates Stadium, is a UEFA elite football stadium which is home to Arsenal FC, where they moved from Highbury in 2006. It has an current capacity of 60,361, and there have been rumours of an expansion...
, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury.
The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs,
and construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season.
The stadium was named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth around £100 million;
some fans referred to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they did not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names.
The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2012, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season. From the start of the 2010–11 season on, the stands of the stadium have been officially known as North Bank, East Stand, West Stand and Clock end.
Arsenal's players train at the Shenley Training Centre
Shenley Training Centre
The Shenley Training Centre is the state-of-art training ground of the Premier League club Arsenal FC. Located in Shenley, Hertfordshire, the multi-million pound project opened in 1999...
in Hertfordshire, a purpose-built facility which opened in 1999. Before that the club used facilities on a nearby site owned by the University College of London Students' Union
University College London Union
University College London Union , founded in 1893, has a credible claim to be England's oldest students' union. It was formed with the following objectives: "the promotion of social intercourse and of the means of recreation, physical and mental, of the students of University College, and the...
. Until 1961 they had trained at Highbury. Arsenal's Academy under-18
Arsenal F.C. Academy
Arsenal Football Club Academy are the youth team of Arsenal Football Club. They currently play in the FA Premier Academy League, the highest level of youth football in England...
teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the reserves
Arsenal F.C. Reserves
Arsenal Reserves are the reserve team of Arsenal Football Club.They have been members of the FA Premier Reserve League Southern Division since its foundation in 1999. They play their home games at Underhill Stadium, which is also the home of Barnet FC. The team mainly consists of Under-21 players...
play their games at Underhill
Underhill Stadium
Underhill is the home of Barnet F.C. It is situated in Barnet in the London Borough of Barnet and has a capacity of 6,200. The stadium is famous for its slope from the North to South end. It is also used for Arsenal reserve games....
, home of Barnet
Barnet F.C.
Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....
.
Supporters
Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". The fanbase is large and generally loyal, and virtually all home matches sell out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity), and as of 2006, the fourth-highest all-time average attendance. The club's location, adjoining wealthy areas such as CanonburyCanonbury
Canonbury is a residential district in the London Borough of Islington in the north of London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road....
and Barnsbury
Barnsbury
Barnsbury is an area of north London in the London Borough of Islington, in the N1 postal districts.The name is a corruption of villa de Iseldon Berners , being so called after the Berners family: powerful medieval manorial lords who gained ownership of a large part of Islington after the Norman...
, mixed areas such as Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, Holloway
Holloway, London
Holloway is an inner-city district in the London Borough of Islington located north of Charing Cross and follows for the most part, the line of the Holloway Road . At the centre of Holloway is the Nag's Head area...
, Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
, and largely working-class areas such as Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park, London
Finsbury Park is an area in north London, England which grew up around an important railway interchange at the junction of the London Boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney...
and Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides.
Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which works closely with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line. The Arsenal Supporters' Trust
Arsenal Supporters' Trust
The Arsenal Supporters' Trust is the official supporters' trust of Arsenal Football Club, as recognised by Supporters Direct. The group, like other supporters' trusts, seeks to strengthen the influence of supporters over the destiny of their clubs through democratic supporter ownership.-History and...
promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans. The club's supporters also publish fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s such as The Gooner, Highbury High, Gunflash and the less cerebral Up The Arse!. In addition to the usual English football chant
Football chant
A football chant or terrace chant, is a song or chant sung at association football matches. They can be historic, dating back to the formation of the club, adaptations of popular songs, or spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch. They are one of the last remaining sources of an oral folk song...
s, supporters sing "One-Nil to the Arsenal" (to the tune of "Go West
Go West (song)
"Go West" is a song by the 1970s disco group Village People. The song eventually found greater success when it was covered in 1993 by the synthpop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Village People version:...
") and "Boring, Boring Arsenal", which used to be a common taunt from opposition fans but is now sung ironically by Arsenal supporters when the team is playing well.
There have always been Arsenal supporters outside of London, and since the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; in 2007, 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 other overseas supporters clubs were affiliated with the club. A 2005 report by Granada Ventures, which at the time owned a 9.9% stake in the club, estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 27 million.
Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
; matches between the two are referred to as North London derbies
North London derby
The North London derby is the name of the football local derby between the two major teams in North London – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.-History:...
. Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
and West Ham United
West Ham United F.C.
West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Upton Park, Newham, East London. They play in The Football League Championship. The club was founded in 1895 as Thames Ironworks FC and reformed in 1900 as West Ham United. In 1904 the club relocated to their current...
. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
developed a strong on-pitch rivalry in the late 1980s, which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title – so much so that a 2003 online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea. A 2008 poll listed the Tottenham rivalry as more important.
Ownership and finances
Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quotedFinancial quote
A financial quotation refers to specific market data relating to a security or commodity. While the term quote specifically refers to the bid price or ask price of an instrument, it may be more generically used to relate to the last price which the security traded at...
public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
, whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,217 shares in Arsenal have been issued, and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE
FTSE Group
FTSE Group is a world-leader in the provision of global index and analytical solutions. FTSE calculates indices across a wide range of asset classes, on both a standard and custom basis...
or AIM
Alternative Investment Market
AIM is a sub-market of the London Stock Exchange, allowing smaller companies to float shares with a more flexible regulatory system than is applicable to the main market....
; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on PLUS (AFC), a specialist market. At 31 August 2010, a single share in Arsenal had a mid price
Mid price
In financial markets, the mid price is the price between the best price of the sellers of the stock or commodity offer price or ask price and the best price of the buyers of the stock or commodity bid price...
of £10,250, which set the club's market capitalisation value at approximately £637.74m. The club made a pre-tax operating profit (excluding player transfers) of £62.7m in the year ending 31 May 2009, from a turnover of £313.3m.
In April 2010, business magazine Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
ranked Arsenal as the third most valuable football team in the world, after Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
and Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, valuing the club at $1.181bn (£768m), excluding debt.
The largest shareholder on the Arsenal board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who launched a bid for the club in 2007, and in November 2009 increased his holding to 18,594 shares (29.9%).
A rival bid to Kroenke's came from Red & White Securities, which is co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Usmanov
Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov is an Uzbek-born Russian businessman.According to the 2011 edition of Forbes magazine, the oligarch is one of Russia's richest men, with a fortune estimated at US$17.7 billion, and the world's 35th richest person.Usmanov is married and is a graduate of Moscow State...
and London-based financier Farhad Moshiri
Farhad Moshiri (businessman)
Ardavan Farhad Moshiri is a British Iranian businessman and investor, based in London. Moshiri owns and has shares in numerous steel and energy companies in Britain and Russia....
. Red & White launched its bid in August 2007, buying the stake held by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein
David Dein
David Barry Dein is the former vice-chairman of Arsenal Football Club and former vice-chairman of the Football Association. He was also the President of the G-14 group of European football clubs between October 2006 and May 2007 and has sat on various committees within FIFA and UEFA including...
, and as at February 2009 owned 15,555 shares (25.0%) in the club. This led to press speculation of a bidding war between Kroenke and Usmanov. However, Kroenke agreed not to purchase more than 29.9% of the club until at least September 2009, while the rest of the board have first option on each others' shares until October 2012.
In April 2011, Stan Kroenke was rumoured to be in "advanced talks" with Arsenal over a possible takeover.
As of October 2011, Kroenke owns 41,574 shares (66.82%) and Red & White Securities own 18,261 shares (29.35%). Under company law Kroenke, as majority shareholder, is obliged to make an offer for the remaining shares in the club.
Kit manufacturers
- 1930s–1970: BuktaBukta- History :Edward Buck and Sons founded the company in 1879, mainly producing shorts for soldiers fighting in the Boer Wars. In 1884 football team Nottingham Forest were pictured wearing kit produced by Bukta....
- 1971–1986: UmbroUmbroUmbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment...
- 1986–1994: AdidasAdidasAdidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
- 1994–present: Nike
Shirt sponsors
- 1981–1999: JVCJVC, usually referred to as JVC, is a Japanese international consumer and professional electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927...
- 1999–2002: Dreamcast (1st and 3rd shirts) & SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
(2nd shirt) - 2002–2006: O2O2 (United Kingdom)Telefónica UK Limited is a telecommunications, internet and financial services provider in the United Kingdom owned by Telefónica, forming part of its Telefónica Europe division...
- 2006 – present: Fly Emirates
In popular culture
Arsenal have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield UnitedSheffield United F.C.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production...
was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.; A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first football match in the world to be televised live.Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's Match of the Day
Match of the Day
Match of the Day is the BBC's main football television programme. Typically, it is shown on BBC One on Saturday evenings during the English football season, showing highlights of the day's matches in English football's top division, the Premier League...
, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield
Anfield
Anfield is an association football stadium in the district of Anfield, Liverpool, England, with a seating capacity of 45,522. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892 and was originally the home of Everton F.C. from 1884 to 1892, before they moved to Goodison Park...
on 22 August 1964. BSkyB
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
's coverage of Arsenal's January 2010 match against Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
was the first live public broadcast of a sports event on 3D television
3D television
A 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D-plus-depth, and a 3D display – a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field.- History :In the late-1890's,...
.
As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in the arts in Britain. They formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related films, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery is a 1939 British mystery film, and is one of the first feature films where football is a central element in the plot....
(1939). The film centres on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned while playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves and manager George Allison
George Allison
George Frederick Allison was an English football journalist, broadcaster and manager. He was the BBC's first sports commentator and Arsenal's second longest serving manager.-Journalism career:...
was given a speaking part. More recently, the book Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch: A Fan's Life is the title of a 1992 autobiographical book by British author Nick Hornby. The book is the basis for two films: Fever Pitch was released in 1997, and Fever Pitch in 2005...
by Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s. The book was twice adapted for the cinema – the 1997 British film
Fever Pitch (1997 film)
Fever Pitch is a 1997 film starring Colin Firth based loosely on the book of the same name by Nick Hornby.-Synopsis:Hornby adapted the book for the screen and fictionalized the story, concentrating on Arsenal's First Division championship-winning season in 1988-89 and its effect on the...
focuses on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win, and a 2005 American version
Fever Pitch (2005 film)
Fever Pitch, which was released as The Perfect Catch outside of the United States and Canada, is a 2005 Farrelly brothers romantic comedy film. It is a remake of a 1997 British film of the same name. Both films are loosely based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name, a best-selling memoir in...
features a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
.
Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....
and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe
Eric Morecambe
John Eric Bartholomew OBE , known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the award-winning double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death of a heart attack in 1984...
, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film The Full Monty
The Full Monty
The Full Monty is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber, and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy...
, in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
routine. Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film Plunkett & Macleane
Plunkett & Macleane
Plunkett & Macleane is a 1999 British historical action comedy film directed by Jake Scott, and starring Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller and Liv Tyler. It follows the story of Captain James Macleane , and Will Plunkett , two men in eighteenth century Britain who are both struggling to survive...
, in which two characters are named Dixon and Winterburn after Arsenal's long-serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon
Lee Dixon
Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn
Nigel Winterburn
Nigel Winterburn is a retired English footballer who played at left-back for Arsenal. He is best known for his role alongside Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Lee Dixon, forming a celebrated defensive line in the Premier League and European football during the 1990s.-Early career:Winterburn was born...
.
The 1991 television comedy sketch show Harry Enfield & Chums featured a sketch from the characters Mr Cholmondly-Warner and Grayson where the Arsenal team of 1933, featuring exaggerated parodies of fictitious amateur players take on the Liverpool team of 1991.
Arsenal Ladies
Arsenal Ladies
Arsenal L.F.C.
Arsenal Ladies Football Club are an English women's association football club affiliated with Arsenal F.C.. Founded in 1987, they are the most successful club in English women's football having won 34 major trophies to date; which are 12 FA Women's Premier League titles, 11 FA Women's Cups, ten...
is the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded in 1987, they turned semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
in 2002 and are managed by Laura Harvey. Arsenal Ladies are the most successful team in English women's football
Women's football in England
While women's football has been played in England for over a century, it has only been in the 1990s that the game has seen a large increase in female players, as well as in female spectators, culminating in England hosting the Women's European Championships in 2005....
. In the 2008–09 season, they won all three major English trophies – the FA Women's Premier League
FA Women's Premier League
The FA Women's Premier League is the second tier of women's football in England. It previously formed the top tier prior to the creation of the FA Women's Super League in 2011. The Women's Premier League has been run by The Football Association since the 1992–93 season...
, FA Women's Cup
FA Women's Cup
The Football Association Women’s Challenge Cup Competition, commonly referred to as the FA Women's Cup, is the top cup competition for women's football clubs in England – designed as an exact equivalent to the FA Cup created 99 years earlier...
and FA Women's Premier League Cup, and, as of 2009, were the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup
UEFA Women's Cup
The UEFA Women's Champions League is the first international women's association football club competition for teams that play in UEFA nations. Initially known as the UEFA Women's Cup, the competition has been re-branded since the 2009-2010 edition as the UEFA Women's Champions League...
, having done so in the 2006–07 season as part of a unique quadruple. The men's and women's clubs are formally separate entities but have quite close ties; Arsenal Ladies are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium, though they usually play their home matches at Boreham Wood
Boreham Wood F.C.
Boreham Wood F.C. are a football club based in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, at Meadow Park football ground. They were established in 1948, and have reached the FA Cup 2nd Round proper twice in their history. For 2011-12 they will play in Conference South...
.
In the community
In 1985, Arsenal founded a community schemeCorporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...
, "Arsenal in the Community", which offered sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects. The club support a number of charitable causes directly and in 1992 established The Arsenal Charitable Trust, which by 2006 had raised more than £2 million for local causes. An ex-professional and celebrity football team associated with the club also raised money by playing charity matches.
In the 2009/10 season Arsenal announced that they had raised a record breaking £818,897 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. The original target was £500,000 but thanks to the overwhelming support from fans, players, directors and staff. They were able to smash the target.
On September 2011, Arsenal won their case against Alicia Simon, a Seville resident who has now been forced by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office to change the name of her shop "Arsenale". Ms Simon registered the name of her shop before she even opened it in 2007 and has faced litigation from the North London club ever since.
Statistics and records
David O'LearyDavid O'Leary
David Anthony O'Leary is an Irish football manager and former player. His managerial career began at Leeds United and later he managed Aston Villa. He most recently worked as the manager of Al-Ahli Dubai...
holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams
Tony Adams (footballer)
Tony Alexander Adams, MBE is an English football manager and former player.Adams spent his entire playing career of 22 years as a defender at Arsenal. He is considered one of the greatest Arsenal players of all time by the club's own fans and was included in the Football League 100 Legends...
comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman
David Seaman
David Andrew Seaman MBE is a former English football goalkeeper who played for several clubs, most notably Arsenal. He retired from the game on 13 January 2004, following a recurring shoulder injury...
, with 564 appearances.
Thierry Henry
Thierry Henry
Thierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
is the club's top goalscorer with 226 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007, having surpassed Ian Wright
Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major...
's total of 185 in October 2005. Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin
Cliff Bastin
Clifford Sydney Bastin was an English football player.Born in Heavitree near Exeter, Bastin started his career at Exeter City, making his debut for the club in 1928, at the age of 16...
in 1939. Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 174, a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.
Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
match against RC Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...
on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
on 9 March 1935, while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.
Arsenal have also set records in English football, including the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (84 as of 2010–11) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004). This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04
2003-04 in English football
The 2003-04 season was the 124th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:Arsenal completed the entire campaign without losing a single league game....
season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End
Preston North End F.C.
Preston North End Football Club is an English professional football club located in the Deepdale area of the city of Preston, Lancashire, currently playing in the third tier of English league football, League One...
(who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89
1888-89 in English football
The 1888–1889 season was the 18th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:A new competition, The Football League, started this season...
.
Arsenal also set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final
2006 UEFA Champions League Final
The 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...
, when Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o
Samuel Eto'o Fils is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Russian team Anzhi Makhachkala. He is also the current captain of the Cameroon national team.Eto'o trained at Kadji Sports Academy...
scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
.
First-team squad
For recent transfers, see 2011–12 Arsenal F.C. season2011–12 Arsenal F.C. season
The 2011–12 season is Arsenal Football Clubs 20th season in the Premier League, and also marks the club's 125th anniversary. Arsenal will seek to win their first trophy for six seasons, competing in the Premier League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the UEFA Champions League.-Pre-season:Arsenal's...
.
Reserve squad
Out on loan
Notable players
Current technical staff
- As of 23 October 2009.
Position Name Manager Arsène Wenger Arsène WengerArsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...Assistant manager Pat Rice Pat RicePatrick James "Pat" Rice is a former Northern Irish football player and coach. As a player he made over 400 appearances for Arsenal, winning the Double, and later made a hundred more appearances for Watford. He also won 49 caps for Northern Ireland...First team coach Boro Primorac Boro PrimoracBoro Primorac is a Croatian football coach and a former Yugoslav international player. Currently, he is the first team coach at Arsenal....Reserve team coach Neil Banfield Neil BanfieldNeil Banfield is an English football player and coach. He is currently the coach of Arsenal Reserves....Youth team coach Steve Bould Steve BouldStephen Andrew Bould is an English former football player and current coach. He played professionally for Stoke City, Torquay United, Arsenal and Sunderland.-Stoke City:...Goalkeeping coach Gerry Peyton Gerry PeytonGerald "Gerry" Joseph Peyton is a former football goalkeeper, and currently the goalkeeping coach at Arsenal....Fitness coach Tony Colbert Tony ColbertTony Colbert is the current First Team Fitness Coach at Arsenal. He took the position on 1 July 1998. He currently has a contract with Arsenal till 2012. He previously worked with a wide range of sportspeople prior to his role at Arsenal....Physiotherapist Colin Lewin Colin LewinColin Lewin is currently the first team physiotherapist for Arsenal Football Club, after taking over from his cousin Gary Lewin.Colin Lewin was born in Plaistow, London on September 15, 1973 and joined the Arsenal Football Club coaching staff in June 1995...Club doctor Gary O'Driscoll Kit manager Vic Akers Vic AkersVictor David Akers, OBE is a former football player and manager. He played as a left back and is currently Arsenal's kit manager...Chief scout Steve Rowley Head of youth development Liam Brady Liam BradyLiam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....
Managers
There have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managerCaretaker manager
In association football, a caretaker manager is someone who takes temporary charge of the management of a football club, usually when the regular manager is dismissed or leaves for a different club. However, a caretaker may also be appointed if the regular manager is ill or unable to attend to his...
s of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell
Thomas Mitchell (football manager)
Thomas Brown Mitchell was a multiple FA Cup winning Scottish football manager.-Blackburn Rovers:Mitchell became secretary-manager of Blackburn Rovers in 1884. The club then went on to five FA Cup wins in eight seasons between 1884 and 1891. The final win in 1891 was against the Notts County side...
in 1897. The club's longest-serving manager as of 2009, in terms of both length of tenure and number of games overseen, is Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger
Arsène Wenger, OBE is a French association football manager and former player, who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996...
, who was appointed in 1996. Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside the United Kingdom. Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman was an English association football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most successful and influential managers in early 20th century English football, before his sudden death in 1934.As a player, Chapman played for...
and Tom Whittaker
Tom Whittaker (footballer)
Thomas James "Tom" Whittaker MBE was an English football player, trainer and manager, chiefly associated with Arsenal Football Club...
.
Honours
Domestic
- First DivisionFootball League First DivisionThe First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....
(until 1992) and Premier League
- Winners (13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04
- Runners-up (8): 1925–26, 1931–32, 1972–73, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05
- Second DivisionFootball League Second DivisionFrom 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...
- Runners-up (1): 1903–04
- FA CupFA CupThe Football Association Challenge Cup, commonly known as the FA Cup, is a knockout cup competition in English football and is the oldest association football competition in the world. The "FA Cup" is run by and named after The Football Association and usually refers to the English men's...
- Winners (10): 19301930 FA Cup FinalThe 1930 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals from Alex James and Jack Lambert...
, 19361936 FA Cup FinalThe 1936 FA Cup Final was a football match between by Arsenal and Sheffield United on 25 April 1936 at Wembley. The showpiece match of English football's primary cup competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup , it was the 64th Cup final, and the fourteenth at Wembley.Each team received a...
, 19501950 FA Cup FinalThe 1950 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with both goals scored by Reg Lewis. Future legendary Liverpool manager Bob Paisley was famously dropped for the final, even after scoring the winning goal against rivals Everton in the semi final...
, 19711971 FA Cup FinalIn the finale to the 1970-71 FA Cup season, the 1971 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Liverpool at Wembley on the 8 May 1971.Arsenal won 2–1 after extra time, with all three goals coming in the added half hour. Steve Heighway opened the scoring for Liverpool with a low drive past...
, 19791979 FA Cup FinalThe 1979 FA Cup Final was a football match played on 12 May 1979 at Wembley Stadium. The match was contested by Arsenal and Manchester United. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever finishes in an FA Cup final. For over 85 minutes the game had been unremarkable, with Arsenal taking...
, 19931993 FA Cup FinalThe 1993 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley. The original match, played on 15 May 1993 finished 1–1, with Arsenal winning the replay on 20 May; 2–1 after extra-time....
, 19981998 FA Cup FinalThe 1998 FA Cup Final was contested by Arsenal and Newcastle United at Wembley. Arsenal won 2–0, with goals by Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka to complete their second league and cup double....
, 20022002 FA Cup FinalThe 2002 FA Cup Final was the final match of the 2001–02 FA Cup competition. It was an all-London affair between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium on 4 May 2002...
, 2003, 2005 - Runners-up (7): 1927, 19321932 FA Cup FinalThe 1932 FA Cup Final was contested by Newcastle United and Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in what became known as the "Over The Line" final. Newcastle won 2–1, both of their goals scored by Jack Allen....
, 1952, 19721972 FA Cup FinalThe 1972 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1972 at Wembley Stadium. It was the Centenary final and the 44th to be played at Wembley....
, 19781978 FA Cup FinalThe 1978 FA Cup Final took place on 6 May 1978 at Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Arsenal and Ipswich Town. While Ipswich were considered underdogs, with Arsenal fielding a number of well-known players, including England striker Malcolm Macdonald, Ipswich won the match 1–0.Ipswich...
, 19801980 FA Cup FinalThe 1980 FA Cup Final was contested by West Ham United and Arsenal at Wembley. West Ham won by a single goal, scored by Trevor Brooking.To date, it is the last time a team from outside the top flight has won the FA Cup...
, 2001
- League CupFootball League CupThe Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...
- Winners (2): 19871987 Football League Cup FinalThe 1987 Littlewoods Cup Final was a football match played on 5 April 1987 between Arsenal and Liverpool. The match, played in front of 96,000 spectators at Wembley Stadium, was won by Arsenal 2–1. Ian Rush opened the scoring for Liverpool, before Charlie Nicholas equalised, turning in a...
, 19931993 Football League Cup FinalThe 1993 Coca Cola Cup Final took place on 18 April 1993 at Wembley Stadium, and was played between Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday. Arsenal won 2–1 in normal time, in what was the first of three Wembley finals between the two sides that season; Arsenal and Wednesday also met in the FA Cup... - Runners-up (5): 19681968 Football League Cup FinalThe 1968 Football League Cup Final took place on 2 March 1968 at Wembley Stadium. It was the eighth final and the second to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Arsenal and Leeds United....
, 19691969 Football League Cup FinalThe 1969 Football League Cup Final took place on 15 March 1969 at Wembley Stadium. It was the ninth final and the third to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Arsenal and Swindon Town.-Pre-match:...
, 19881988 Football League Cup FinalThe 1988 Littlewoods Cup Final,took place at Wembley Stadium on 24 April 1988, and was contested between Luton Town and Arsenal. Luton won the match, thanks to goals from Danny Wilson and Brian Stein . Goals from Alan Smith and Martin Hayes had seen Arsenal lead 2-1 before a late comeback from Luton...
, 20072007 Football League Cup FinalThe 2007 Carling Cup Final was played on Sunday, 25 February 2007 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was contested between Arsenal and Chelsea, making it the first all-London final in the competition's history; the two sides had previously met in Cardiff for the 2002 FA Cup Final. The game...
, 20112011 Football League Cup FinalThe 2011 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 2010–11 Football League Cup, the 51st season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in the Premier League and the Football League. The match was contested by Arsenal and Birmingham City, at Wembley Stadium in...
- FA Community ShieldFA Community ShieldThe Football Association Community Shield is English football's annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup at Wembley Stadium. If the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup then the league runners-up provide the opposition...
(FA Charity Shield before 2002)
- Winners (12): 1930, 19311931 FA Charity ShieldThe 1931 FA Charity Shield was the 18th FA Charity Shield, a football match between the winners of the previous season's First Division and FA Cup competitions. The match was contested by league champions Arsenal and FA Cup winners West Bromwich Albion, and was played at Villa Park, the home ground...
, 1933, 1934, 1938, 19481948 FA Charity ShieldThe 1948 FA Charity Shield was the 26th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match held between the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions. The match was contested by Arsenal, who had won the 1947–48 Football League, and Manchester United, who had won the 1947–48...
, 1953, 19911991 FA Charity ShieldThe 1991 FA Charity Shield was a North London derby football match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Saturday 10 August 1991. Arsenal had won the 1990-91 Football League and Tottenham had won the 1991 FA Cup Final to qualify for the season opener which was played the week before...
(shared), 19981998 FA Charity ShieldThe 1998 FA Charity Shield was the 76th FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played contested by Arsenal, who won the league and cup Double the previous season, and Manchester United,...
, 19991999 FA Charity ShieldThe 1999 FA Charity Shield was a football match held on 1 August 1999 at Wembley Stadium. The teams involved were Manchester United, who had won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League the previous season, and Arsenal, who had finished as runners-up to United in the league. Arsenal won...
, 20022002 FA Community ShieldThe 2002 FA Community Shield was a football match played on 11 August 2002 between 2001-02 Double winners Arsenal and 2001-02 Premier League runners-up Liverpool. Arsenal won the game 1–0 in normal time. Gilberto Silva scored the only goal of the game in the 69th minute...
, 20042004 FA Community ShieldThe 2004 FA Community Shield was the 82nd FA Community Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions... - Runners-up (7): 1935, 1936, 1979, 19891989 FA Charity ShieldThe 1989 FA Charity Shield was the 67th Charity Shield, a football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Football League and FA Cup competitions...
, 19931993 FA Charity ShieldThe 1993 FA Charity Shield was the 71st FA Charity Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions. The match was played on 7 August 1993 at Wembley Stadium and contested by Manchester United, who had won the 1992–93...
, 20032003 FA Community ShieldThe 2003 FA Community Shield was the 81st FA Community Shield, a football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League and FA Cup competitions...
, 20052005 FA Community ShieldThe 2005 FA Community Shield was a football match held at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, on 7 August 2005. It contested by Arsenal, who were FA Cup winners in 2005, and Chelsea, who won the 2004–05 Premier League. Chelsea won the match 2–1....
European
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
- Runners-up (1): 2005–062006 UEFA Champions League FinalThe 2006 UEFA Champions League Final was the final match of the 2005–06 UEFA Champions League, Europe's primary club football competition. The showpiece event was contested between Barcelona of Spain and Arsenal of England at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, France, on Wednesday, 17...
- European Cup Winners' Cup
- Winners (1): 1993–941994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup FinalThe 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match on 4 May 1994 contested between Arsenal of England and Parma of Italy. It was the final match of the 1993–94 European Cup Winners' Cup and the 34th European Cup Winners' Cup Final. The final was held at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen,...
- Runners-up (2): 1979–801980 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup FinalThe 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match contested on 14 May 1980 between Valencia of Spain and Arsenal of England. The final was held at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Valencia won the match 5–4 on penalties...
, 1994–951995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup FinalThe 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match on 10 May 1995 contested between cup holders Arsenal of England and Real Zaragoza of Spain. The final was held at Parc des Princes in Paris. It was the final match of the 1994–95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and the 35th UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final...
- UEFA Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1999-002000 UEFA Cup FinalThe 2000 UEFA Cup Final was a football match contested between Galatasaray of Turkey and Arsenal of England on 17 May 2000 at Parken in Copenhagen...
- UEFA Super Cup
- Runners-up (1): 19941994 UEFA Super CupThe 1994 UEFA Super Cup was contested between A.C. Milan of Italy and Arsenal of England . It was won by Milan, 2–0 on aggregate....
- Inter-Cities Fairs CupInter-Cities Fairs CupThe Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition was the idea of Swiss pools supremo Ernst Thommen, Ottorino Barassi from Italy, and the English Football Association general secretary Stanley Rous, all of whom later became senior officials...
- Winners (1): 1969–701970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup FinalThe 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Final was the final of the twelfth season of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was played on 22 April and 28 April 1970 between Anderlecht of Belgium and Arsenal of England. Arsenal won the tie 4–3 on aggregate; after trailing 3–1 in the first leg, Arsenal mounted a...
Individual
- European Golden Shoe
- Winners (2): Thierry HenryThierry HenryThierry Daniel Henry is a French professional footballer who plays for the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.Henry was born in Les Ulis, Essonne where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and...
2003-04, 2004-05
Arsenal's tally of thirteen League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Liverpool
Liverpool F.C.
Liverpool Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Liverpool has won eighteen League titles, second most in English football, seven FA Cups and a record seven League Cups...
and Manchester United
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
, while the total of ten FA Cups is the second highest, after Manchester United. Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup "Doubles
The Double
The Double is a term in association football which refers to winning a country's top tier division and its primary cup competition in the same season...
" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a record shared with Manchester United, and in 1993 were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double. They were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006.
Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times. Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.5. In addition, they are one of only six clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003.
Arsenal also hold the record for the longest unbeaten run in English football at 49 games, and also are the only team to have gone an entire Premier League season unbeaten in 2003–04.
As of 2011 they have also consistently qualified for the Champions League having managed to enter the group stages 14 years running.
External links
Official websites
- Arsenal at the Premier League official website
- Arsenal at the UEFAUEFAThe Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
official website
News sites
- Arsenal news from Sky SportsSky SportsSky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
- Arsenal News