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| Full name | Arsenal Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Gunners | ||
| Founded | 1886 as Dial Square | ||
| Ground | Emirates Stadium (Capacity: 60,355[1]) | ||
| Owner |  Arsenal Holdings plc | ||
| Chairman | Peter Hill-Wood | ||
| Manager |  Arsène Wenger | ||
| League | Premier League | ||
| 2007–08 | Premier League, 3rd | ||
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Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. They play in the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football, having won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups, and hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight.
Arsenal were founded in 1886 and were the first Southern club to join the Football League, in 1893. They won their first major trophies in the 1930s, with five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years they became the second club of the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup Double in 1970–71, and during the past twenty years have recorded a series of successes – in this time Arsenal have won a Cup Double, two further League and FA Cup Doubles, the Premier League title unbeaten, and became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League Final.
The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, which have evolved through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, and in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In 2006 they made a less drastic move to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway.
Arsenal were founded as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, and were renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. They renamed themselves again to Woolwich Arsenal after turning professional in 1891.[3] The club joined the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division 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 Henry Norris. 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 in Highbury, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year. Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but nevertheless were elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, by reportedly dubious means.
In 1925, Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman as manager. Chapman had already won the league twice with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25, and he brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as Alex James and Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s.[7] Under his guidance Arsenal won their first major trophies – an FA Cup in 1929–30 and two League Championships, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In addition, Chapman was reportedly behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.
Chapman died suddenly of pneumonia in early 1934, leaving Joe Shaw and George Allison to carry on his successful work. Under their guidance, Arsenal won three more titles (1933–34, 1934–35 and 1937–38) and an FA Cup (1935–36). As key players retired, by the decade's end, Arsenal had started to fade, and then the intervention of World War II meant competitive professional football in England was suspended.
After the war, under Allison's successor Tom Whittaker, Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1949–50. After that though, their fortunes waned; 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 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 as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, their first European trophy, in 1969–70.[9] This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71. 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 (1971–72, 1977–78 and 1979–80) and lost the 1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1978–79, with a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United that is widely regarded as a classic.
The club's success in the late 1990s and 2000s owes a great deal to the appointment of manager Arsène Wenger in 1996. 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 1999–00 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles"; in all, the club went 49 league matches unbeaten, a national record.
Arsenal have finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's eleven seasons at the club. They are one of only four teams (along with Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea) to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1993, although they have failed to retain the title each time they have been champions. Arsenal had never progressed beyond the Champions League quarter-finals until 2005–06; in that competition they reached the final, the first club from London to do so in the competition's fifty-year history, where they were beaten 2–1 by FC Barcelona. In July 2006, they moved into their current stadium, the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.
Crest
Royal Arsenal's first crest, unveiled in 1888, featured three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannon.[18] This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted their first single-cannon crest, featuring an eastward-pointing cannon, 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.[18] In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon, the club's name set in blackletter above the cannon, the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit (meaning "victory comes from harmony"), coined by Harry Homer, the club's programme editor. 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 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 typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest received a critical response from 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.
Colours
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| Arsenal's original home colours. The team wore a similar kit (but with redcurrant socks) during the 2005–06 season. | |||||||||
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 Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, 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.
Arsenal's away colours are traditionally yellow and blue, but there have been exceptions. They wore a green and navy away kit between 1982 and 1984, and since the early 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly. The general rule currently is that they are changed every season with the outgoing away kit becoming the third choice kit for the following season. Generally, the away colours in this period 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 in 2005–06 and 2006–07. Arsenal's current third kit for the 2008–09 season, which is used for games where both the first and second choice colours clash with those of their opponents, consists of white shirts with redcurrant shorts and hooped white and redcurrant socks; it was previously the away kit for the 2007–08 season.
Stadiums
Arsenal Stadium, widely referred to as Highbury, was Arsenal's home from September 1913 until May 2006. The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, 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. In the 1930s, the entire stadium was given a massive overhaul, with new Art Deco West and East stands constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively; in addition, the North Bank terrace had a roof added, which was later bombed during World War II and not restored until 1954.
Arsenal's training centre is in Shenley, Hertfordshire, at a purpose-built facility which opened in 2000. Before that the club shared training facilities with University College London Student Union nearby, having trained at Highbury up until 1961. Arsenal's Academy teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the Reserves play their games at Underhill, home of Barnet FC.
Supporters
Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name being derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". Arsenal have a large and generally loyal fanbase, with virtually all home matches selling 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 both wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway and Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides. In addition, Arsenal have the highest proportion (7.7%) of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, according to a 2002 report.
There have always been Arsenal supporters outside of London, and in recent times with the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal now have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; there are 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 overseas supporters clubs affiliated with Arsenal, as of 2007.[45] 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, the third largest in the world.
Ownership and finances
Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, 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 or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on PLUS, a specialist market. As of December 17, 2008, a single share in Arsenal has a mid price of £7,750, meaning the club's market capitalisation value is approximately £482.2m.[51] The club made a pre-tax operating profit (excluding player transfers) of £36.7m in the year ending 31 May 2008, from a turnover of £223.0m.
In total, Arsenal FC's board of directors currently hold 41.8% of the club's shares; the largest shareholder on the board is Danny Fiszman (a London diamond dealer), who holds 15,000 shares (24.1%).Richard Carr (who sits on the club's board, but not that of the holding company) has 2,722 (4.4%) and club chairman Peter Hill-Wood owns 500 (0.8%), with all the other directors holding nominal amounts.[52] The exception to this is the American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who currently holds 7,701 shares (12.4%) after buying an initial 9.9% from ITV plc in April 2007;[55] he is now a non-executive director of the club.[56] Former director Nina Bracewell-Smith (wife of the grandson of former chairman Sir Bracewell Smith) holds 9,893 shares (15.9%).
Arsenal in popular culture
As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in British culture and have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United 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 ever football match to be televised live. Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964.
Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s; many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film The Full Monty, 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 stripping. Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film Plunkett & Macleane, in which there are two characters named Dixon and Winterburn, named after Arsenal's long serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.
Arsenal Ladies
Arsenal Ladies are the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded in 1987, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are managed by Vic Akers, who is also kit manager for the men's side. Arsenal Ladies are the most successful team in English women's football; they are the current reigning champions of the FA Women's Premier League and holders of the FA Women's Cup; they are also the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup, 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.
Arsenal in the Community
In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, "Arsenal in the Community", which offers 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 has raised over £2 million for local causes. There is also an ex-professional and celebrity team to raise money for good causes.
Statistics and records
David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 563 appearances.
Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 226 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007 having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005.Wright's record had stood since September 1997, a feat which overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939.Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League – 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 match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where Arsenal 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 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, most notably the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (82 as of 2008–09) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004).[14] This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, making Arsenal only the second club ever to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.
Arsenal also set a UEFA 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. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak finally ended in the final against FC Barcelona, when Samuel Eto'o scored Barcelona's equaliser in the 76th minute.
Players
Current squad
- As of 3 February 2009.
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Players out on loan
- As of 2 February 2009:
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Reserves and Academy
Notable players
Current coaching staff
- As of 7 September 2008.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Arsène Wenger | French |
| Assistant manager | Pat Rice |  Northern Irish |
| First team coach | Boro Primorac |  Bosnian |
| Reserve team coach | Neil Banfield | English |
| Goalkeeping coach | Gerry Peyton |  Irish |
| Fitness coach | Tony Colbert | English |
| Physiotherapist | Colin Lewin | English |
| Club doctor | Gary O'Driscoll | Irish |
| Kit manager | Vic Akers | English |
| Chief scout | Steve Rowley | English |
| Head of youth development | Liam Brady | Irish |
Managers
There have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managers of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell in 1897. The longest-running manager in terms of time is George Allison (1934–1947) while the longest-running in terms of games is current manager Arsène Wenger (1996–). Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside Great Britain or Ireland and is Arsenal's most successful permanent manager in terms of percentage of wins with 57.36% (as of 11 May 2008), while Leslie Knighton is Arsenal's least successful (34.46%). Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman and Tom Whittaker.
Honours
Domestic
- First Division or Premier League (English football champions)
- 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 Division
- Runners-up (1): 1903–04
- FA Cup
- Winners (10): 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05
- Runners-up (7): 1926–27, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1979–80, 2000–01
- League Cup
- Winners (2): 1986–87, 1992–93
- Runners-up (4): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1987–88, 2006–07
- Charity Shields and Community Shields
- Winners (12): 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004
- Runners-up (7): 1935, 1936, 1979, 1989, 1993, 2003, 2005
European
- UEFA Champions League
- Runners-up (1): 2005–06
- European Cup Winners' Cup
- Winners (1): 1993–94
- Runners-up (2): 1979–80, 1994–95
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
- Winners (1): 1969–70
- UEFA Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1999–2000
- UEFA Super Cup
- Runners-up (1): 1994
Arsenal's tally of thirteen League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Liverpool and Manchester United, while the total of ten FA Cups is the second highest, after Manchester United. Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup "Doubles" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a joint record shared with Manchester United, and were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993. 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 five clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003.
