Arsenal

Arsenal Football Club

Arsenal FC are based in Holloway, North London. They play in the English Premier League, and currently are a well established European club, competing in the UEFA Champions League They are one of the most successful clubs in English football, with 13 top level league titles, 10 FA Cups and 2 League cups.

In Europe, Arsenal have won the UEFA Cup, won the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, and also became the first London team to reach the final of the Champions League in 2005/06.

After being founded in 1886, the club won their first honours in the 1930s, with five league titles and two FA Cups. Arsenal FC became only the second club of the 20th century to win the historic Double in 1970–71, and then repeated this feat in 1997-98 and 2001-02. In 2003/04 they achieved a historic feat by winning the Premier League unbeaten, and created a record of 49 games unbeaten in the league that started at the end of the 2002/03 season, and ended in the early part of the 2004/05 season under controversial circumstances at Old Trafford, after Wayne Rooney dived to win a penalty.

The team plays in a red and white striped shirt, although this has been an evolutionary process. They started out in an all-red shirt, which later had white sleeves added to it, and in their first and last years at Highbury, they wore a redcurrant shirt.

Arsenal have a huge fanbase, who are known for their global and multi-ethnic composition, because of their location in North London, and the area’s history of immigrant families. They have long-standing rivalries with several clubs, although the fiercest of these is with local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who play just up the Seven Sisters road at White Hart Lane.

Club History

Arsenal were originally founded as “Dial Square” in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, South-East London. However, they changed their name to “Royal Arsenal” soon after, and did so again in 1891, calling themselves “Woolwich Arsenal” before going professional. They were admitted to the Second Division of the Football League in 1893, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904.

The club then started to have financial troubles, and went bankrupt by 1910. Their geographic isolation in Woolwich was the main reason for this, as their attendances were lower than any of the other clubs. Thus when Henry Norris took over after bankruptcy, he did so with a view to moving them elsewhere. Although they were relegated back to the Second Division soon after, Arsenal still moved to their new home – the Arsenal Stadium, in Highbury, North London. A year later, they dropped “Woolwich” from their name, and came to be known by their present name of Arsenal.

In 1919, as administrators sought to reshape the league, Arsenal were invited to join the First Division, controversially at the expense of local rivals Tottenham. They were deemed as being a more attractive proposition for the league, although there were also suspicions of underhanded methods being employed by Henry Norris, but it was the birth of much success for Arsenal, who have never been relegated from the top-tier since.

In 1925, Arsenal appointed Huddersfield Town manager Herbert Chapman to take over at the club, and it was to be a masterstroke, as Chapman went on to be an innovator and legend that changed the club as well as English football. Chapman had just won the league twice with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25, and he brought his Midas touch to Arsenal. He revolutionized the training methods for the club, as well as the tactics (the famous W-M formation), and gave them their first period of major success. He signed their first real star players in Alex James and former top-scorer Cliff Bastin, and gave Arsenal the platform to dominate English football in the 1930s. Under Chapman, Arsenal won the FA Cup in 1929–30, and the First Division in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In 1932, it was under his influence that the local Gillespie Road tube station was renamed to “Arsenal”, making it the first station ever to be named after a football club.

In 1934, Chapman died suddenly and tragicly of pneumonia, but the appointments of Joe Shaw and George Allison from within the club ensured that the success continued. In the various periods under their guidance the Gunners won three more league titles in 1933–34, 1934–35 and 1937–38, and an FA Cup in 1935–36. Unfortunately, Arsenal faded as the decade ended with the advent of World War II, and professional football in England was suspended.

In the post-war period, Arsenal once again managed to find success under Allison’s successor – Tom Whittaker, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1949–50. However, they experienced a period of decline after that, going most of the 1950s and 1960s without winning anything, and unable to attract any top players to the club. Former England captain Billy Wright was brought in as manager to try and revive the club’s fortunes, but his reign from 1962-66 was disappointing and trophyless.

In 1966, Arsenal made the interesting choice of appointing their physio Bertie Mee as manager, and it was to pay rich dividends. Despite losing two consecutive League Cup finals in 1967-68 and 1968-69, they went on to win the Fairs Cup in 1969-70, giving them their first European trophy. They followed this up with the historic achievement of winning the double in 1970-71, the first such achievement for the club. In the following years however, this history-making team was broken up, and despite a series of near misses in both the league and cups, Arsenal didn’t manage any more success for the rest of the decade, apart from a classic, last-minute 3-2 FA Cup final victory over Manchester United in 1979.

In 1986, a golden era was ushered in by the return of Double-winning midfielder George Graham as manager. The strict disciplinarian and tactician broke the drought in his first season with a League Cup win in 1986-87, and followed it with an historic league title win in 1988-89, where they beat their title rivals Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in the last game of the season, scoring the deciding goal in injury time. This was the inspiration behind the book "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby, and the movie by the same name.

Graham won another title in 1990-91, with the team losing just a single game. He led the team to an FA and League Cup double in 1992-93, where they overcame Sheffield Wednesday in both finals, and brought the club their second European trophy, beating star-studded favourites Parma in the final of the 1993-94 Cup Winners’ Cup final. Graham was unfortunately sacked in 1995, after having been found guilty of taking bung payments from agent Rune Hauge in exchange for signing certain players. His replacement Bruce Rioch lasted just a season, leaving after a dispute with the board of directors, who already had their eye on a new man. Rioch did not have much success, but restored some of the gloss with the signings of England international David Platt from Sampdoria, and Dutch maestro Dennis Berkgamp from Inter Milan. The latter would go on to become a club legend, and was instrumental in the following successes of Arsenal FC.

Rioch’s replacement was the little known Arsène Wenger. The cerebral Frenchman was largely unknown to the British press, but he revolutionised English football with his tactics, training and an attractive, passing style of football that was then alien to the English game. He signed unknown, but highly-talented (mostly French) foreign players to complement the clubs ageing English core, and won the Double in his first full season as manager in 1997-98. He repeated this feat in 2001-02, and in 2003-04 achieved the improbable feat of winning the league unbeaten, with the “Invincibles” creating an unbeaten streak of 49 games spanning across 3 seasons in the process. Apart from the 3 Premier League titles, Wenger has won 4 FA Cups, reached a UEFA Cup and Carling Cup Final, and took Arsenal to their first Champions League final. Arsenal have finished in the top 2 in 8 of Wenger’s 10 seasons at the club, although they have never managed to retain the title after any of the 3 seasons in which they won it.

Wenger was responsible for many things in the club – the creation of Arsenal’s academy infrastructure, a state-of-the-art new training ground, and it was under his counsel that they changed location as well, moving from Highbury to the nearby stadium they had constructed at Ashburton Grove, the Emirates Stadium. The new stadium had a much larger pitch, and at 60,000 seats accommodated a lot more fans than the 38,000+ seater Highbury.

Although the club went into severe debt, they were very well managed, and they have managed a decent level of success on the pitch, allied with low spending, and much-increased revenue from tickets. The stadium is now generally always sold out, and after a period of transition for the young team that Wenger built, the club is well on its way to recovery.

Club Rivalries

Tottenham Hotspur
Neighbours and local rivals. This rivalry began when Arsenal moved out of South London to Highbury stadium, just near White Hart Lane, and intensified when Arsenal were invited to the First Division at the expense of Tottenham in 1919. Also, in 2005-06, Tottenham lost out on a Champions League spot to Arsenal on the last day of the season. The fanbases are also traditionally quite different – Arsenal are known for their multi-ethnic, immigrant fanbase, whereas Tottenham have a history of predominantly white, wealthy fans. Tottenham however have not won the League since 1961, and have not beaten Arsenal in their last 20 matches, and have never finished in the Top Four of the Premiership, so the rivalry has nothing to do with direct competition anymore

Chelsea
Also local rivals, the rivalry with Chelsea FC is more based on directly competing for titles and players. Under Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho, Chelsea became known for a very aggressive, obnoxious management style, which resulted in the tapping-up of former Arsenal hero, left-back Ashley Cole. Cole subsequently signed for Chelsea a season later in acrimonious circumstances, and has become a hate figure ever since. Jose Mourinho’s comments and attacks on Arsene Wenger have also fostered this.

Manchester United
From 1997 to 2004, the Premiership was won by either Arsenal or Manchester United, and the teams developed a fierce rivalry from their competing for the league. Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson both engaged in heavy mindgames and verbal battles, and the physical battles and tempers of talismans Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane created a roaring intensity. The clubs have had two on-field brawls – the first of these was in October of 1990, and the second in September of 2003. In both those years, Arsenal went on to win the title – in 1990-91 they did so despite being penalised 2 points for the brawl (losing just 1 game all season), and in 2003-04 the won it unbeaten.

Stars of the Current Squad

After losing Thierry Henry to Barcelona, and failing to bring in any big-name replacements, most predicted a dismal 2007/08 for Arsenal, with many experts stating that they would struggle to finish in the Top 5. How they were wrong. Instead, Henry’s departure galvanised this young squad, and they have put in performances that have resulted in Arsenal’s best form since 2003/04.

Former Gunners legend Patrick Vieira has said that in 2007/08 the team has been playing a brand of football superior to any seen in his 9 successful years at the club, and with an average age of just about 25, this team has the potential to go a long way. Cesc Fabregas, Aliaksandr Hleb and Tomas Rosicky, run the midfield, and goalscorers Eduardo da Silva, Robin Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor are amazing the Arsenal supporters worldwide.

Cesc Fabregas
Considered by some to be the most talented young midfielder in the world, this playmaker is already the midfield general for both Arsenal and Spain at just 20 years of age. He’s already a phenomenal footballer, but continues to improve as he gets older, and he’s added goals to his games this season.

William Gallas
Arsenal’s new captain is a rock-solid defender who is comfortable on the ball, and consistent too. The France centre-half has come into his own as captain following a disappointing first season after his transfer from Chelsea, and he will want to lead this young side to some silverware.

Gael Clichy
A prodigy when he played for the "Invincibles" at 17, Clichy has suffered greatly through injury, but has become the Premier League’s best left-back over the last two years. Still just 22, Clichy will also be looking to make the French left-back spot his own.

Robin Van Persie
The Dutch youngster has one of the best left feet in the game, and has produced some special goals in his relatively short Arsenal career. He continues to struggle with injury, but when fit and on form, he’s one of the most feared attackers in the Premier League.

Emmanuel Adebayor
The Togolese international is tall, mobile, skilful and awkward. He has improved his finishing a lot, and when defenders are asked who their toughest opponent is, his name is routinely discussed as the number one answer. At just 24 years of age, there’s a lot more to come from this man.

Club Legends

• Thierry Henry
• Dennis Bergkamp
• Ian Wright
• Tony Adams
• Patrick Vieira
• Robert Pires
• Cliff Bastin
• Alex James
• Frank McLintock
• David O’Leary
• David Seaman
• Liam Brady
• David Rocastle
• David Platt
• Charlie George
• Fredrik Ljungberg
• Anders Limpar

Most Appearances

Most Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

PFA Player of the Year

• 1969 – Liam Brady
• 1998 – Dennis Bergkamp
• 2003 – Thierry Henry
• 2004 – Thierry Henry
• 2006 – Thierry Henry

Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year

• 1950 – Joe Mercer
• 1971 – Frank McLintock
• 1998 – Dennis Bergkamp
• 2002 – Robert Pires
• 2003 – Thierry Henry
• 2004 – Thierry Henry
• 2006 – Thierry Henry

Team Honours

First Division and Premier League
13 Wins: 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

8 Runners-Up: 1925–26, 1931–32, 1972–73, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05

FA Cup
10 wins: 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

7 runners-up: 1926–27, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1979–80, 2000–01

League cup
2 Winners: 1986–87, 1992–93

4 Runners-up: 1967–68, 1968–69, 1987–88, 2006–07

European Cup Winners Cup
Winners: 1993-94

Runners up: 1979–80, 1994–95

Fairs Cup
Winners: 1969-70

Club Management

Arsenal are a non-quoted PLC, whose shares are traded on the specialist PLUS market. Their ownership system is quite unique, and only 62,217 shares have been issued. The board of directors own 45% of the shares, and have the majority holding.

List of Directors (Shareholding % in brackets):

• Chairman – Peter Hill-Wood (0.8%)
• Managing Director – Keith Edelman
• Other Directors:
• Danny Fiszman (24.1%)
• Ken Friar
• Nina Bracewell-Smith (15.9%)
• Richard Carr (4.4%)

Large numbers of Arsenal shares have been acquired of late with rumours of takeover attempts. The chief culprits here are American Stan Kroenke, who acquired 12.2%, and the David Dein-led, Alisher Usmanov and Farhad Moshiri financed Red & White Holdings, who aggressively acquired 23%.

Club Staff

• Arsene Wenger – Manager
• Boro Primorac – First Team Coach
• Pat Rice – Assistant Manager

Uniforms

[Full Kit]

Arsenal Fans

Arsenal supporters are a dedicated lot, and have many nicknames for themselves and their team, including the Gunners, Arses, and Gooners.

Stadium

Arsenal currently play in a state-of-the art 60,000 seat Emirates Stadium in North London, at Ashburton Grove. The decision to relocate was made in 1999, and the stadium was completed in 2006; Arsenal began their 2006-07 campaign there with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa. Arsenal have a massive fanbase, and their previous site at Highbury stadium seated only 38,419 fans. Due to the history of the building, and the cramped surroundings, Arsenal had no option but to build a new stadium elsewhere to accommodate more fans and increase revenues.

Due to the massive efforts made by the board, Arsenal managed to stay in the borough, and move to a site just 10 minutes from the old stadium. Arsenal spent almost 400 million pounds on the stadium, of which 260 million was borrowed.

Sponsors

Emirates – the airline of United Arab Emirates - are currently both the jersey and stadium sponsors of Arsenal FC. They signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, paying the club 100 million GBP to be the stadium sponsors until 2012, and the shirt sponsors until the end of the 2013-14 season. See http://www.flyemirates.com.

Important Links

• http://www.arsenal.com
• http://www.premierleague.com
• http://arseblog.oleole.com
• http://www.arsenal.com/membership
• http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium
• http://www.visitlondon.com

References

• http://www.arsenal.com