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Arsenal F.C. History

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History
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arsenal were founded as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, but were renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards. They renamed themselves again to Woolwich Arsenal after turning professional in 1891. The club joined the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. However, the club's geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems. In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, they moved across the Thames to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London. They dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year, thus becoming one of only two Football League teams not named after a place, the other being Port Vale. 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 the highly successful Herbert Chapman as manager. Chapman had won the league with Huddersfield Town in 1924 and 1925, 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. Between 1930 and 1938, Arsenal won the First Division five times and the FA Cup twice, although Chapman did not live to see all of these achievements, as he died of pneumonia in 1934; George Allison succeeded him. 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.

Following the suspension of English professional football during World War II, under Tom Whittaker Arsenal won the league in 1948 and 1953, and the FA Cup in 1950. However, after that 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's second successful era began 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 1970. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1971. However, the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1973, lost three FA Cup finals (1972, 1978 and 1980) and lost the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1979, with a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United that is widely regarded as a classic.

The return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1987, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1989, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengers Liverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1991, losing only one match, the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993 and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994. However, Graham's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that he had taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players, and he was sacked in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute over transfer funds.

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 1998 and a third in 2002. In addition, the club reached the final of the 2000 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2004 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 ten 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. Until recently, Arsenal had never progressed beyond the Champions League quarter-finals; in 2005–06 however, they reached the competition's Final (the first club from London to do so in the competition's fifty year history), but were beaten 2-1 by FC Barcelona.

Arsenal F.C. Gallery

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arsenal

Arsenal's Honours

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Honours

* First Division and Premier League titles: 13
o 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004

* FA Cups: 10
o 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005

* League Cups: 2
o 1987, 1993

* Charity Shields and Community Shields: 12
o 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

* Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1
o 1970

* European Cup Winners' Cup: 1
o 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.

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.

Arsenal F.C. Stadium

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Stadiums

For the majority of their time in south-east London, Arsenal played at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, a three-year period at the nearby Invicta Ground between 1890 and 1893 excepted. The Manor Ground was initially just a field, but the club installed stands and terracing in time for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played there for the next twenty years, until the move to north London in 1913.

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 East and West stands constructed, and roofs added to the North Bank and Clock End terraces. At its peak, Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Report and Premier League regulations forced Arsenal to convert Highbury into an all-seater in time for the 1993–94 season, reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators.This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions League matches to accommodate additional advertising hoardings, so much so that for two seasons (1998–99 and 1999–00) Arsenal played Champions League home matches at Wembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators.

Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties whose owners objected to expansion. These limitations have prevented the club from maximising the revenue that their domestic form could have brought in recent seasons. After considering various options, Arsenal decided in 1999 to build a new 60,000-seater stadium at Ashburton Grove (since renamed the Emirates Stadium), about 500 metres south-west of Highbury. The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs, but construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season. The stadium is named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth approximately £100 million; however some fans refer to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they do not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names. The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2021, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season.

Arsenal's Players

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Players

Current squad

As of November 8, 2006.^[23]

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Jens Lehmann
2	MF	Abou Diaby
4	MF	Cesc Fàbregas
5	DF	Kolo Touré
6	DF	Philippe Senderos
7	MF	Tomáš Rosický
8	MF	Fredrik Ljungberg
9	MF	Júlio Baptista^[24]
10	DF	William Gallas
11	FW	Robin van Persie
12	DF	Lauren
13	MF	Aliaksandr Hleb
14	FW	Thierry Henry (captain)
15	MF	Denílson
16	MF	Mathieu Flamini

No.	Position	Player
17	MF	Alexandre Song
19	MF	Gilberto Silva (vice-captain)
20	DF	Johan Djourou
21	GK	Mart Poom
22	DF	Gaël Clichy
24	GK	Manuel Almunia
25	FW	Emmanuel Adebayor
27	DF	Emmanuel Eboué
30	FW	Jérémie Aliadière
31	DF	Justin Hoyte
32	FW	Theo Walcott
41	DF	Joe O'Cearuill
42	MF	Francisco Merida Perez
43	MF	Mark Randall
45	DF	Armand Traoré

Players out on loan

No.	Position	Player
29	MF	Sebastian Larsson (at Birmingham City, until May 2007)
33	DF	Matthew Connolly (at Bournemouth, until January 2007)
38	DF	Kerrea Gilbert (at Cardiff City, until May 2007)
––	FW	Nicklas Bendtner (at Birmingham City, until May 2007)
––	FW	Arturo Lupoli (at Derby County, until May 2007)
––	MF	Fabrice Muamba (at Birmingham City, until May 2007)
––	FW	José Antonio Reyes (at Real Madrid, until August 2007)^[25]
––	FW	Anthony Stokes (at Falkirk, until January 2007)
––	FW	Carlos Vela (at Salamanca)^[26]

Arsenal F.C.

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Arsenal F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arsenal Football Club (also known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in north London. They play in the FA Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football. Arsenal have won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles, ten FA Cups and in 2005–06 became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League final. Arsenal are also members of the G-14 group of leading European football clubs.

Arsenal were founded in Woolwich, south-east London, in 1886, but in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In May 2006 they left Highbury, moving to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove, Holloway. Arsenal have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, located four miles away in Tottenham, with whom they have contested the North London derby on an almost annual basis since 1913.