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Arsenal History

Arsenal was founded in 1886 and were originally known as Royal Arsenal. This was a combination of the name of the pub where they met (the Royal Oak) and their place of work, the Arsenal Munitions Factory in Woolwich. By 1891 they had changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal, finally dropping the Woolwich in 1912 when the team moved from Woolwich in South East London to Highbury in the North London borough of Islington.

This saw the team began its longstanding rivalry with Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), another North London club. As well as being based geographically close to each other, the rivalry was made even worse when football resumed after the break it had during the war. Controversially, Arsenal who had finished in fifth position in the Second Division were promoted instead of their rivals Spurs who had finished a position higher. Amazingly the Arsenal chairman managed to convince league officials to give Arsenal preferential treatment because of their longer history.

Arsenal have remained in the top tier of English football ever since. Unlike some other clubs such as Manchester United whose success have come in particular periods or their history, Arsenal’s achievements have been widely dispersed. After five league title in the 1930s, Arsenal won just three over the next 50 years.

The most famous and most successful manager in recent years has been Arsene Wenger who became manager of the club in 1996 and is currently the club’s longest ever serving manager. During Wenger’s reign, Arsenal have had some of the best players to play in the Premiership amongst their ranks including Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas, Marc Overmars and Thierry Henry. It’s been a relatively successful time too at Arsenal under Wenger with them winning three Premier League titles 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, six FA Cups (1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15) and six Community Shields (1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015).

Wenger’s reign has also seen Arsenal move from their traditional home of Highbury to the brand new Emirates Stadium in 2006. One of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced stadiums in world football, it has come in for some criticism from fans mainly due to its perceived lack of atmosphere and high ticket prices. However despite these concerns, Arsenal remain a strong force in English football and consistently finish in the top six and regularly qualify for European football.

Interesting Facts

• Arsenal fans who yearn the passing of Highbury Stadium can always go to League One Fleetwood Town’s ground of the same name. However, despite playing in the same colours as Arsenal, the stadium is named after the street it is situated on and not the former Arsenal stadium.
• Arsenal hold the record for the most consecutive unbeaten league matches unbeaten with a staggering 49 games.
• Arsene Wenger was the first foreign manager to ever win the Premiership title when he led Arsenal to it in 1998.
• With 185 goals in 288 games, Ian Wright will always be an Arsenal legend. But he came to professional football relatively late and spent several years playing non-league football before being picked up by Crystal Palace and then Arsenal.
• Unlike most English managers, Arsene Wenger never played top-flight football and holds a degree in economics.