Foundation:1886Address:Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5
Telephone:020 7704 4000
Fax:020 7704 4001
E-Mail:website@arsenal.co.uk
Web Site:http://www.arsenal.com/
Chairman:Peter Hill-Wood
History:
After reaching the final of the Champions League last season and qualifying for the current campaign, Arsenal's priorities are clear as they settle into their impressive new 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium: Go one better this time in Europe's premier club competition, while mounting a sustained challenge to Chelsea in the Premiership. Although key players such as Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Sol Campbell, Ashley Cole and Jose Reyes left the club in the summer, the arrivals of Tomas Rosicky, William Gallas and Julio Baptista - and the emergence of highly talented young stars - mean the club still boasts one of the most talented squads in the League. Arsenal Football Club was formed by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south-east London, in 1886. They began as Dial Square (the name of one of the workshops), and included two former Nottingham Forest players, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates. Beardsley wrote to his old club for help and Forest provided the fledgling club with a full set of red jerseys and a ball. The club became known as the Woolwich Reds, although their official title soon after formation was Royal Arsenal (1886), then Woolwich Arsenal (1891) and finally Arsenal in 1914, by which time the club had moved to Highbury in North London. Arsenal turned professional in 1891 and became a limited company in 1893. They became the first southern-based team to join the Football League (1893), and won promotion from the Second to the First Division in 1904. Relegation in 1913 was immediately followed by the move to north London in search of a more accessible location and a bigger, more reliable fan base. On the resumption of football after the First World War, Arsenal succeeded in being elected to the expanded First Division at the expense of bitter local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. But if their elevation smacked of political intrigue, they have justified their status, having enjoyed continuous membership of the top flight ever since (80 consecutive seasons in the First Division or Premier League by the end of 2005-06 season, excluding wartime; next best is Everton with 52 consecutive seasons). The arrival of Herbert Chapman as manager in 1925 really put The Gunners on the football map. They became the first southern club to win the League title, doing so in record-breaking style in 1931. Arsenal dominated the 1930s under first Chapman then George Allison, and enjoyed further success immediately after the Second World War under former player and trainer turned manager Tom Whittaker. Bertie Mee led them to European success and the domestic Double in the early 1970s, and a member of Mee"s side, George Graham, took Arsenal to six major trophies in nine years (1986-87 until 1994-95). Arsene Wenger was appointed manager in 1996 and has led the club to two domestic Doubles (1998 and 2002). In 2004 he became the first man to win three League titles for the Gunners. His side completed the 2003-04 campaign without losing a single League game - a modern record. It was the second season in three that Arsenal remained unbeaten away from home. The Gunners have won 13 of the 18 League titles won by London clubs and are second only to Manchester United with FA Cup wins (10). But their major challenge now is to win the European Cup (Champions League) after their ten-men were thwarted 2-1 by Barcelona in the 2006 final in Paris.
Team Trophies
Premier League: Champions: 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04. (Runners-Up: 1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05) Football League Division 1: Champions: 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1937-38, 1947-48, 1952-53, 1970-71, 1988-89, 1990-91. (Runners-Up: 1925-26, 1931-32, 1972-73). Division 2: (Runners-Up: 1903-04). FA Cup: Winners: 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005. (Runners-Up: 1927, 1932, 1952, 1972, 1978, 1980, 2001). Double performed: 1970-71, 1997-98, 2001-02. Football League Cup: Winners: 1987, 1993. (Runners-Up: 1968, 1969, 1988). Champions League (Runners-Up 2005-06). European Fairs Cup: Winners: 1970. Uefa Cup: (Runners-Up: 2000). European Cup Winners" Cup: Winners 1994. (Runners-Up: 1980, 1995).
