Brief History

Founded in 1886 Arsenal won their first major trophies in the 1930’s under the stewardship of Herbert Chapman.  In 1970-71 Arsenal became only the second club in the 20th Century to win the League and FA Cup double. George Graham brought further success to ‘The Gunners’ during his tenure from 1986-1995, including 3 League Cups, 1 FA Cup, 1 European Cup Winners Cup and 2 League Titles. Despite the success, Arsenals apparent defensive style of play earned the tag  ‘boring boring Arsenal’ from rival supports.  However, in 1996 the appointment of Arsene Wenger was about to change all that.

Arsene Wenger Years

Arsene Wenger transformed Arsenal from the ground up. Everything changed from their training methods and diets right through to their style of play. Wenger tore up the premier league betting books when he won a league and cup double in his first full season in charge (1997-98) and went on to win a second in 2001-02. In 2004 Wenger build what is arguably to greatest ever team to play in these shores, when his Arsenal side won the League without losing a single game, earning them the nickname the ‘invincibles’. They went on to set a national record of 49 league games unbeaten.  Arsenal became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League in 2006, narrowly losing to FC Barcelona 2-1. In all, Arsenal have won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups under Wenger, making him Arsenal’s most successful manager in terms of trophies.

The Invincibles

Possibly Arsenals finest achievement came during the 2003-04 season.  Arsenal’s team included players such as Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira, Pires and Campbell, they had everything. Pace, power, steel at the back, deadly finishers up front, they were simply unplayable at times. Arsenal managed to win the title completing an entire season unbeaten, the first time this had been achieved since Preston North End in 1883. To make the achievement even more sweet, Arsenal won the league at  White Hart Lane, the home of bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenals record for the season stood at 26 wins, 12 draws and 0 losses. The unbeaten run ended on 49 games, a national record, in controversial circumstances at Old Trafford, when Manchester United were awarded a suspect penalty. However, the magnitude of Arsenals success was not un-noticed as the Premier League commissioned a special edition gold trophy to commemorate the unbeaten season.

The Emirates Stadium

Arsenal moved to their new state of the art home – The Emirates Stadium – in July 2006. With an all seated capacity of 60,432, The Emirates is the fifth largest stadium in the United Kingdom. The site was formally know as Ashburton Grove until the naming rights were sold in 2004 for a projected £100 to Emirates Airline. The 15 year deal also included an 8 year shirt sponsorship deal starting in 2006/07

Key Stats

• Nickname: The Gunners
• Premier League winners: 1998, 2002, 2004
• Runners-up: 1999, 2000, 2001,2003, 2005
• Division One winners: 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991
• Runners-up: 1926, 1932, 1973
• Division Two runners-up: 1904
• FA Cup winners: 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005
• Runners-up: 1927, 1932, 1952, 1972, 1978, 1980, 2001
• League Cup winners: 1987, 1993
• Runners-up: 1968, 1969, 1988, 2007
• Champions League runners-up: 2006
• European Cup-winners Cup winners: 1994
• Runners-up: 1980, 1995
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup winners: 1970
• UEFA Cup runners-up: 2000
• UEFA Super Cup runners-up: 1994
• Top Goalscorer All-Time: Thierry Henry (226  goals from 1999 to 2007)
• Current Captain: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang