Arsenal F.C.

From Wikishire
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Arsenal
“The Gunners”

Arsenal's Emirates Stadium
Founded: 1886
Ground: Emirates Stadium
TQ31248572
51°33’18"N, 0°6’30"W
Capacity: 60,704
Owner: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
Website: arsenal.com
Home colours

The Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Holloway in Middlesex. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal have won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, 2 League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields and a Football League Centenary Trophy. In European football, they have won one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In terms of trophies won, it is the third-most successful club in English football.[1]

In 1886, munitions workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in Kent founded the club as 'Dial Square', soon to become known as 'Woolwich Arsenal'. In 1913, the club crossed the Thames to Highbury in Middlesex (becoming thereby close neighbours of Tottenham Hotspur). Herbert Chapman won the club its first silverware, and his legacy enabled a trophy-laden period in the 1930s. He helped introduce the WM formation, floodlights, and shirt numbers;[2] he also added the white sleeves and brighter red to the club's jersey.[3]

In 2006, the club moved to the nearby Emirates Stadium in Holloway, close to Highbury.

With an annual revenue of £367.1m in the 2021–22 season,[4] Arsenal was estimated to be worth US$2.26 billion by Forbes, making it the world's tenth-most valuable football club, while it is one of the most followed on social media.

History

Foundation and early days

Royal Arsenal squad in 1888

In October 1886, Scotsman David Danskin and fifteen fellow munitions workers in Woolwich in Kent formed the Dial Square Football Club, named after a workshop at the heart of the Royal Arsenal complex. Each member contributed sixpence, and Danskin also added three shillings to help form the club.[5]

The club had been renamed Royal Arsenal by January 1887,[6][7] and its first home was Plumstead Common, though they spent most of their time playing at the Manor Ground. Their first trophies were the Kent Senior Cup and London Charity Cup in 1889–90 and the London Senior Cup in 1890–91. It was renamed for the second time upon becoming a limited liability company in 1893. They registered their new name as Woolwich Arsenal, with the Football League when the club ascended later that year.[8][9]

Woolwich Arsenal was the first southern member of the Football League, starting out in the Second Division and reaching the First Division in 1904. Falling attendances, due to financial difficulties among the munitions workers and the arrival of more accessible football clubs elsewhere in the city, led the club close to bankruptcy by 1910.[10][9]:112–149 Businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall became involved in the club, and sought to move them elsewhere.[11][9]:22–42

Over to Middlesex

In 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, the club moved out of Kent, across the river to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury in Middlesex.[12][13][14] In 1919, The Arsenal started dropping "The" in official documents, gradually shifting its name for the final time towards 'Arsenal', as it is generally known today.[15]

With a new home and in the First Division, football, attendances were more than double those at the Manor Ground, and Arsenal's budget grew rapidly.[16][17] With record-breaking spending and gate receipts, Arsenal quickly became known as the Bank of England club.[18][19]

Arsenal's location and record-breaking salary offer lured star Huddersfield Town manager Herbert Chapman in 1925.[20][21] Over the next five years, Chapman transformed the club, and Arsenal claimed their first national trophy, the FA Cup in 1930, and League Championships followed 1930–31 and 1932–33.[22] Chapman also presided over off-pitch changes: white sleeves and shirt numbers were added to the kit, an innovation first tried by Chelsea F.C.[23]}} Arsenal tube station on the London Underground was named after the club;[24][25] and the first of two opulent Art Deco stands was completed, with some of the first floodlights in football. Chapman remained in post until his death in 1934.

After the War

The Football League was suspended for seven years due to the Second World War. While Arsenal were paraded by the nation as a symbol of solidarity with war efforts, the war took a huge toll on the team as the club had had more players killed than any top flight club.[26] Furthermore, debt from reconstructing an ambitious North Bank Stand redevelopment greatly bled Arsenal's resources.[27][17]

Arsenal returned to win the league in the second post-war season, of 1947–1948 , managed by Tom Whittaker. They won a third FA Cup in 1950, and then won a record-breaking seventh championship in 1952–53 making Arsenal the most successful team in English history at the time.[28][29]

In July 2006, the club moved into the new Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Arsenal F.C.)

References

  1. ↑ "Arsenal FC – history, facts and records". https://www.footballhistory.org/club/arsenal.html. 
  2. ↑ "Herbert Chapman". National Football Museum. http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/halloffame/herbert-chapman. 
  3. ↑ "Arsenal". Historical Football Kits. http://historicalkits.co.uk/Arsenal/Arsenal.htm. 
  4. ↑ "Deloitte Football Money League 2023". Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/sports-business-group/articles/deloitte-football-money-league.html. 
  5. ↑ "'Royal Arsenal' formed in Woolwich". https://www.arsenal.com/history/laying-the-foundations/-royal-arsenal-formed-in-woolwich. 
  6. ↑ Kelly, Andy; Andrews, Mark (13 January 2014). "How Arsenal's Name Changed – Royal Arsenal". http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/?p=7726. 
  7. ↑ Masters 1995, p. 91.
  8. ↑ Kelly, Andy; Andrews, Mark (20 January 2014). "How Arsenal's Name Changed – Woolwich Arsenal". http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/?p=7728. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Kelly, Andy; Andrews, Mark; Attwood, Tony (1 August 2012). Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893–1915 The club that changed football. Hamilton House. ISBN 978-1860837876. 
  10. ↑ Davis, Sally (December 2007). "Woolwich Arsenal 1910 – the arrival of Hall and Norris". http://www.wrightanddavis.co.uk/Norris/SLWA10.html. 
  11. ↑ Kelly, Andy (12 April 2017). "Did Henry Norris Really Buy Arsenal?". http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/?p=14520. 
  12. ↑ Kay, Joyce (2008). "It Wasn't Just Emily Davison! Sport, Suffrage and Society in Edwardian Britain". The International Journal of the History of Sport 25 (10): 1343–1346. doi:10.1080/09523360802212271. SSN 0952-3367. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523360802212271. Retrieved 27 September 2021. 
  13. ↑ Mason, Rob (2012). Sunderland AFC Miscellany. Brighton, UK: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781909178236. https://books.google.com/books?id=yXrgDwAAQBAJ&q=suffragettes+burn+down+%22plumstead%22+grandstand&pg=PT15. Retrieved 27 September 2021. 
  14. ↑ "Club moves from Woolwich to Highbury". Arsenal F.C.. https://www.arsenal.com/history/laying-the-foundations/club-moves-from-woolwich-to-highbury. 
  15. ↑ Kelly, Andy; Andrews, Mark (30 January 2014). "How Arsenal's Name Changed – Arsenal F.C.". http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/?p=7732. 
  16. ↑ Attwood, Kelly & Andrews 2012, p. 112. Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893–1915 The club that changed football
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "A Conservation Plan for Highbury Stadium, London". Islington Council. 14 February 2005. http://www.islington.gov.uk/DownloadableDocuments/Environment/Pdf/highburyconservationplan_2005.pdf. 
  18. ↑ Joy 2009, pp. 49, 75. Forward, Arsenal!
  19. ↑ Kelly, Graham (2005). Terrace Heroes: The Life and Times of the 1930s Professional Footballer. Psychology Press. pp. 26, 81–83. ISBN 978-0-7146-5359-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=nn5tY8lLNl8C. 
  20. ↑ Page, Simon (18 October 2006). Herbert Chapman: The First Great Manager. Birmingham: Heroes Publishing. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-9543884-5-4. 
  21. ↑ Barclay, Patrick (9 January 2014). "Arsenal: The Five-Year Plan". The Life and Times of Herbert Chapman: The Story of One of Football's Most Influential Figures. Orion. ISBN 978-0-297-86851-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=AeNsAAAAQBAJ. 
  22. ↑ Brown, Tony (2007). Champions all!. Nottingham: SoccerData. pp. 6–7. ISBN 978-1-905891-02-3. http://www.soccer.mistral.co.uk/books/ch6-10.pdf. 
  23. ↑ Glackin, Neil (26 April 2014). "Numbered shirts and Chapman – re-writing the story once again". AISA Arsenal History Society. http://www.blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/10179. 
  24. ↑ Kelly, Andy (31 October 2015). "Arsenal underground station renamed earlier than believed". The Arsenal History. http://www.thearsenalhistory.com/?p=12035. 
  25. ↑ Bull, John (11 December 2015). "It's Arsenal Round Here: How Herbert Chapman Got His Station". http://www.londonreconnections.com/2015/its-arsenal-round-here/. 
  26. ↑ Rippon, Anton (21 October 2011). "Chapter Nine". Gas Masks for Goal Posts: Football in Britain During the Second World War. The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7188-4. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTw7AwAAQBAJ. 
  27. ↑ Attwood, Kelly & Andrews 2012, pp. 43–64. Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893–1915 The club that changed football
  28. ↑ Soar & Tyler 2011, p. 76. Arsenal 125 Years in the Making: The Official Illustrated History 1886–2011
  29. ↑ "League title win 1952/53". 25 November 2023. https://www.arsenal.com/news/features/20160216/league-title-win-1952/53. 
  • Attwood, Tony; Kelly, Andy; Andrews, Mark (1 August 2012). Woolwich Arsenal FC: 1893–1915 The club that changed football (first ed.). First and Best in Education. ISBN 978-1-86083-787-6. 
  • Cross, John (17 September 2015). Arsene Wenger: The Inside Story of Arsenal Under Wenger. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 978-1-4711-3793-8. 
  • Elkin, James; Shakeshaft, Simon (1 November 2014). The Arsenal Shirt: Iconic Match Worn Shirts from the History of the Gunners. Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-909534-26-1. 
  • Joy, Bernard (2009). Forward, Arsenal! (Republished ed.). GCR Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-9559211-1-7. 
  • Masters, Roy (1995). The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. Britain in Old Photographs. Strood: Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-0894-7. 
  • Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (3 October 2011). Arsenal 125 Years in the Making: The Official Illustrated History 1886–2011. Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-62353-3. 
  • Sowman, John; Wilson, Bob (18 January 2016). Arsenal: The Long Sleep 1953 – 1970: A view from the terrace. Hamilton House. ISBN 978-1-86083-837-8. 
  • Whittaker, Tom; Peskett, Roy (1957). Tom Whittaker's Arsenal Story (First ed.). Sporting Handbooks. 

Further reading

  • Andrews, Mark; Kelly, Andy; Stillman, Tim (8 November 2018). Royal Arsenal: Champions of the South (First ed.). Legends Publishing. ISBN 9781906796594. 
  • Callow, Nick (11 April 2013). The Official Little Book of Arsenal. Carlton Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84732-680-5. 
  • Fynn, Alex; Whitcher, Kevin (18 August 2011). Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub (3rd ed.). Vision Sports Publishing. ISBN 978-1-907637-31-5. 
  • Glanville, Brian (2011). Arsenal Football Club: From Woolwich to Whittaker. GCR Books. ISBN 978-0-9559211-7-9. 
  • Lane, David (28 August 2014). Arsenal 'Til I Die: The Voices of Arsenal FC Supporters. Meyer & Meyer Sport. ISBN 978-1-78255-038-9. 
  • Maidment, Jem (2008). The Official Arsenal Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive A–Z of London's Most Successful Club (revised ed.). Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-61888-1. 
  • Mangan, Andrew; Lawrence, Amy; Auclair, Philippe; Allen, Andrew (7 December 2011). So Paddy Got Up: An Arsenal anthology. Portnoy Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9569813-7-0. 
  • Roper, Alan (1 November 2003). Real Arsenal Story: In the Days of Gog. Wherry Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9546259-0-0. 
  • Spragg, Iain; Clarke, Adrian (8 October 2015). The Official Arsenal FC Book of Records (2 ed.). Carlton Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78097-668-6. 
  • Spurling, Jon (2 November 2012). Rebels for the Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal Football Club (New ed.). Random House. ISBN 978-1-78057-486-8. 
  • Spurling, Jon (21 August 2014). Highbury: The Story of Arsenal in N.5. Orion. ISBN 978-1-4091-5306-1. 
  • Stammers, Steve (7 November 2008). Arsenal: The Official Biography: The Compelling Story of an Amazing Club (First ed.). Hamlyn. ISBN 978-0-600-61892-8. 
  • Wall, Bob (1969). Arsenal from the Heart. Souvenir Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-285-50261-1. 
  • Watt, Tom (13 October 1995). The End: 80 Years of Life on the Terraces. Mainstream Publishing Company, Limited. ISBN 978-1-85158-793-3. 
Retrieved from "https://wikishire.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Arsenal_F.C.&oldid=91587"