Usuario:Dreitmen/Arsenal

Arsenal
Datos generales
Nombre	Arsenal Football Club
Apodo(s)	Gunners, La Sinfónica de Londres, Spanish Arsenal
Fundación	1886 (138 años)
Presidente	Peter Hill-Wood
Entrenador	Arsène Wenger
Instalaciones
Estadio	Emirates Stadium Londres, Inglaterra
Capacidad	60.432
Inauguración	22 de julio de 2006
Uniforme
Titular Alternativo Tercero
Última temporada
Liga	FA Premier League
(2008-09)	4º
Página web oficial

Arsenal Football Club (simplemente conocido como Arsenal , o por su apodo The Gunners) (es un club profesional de fútbol con sede en Holloway, North London. Es un club de fútbol de Inglaterra que juega en Premier League y es uno de los clubes más exitosos en el fútbol Inglés, habiendo ganado 13 veces la Primera división y Premier League y diez FA Cup. They hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and are the only Premier League side to have completed a season unbeaten.

Arsenal were founded in 1886 and were the first Southern club to join the Football League, in 1893. They won their first major trophies in the 1930s, with five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years they became the second club of the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup Double in 1970–71, and during the past twenty years have recorded a series of successes – in this time Arsenal have won a Cup Double, two further League and FA Cup Doubles, and became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League Final.

The club's colours have traditionally been red and white, which have evolved through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, and in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In 2006 they made a less drastic move to their current home, the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway.

Arsenal have a large fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they regularly contest the North London derby. Arsenal are the third richest club in the world (valued at over $1.200 billion as of 2009)​, and thanks to their stature, have regularly featured in portrayals of football in British culture. Arsenal Ladies are the most successful English club in women's football and are also affiliated with the club.

Early years (1886–1910)

Royal Arsenal's squad of the 1888–89 season.

Arsenal were founded as Dial Square in 1886 by a group of workers employed by the Dial Square workshop at the Royal Arsenal, an armaments factory in Woolwich, south east London.​ They were led by a Scotsman, David Danskin, who purchased the club's first football, and Jack Humble; amongst their number was former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Fred Beardsley, who would later along with Morris Bates obtain a set of red kit from his old club, thus giving Arsenal the colours they still wear today.​

Dial Square played their first match on 11 December 1886 against Eastern Wanderers on an open field in the Isle of Dogs, which they won 6–0.​ The club were renamed Royal Arsenal soon after, reportedly on Christmas Day.​ Initially the club played on Plumstead Common, but soon sought alternative homes, firstly the Sportsman Ground in Plumstead before moving to the adjacent Manor Ground in 1888. Unhappy with the Manor Ground's poor facilities, the club moved to the nearby Invicta Ground in 1890, before returning to the Manor Ground three years later as the Invicta Ground's rent proved too expensive.​

During this period, Royal Arsenal started to win local trophies, winning both the Kent Senior Cup and London Charity Cup in 1889–90 and the London Senior Cup in 1890–91; they also entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1889–90.​ However, the gulf between Arsenal and the professional sides from the North soon became apparent, and Arsenal faced the threat of their amateur players being lured away by the money professional sides could offer; after Derby County had played Arsenal in an FA Cup tie in 1891, they attempted to sign two of Arsenal's amateur players on professional contracts.​ Therefore the same year Royal Arsenal decided to turn professional, and at the same time they changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal.

Woolwich Arsenal's move to professionalism was frowned upon by many of the amateur Southern clubs, and they were banned from participating in local competitions by the London Football Association.​ With friendlies and the FA Cup the only matches available for Woolwich Arsenal, they attempted to set up a southern equivalent of the Football League, but the move failed;​ Woolwich Arsenal's future looked bleak until the Football League came to their rescue by inviting them to join in 1893. Arsenal were the first Southern club to enter the League, initially joining the Second Division; in response, some of the club's amateur players who rejected professionalism and wanted a workers' team to represent just the Royal Arsenal, broke away to form a short-lived alternative side, Royal Ordnance Factories.​

Woolwich Arsenal (in dark shirts) playing Newcastle United (in striped shirts) in an FA Cup semi-final — the club's first ever — at the Victoria Ground, Stoke on 31 March 1906; Newcastle won 2–0.

Woolwich Arsenal played in the Second Division for eleven seasons, and generally occupied mid-table before the appointment of Harry Bradshaw as manager in 1899;​ Bradshaw and his star signings, including goalkeeper Jimmy Ashcroft (Arsenal's first England international) and captain Jimmy Jackson, won promotion to the First Division in 1903–04. However, Bradshaw moved on to Fulham in May 1904, before the Gunners had kicked a ball in the top flight. Despite some strong performances in the FA Cup — the club reached the semi-finals in both 1905–06 and 1906–07​ — Arsenal were never able to challenge for the League title, only twice finishing above tenth place in the First Division between 1904 and 1913.

The chief cause of this decline was the club's ongoing financial problems; despite the boom in football during the early 20th century, the club's geographic isolation, in the relatively underpopulated area of Plumstead (then on the outskirts of urban London), meant attendances and thus income were low.​ To stay afloat, Woolwich Arsenal were forced to sell their star players (including Ashcroft, as well as Tim Coleman and Bert Freeman), and slowly started to slip down the table, which compounded their financial situation as crowds fell. By the end of the decade the average attendance at Manor Ground was 11,000, a little over half of what it was in 1904.​ The club were close to bankruptcy, and in 1910 went into voluntary liquidation before being bought out by a consortium of businessmen; the largest shareholder amongst the new owners was property magnate Sir Henry Norris, who was also chairman of Fulham.​

Move to Highbury (1910–25)

Norris was acutely aware of the problems associated with Woolwich Arsenal's location, and was desperate to improve the club's income. First, Norris tried to merge Woolwich Arsenal with his other club, Fulham. When that was blocked by the Football League, Norris abandoned the merger and looked to move the club elsewhere, eventually picking a site in Highbury, north London. Despite objections both from Woolwich-based fans and residents of Highbury,​ Norris tenaciously saw the move through. He reportedly spent £125,000​ (approximately £8.2m in 2005 prices​) on building the new stadium, designed by Archibald Leitch, on a divinity college's playing fields. Woolwich Arsenal moved there in the 1913 close season, having finished bottom and relegated back to the Second Division in 1912–13.​ They dropped the "Woolwich" from their name in April 1914, and although they were officially plain "Arsenal", the press at the time often referred to them as "The Arsenal" at first.​

The club controversially rejoined the First Division in 1919,​​ despite only finishing sixth in 1914–15, the last season of competitive football before the First World War had intervened — although an error in the calculation of goal average meant Arsenal had actually finished fifth,​ an error which was corrected by the Football League in 1975.​ The First Division was being expanded from 20 teams to 22, and the two new entrants were elected at an AGM of the Football League. One of the extra places was given to Chelsea, who had finished 19th in the First Division and thus had been already relegated. The other spot could have gone to 20th-placed Tottenham Hotspur (also relegated), or to Barnsley or Wolves, who had finished third and fourth in the Second Division respectively.​

Instead, the League decided instead to promote fifth-placed Arsenal, for reasons of history over merit; Norris argued that Arsenal be promoted for their "long service to league football", having been the first League club from the South.​ The League board agreed; they voted eighteen votes to eight to promote Arsenal ahead of their local rivals Tottenham Hotspur,​ which has fuelled the long-standing enmity between the two clubs. It has been alleged that this was due to backroom deals or even outright bribery by Sir Henry Norris,​ colluding with his friend John McKenna, chairman of Liverpool and the Football League, who recommended Arsenal's promotion to the AGM.​

No conclusive proof of wrongdoing has ever come to light, though other aspects of Norris's financial dealings unrelated to the promotion controversy have fuelled speculation on the matter; Norris resigned as chairman and left the club in 1929, having been found guilty by the Football Association of financial irregularities; he was found to have misused his expenses account, and to have pocketed the proceeds of the sale of the Arsenal team bus.​ Regardless of the circumstances of their promotion in 1919, Arsenal have remained in the top division since then, and as a result hold the English record for the longest unbroken stretch of top-flight football.​

The move to Highbury brought about much larger crowds; the average attendance in Arsenal's first season at Highbury was 23,000 (compared to 11,000 at the Manor Ground) and rose further after promotion in 1919, finally warding off the spectre of financial ruin.​ However, Arsenal's return to the First Division was not immediately successful. Under Leslie Knighton, the club never finished better than ninth, and in 1923–24 came close to returning to the Second Division, finishing 19th and only a point clear of the relegation zone.​ Arsenal did no better the following season, finishing 20th (although paradoxically the club were a lot safer this time, being seven points clear of the relegation places), which was the last straw for Norris; he fired Knighton in May 1925,​ and appointed the Huddersfield Town manager, Herbert Chapman in his place.

The Chapman era (1925–34)

Herbert Chapman's achievements are commemorated by a bronze bust inside the marble hall of Arsenal Stadium.

Chapman reformed many of the club's practices, including modernising the training and physiotherapy regimes, adding numbers to the players' shirts in August 1928,​ and changing the team's colours, adding white sleeves to the red shirt in March 1933. Chapman also insisted on journalists dropping the definite article from the club's name, becoming just "Arsenal", and he successfully campaigned for the renaming of the local Tube station, Gillespie Road, to Arsenal.​ At the same time, Chapman had a large transfer budget by virtue of Arsenal's improved revenue from their new stadium and a change of heart from Henry Norris; previously a highly prudent chairman, Norris now dictated that there was to be heavy spending on new players.​

Chapman's first signing was veteran Charlie Buchan from Sunderland; as well as his contributions on the pitch, Buchan would play an important part off it. After Arsenal were beaten 7–0 by Newcastle United in October 1925, Buchan suggested a change to the formation to adapt to a relaxation of the offside law, adjusting Arsenal's formation to the "WM", strengthening the defence by pushing the centre half back into defence and the full-backs out to the wings.​ Over time, Chapman developed the formation further, putting an emphasis on a pacy forward line, wingers cutting inside, and the role of a creative ball-playing midfielder.​

Arsenal came second in Chapman's first season, their best ever finish at that time,​ but this proved to be a false dawn; for the next few seasons they stayed in mid-table as Chapman took his time to assemble his side, slotting new signings such as winger Joe Hulme, forward Jack Lambert and defenders Tom Parker and Herbie Roberts into his new formation. In 1926–27, Arsenal reached their first FA Cup final, only to lose 1–0 to Cardiff City, after Arsenal's goalkeeper Dan Lewis let a harmless-looking shot slip through his arms and into the net;​​ it was the only occasion in history that the FA Cup has been won by a club from outside England.​

Chapman was not deterred, and continued to build his side, signing future captain Eddie Hapgood, as well as three of the club's great attacking players, David Jack, Alex James and Cliff Bastin; it was especially Alex James, Arsenal's playmaker in midfield, supplying the forward line and wingers, who became celebrated as the engine of the team.​ Three years after their first Cup final, in 1929–30, Arsenal reached Wembley again, this time up against Chapman's old club Huddersfield Town. The match was notable for being "buzzed" by the enormous German airship Graf Zeppelin. Arsenal were not distracted from their task; they won 2–0 with goals from James and Lambert to bring home the club's first major trophy.

This success was the first in a decade in which Arsenal were the dominant club in England. They won the First Division for the first time in 1930–31; Arsenal performed strongly in a free-scoring title race with Aston Villa, recording heavy wins of (including 7–1 v. Blackpool, 7–2 v. Leicester City, and 9–1 v Grimsby Town, which remains a club record for the top flight). Arsenal won the title with two games to spare, and finished the season having scored 127 league goals (another club record), though Aston Villa managed to score 128, which is still a record for the most goals in an English top flight season.

Archivo:1932 FA Cup Final.jpg

The "Over The Line Final" – Newcastle United's Jimmy Richardson crosses the ball back into the Arsenal penalty area, setting up Jack Allen to score; the ball however was fully over the goal-line at the time and thus out of play. Newcastle went on to win 2–1.

The following season, 1931–32, Arsenal reached the FA Cup final again, losing controversially to Newcastle United. Arsenal had led 1-0 with a Bob John goal, but Newcastle's equaliser came after a long ball had gone over the goal line, and out for a goal kick;​ Newcastle winger Jimmy Richardson nevertheless crossed the ball back into play and Jack Allen levelled the match for the Magpies; Allen scored again in the second half to win the match 2–1. Arsenal's pain was compounded by the fact that Everton had pipped them to the League title; a poor start to the 1931–32 campaign meant Arsenal played catch-up for most of the season, finishing two points adrift.​

Arsenal bounced back the following season, winning their second League title. Arsenal had started the season weakly, but then went on a long winning run to catch up and then overtake fellow title challengers Aston Villa, whom they beat 5–0 at Highbury in April to clinch the title.​ By this time Chapman's first set of signings had started to show their age​ so with an eye to the future Chapman promoted George Male to the first team to replace Tom Parker, and signed Ray Bowden to take over from David Jack. The only blot on the club's record was an infamous loss to Walsall of the Third Division North in the FA Cup; five of the first team were out with injury or flu and had their place taken by reserves,​ but despite six first-team players Arsenal lost 2–0 in one of the greatest FA Cup upsets of all time.​ One of the stand-ins, Tommy Black, was particularly to blame (conceding a penalty for Walsall's second), and was sold by an enraged Chapman to Plymouth Argyle within a week of the result; another, striker Charlie Walsh, was transferred to Brentford a week later.​

A hat-trick of League titles (1934–39)

Arsenal Stadium's East Stand, which was built in 1936

Arsenal had started the 1933–34 season solidly, but in January 1934 Herbert Chapman died suddenly from pneumonia. Despite this, under caretaker manager Joe Shaw Arsenal retained the title that season; Hulme and James were both out with injury for a large portion, and so Arsenal were not the attacking side they had been the previous season, scoring only 75 in the League, compared with 118 in 1932–33.​

George Allison (who had formerly been a director of the club) took over the job of team manager in summer 1934 and soon signed new blood for the side, including wing halves Jack Crayston and Wilf Copping (whose signings had been initiated by Chapman), and striker Ted Drake.​ With these new signings, Allison oversaw the completion of a hat-trick of League titles in 1934–35, and Arsenal were back to their attacking best; Drake scored a club record 42 league goals that season and Arsenal racked up a series of heavily one-sided scorelines reminiscent of the 1930–31 season (including 7–0 v. Wolves, 8–1 v. Liverpool, and 8–0 twice, v. Leicester City and v. Middlesbrough).​ Such was Arsenal's strength that in November 1934, seven players that started for the England side that beat World Champions Italy 3–2 (in the so-called "Battle of Highbury") were on Arsenal's books, a record number of players from a single club, which still stands today.​

Arsenal's ongoing success attracted larger and larger crowds. Arsenal's home, Highbury, was completely redeveloped, with Leitch's stands from 1913 demolished and replaced with modern Art Deco stands, parts of which remain to this day — the façade of the East Stand is now a Grade II listed building,​ and both façades have been retained as part of the modern-day redevelopment of Highbury into an apartment complex. Meanwhile, the North Bank and Clock End terraces had roofs installed. The new stadium saw its largest ever attendance, 73,295, on 9 March 1935 for a match against Sunderland.​

Arsenal's dominance of the decade was sealed with a second FA Cup in 1935–36, winning 1–0 against Sheffield United with a goal from Drake. Arsenal faded in the League somewhat after the 1934–35 title, and were weakened by the retirement of Alex James and the club's inability to replace him, as well as long-term injuries to several other key players such as Herbie Roberts and Joe Hulme. Nevertheless, they won a fifth League title in 1937–38, pipping Wolves on the final day of the season, to cap off a highly successful decade.

The Second World War (1939–45)

Soon after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, all first-class football in Britain was suspended, and the 1939–40 Football League season annulled. Highbury was requisitioned as an ARP station, with a barrage balloon operating behind the Clock End. During the Blitz, a bomb fell on the North Bank, destroying the roof and setting fire to the scrap that was being stored on the terrace. With Highbury closed, Arsenal instead played their home matches at White Hart Lane, home of their rivals Tottenham Hotspur.​ Wartime matches do not count in official statistics; competitions were played on a regional basis and teams often did not complete a full season; many footballers served in the armed forces as trainers or instructors and were away from their clubs for long periods of time, so they would often star as "guests" at other clubs. Arsenal won the Football League War Cup South in 1942–43 and the London or Southern league titles in 1939–40, 1941–42 and 1942–43.​ Participation in the London League led to their expulsion from the Football League in 1941 along with 14 other clubs; it was not until April 1942 when they were readmitted after expressing regret and paying a £10 fine.​

In November 1945, with league competition still suspended, Arsenal were one of the teams that played a Dynamo Moscow side touring the UK. With many players still serving abroad in the armed forces, Arsenal were severely depleted and used six guest players, including Stanley Matthews and Stan Mortensen, which led Dynamo to declare they were playing an England XI,​ although three of the side were actually Welsh. In any case, Dynamo themselves had Vsevolod Bobrov on loan from CDKA Moscow.​ The match, at White Hart Lane, kicked off in thick fog and the slick and technically proficient Dynamo won 4–3, after Arsenal had led 3–1 at half-time.

Though the score is generally agreed upon, after that accounts of the match diverge; even the identity of the goalscorers is disputed.​ English reports alleged Dynamo fielded twelve players at one point, and tried to pressurise the referee into abandoning the match when they had been behind; in turn, the Soviets accused Arsenal of persistent foul play and even alleged George Allison had bet money on the result (a claim that was later retracted).​ The acrimony after the match was such that it inspired George Orwell to write his 1945 essay The Sporting Spirit, in which he famously opined on the nature of sport, namely that in his view "it is war minus the shooting".​ With the fog obscuring much of the action, not to mention the language barriers and the early-Cold War mutual suspicion between both sides, it is unlikely any reliable account of the match will ever emerge.

The post-war years (1945–66)

Arsenal adopted this red crest in 1949, which was a familiar sight until its replacement in 2002.

The war had claimed the lives of nine Arsenal first team players, the most of any top flight club,​ and the intervening time had cut short the careers of several others, including Bastin and Drake. Additionally, the debts from the construction of Highbury and the costs of repairing war damage were a heavy financial burden, and Arsenal struggled at first when competitive football resumed in 1946. They lost 6–1 on aggregate to West Ham United in the third round of the 1945–46 FA Cup, and upon the league's resumption in 1946–47 the club finished 13th, their worst in 17 years.​ George Allison decided to retire from football at the end of that season, and was replaced by his assistant Tom Whittaker, a long-time servant of the club who had been trainer under Chapman.

Whittaker enjoyed immediate success, winning the League title in 1947–48; led by captain Joe Mercer's strong defence and with goals from attacking front two of Reg Lewis and Ronnie Rooke, Arsenal were top of the table from October until the season's climax, winning by a seven point margin.​ However, given the age of the Arsenal side at the time (Rooke and Mercer were both over thirty, as were Denis and Leslie Compton), long-term success was not possible. In response, Whittaker had brought in younger players such as Doug Lishman, Alex Forbes and Cliff Holton.​ Although Arsenal were unable to sustain any challenges for the League title, with the new blood they won the FA Cup in 1949–50, with Reg Lewis scoring both goals in a 2–0 win over Liverpool.

The 1951–52 season saw the club nearly win the Double, but ultimately end up empty-handed; a series of injuries and a fixture pile-up at the end of the season saw Arsenal lose their last two matches, including the title decider against eventual champions Manchester United at Old Trafford on the last day of the season;​ after losing 6–1, the Gunners finished third, equal on points with Tottenham.​ A week later, Arsenal played Newcastle United in the 1952 FA Cup Final, with several recovering players rushed back into the first team; Walley Barnes was taken off injured with a twisted knee after 35 minutes (no substitutes were allowed then), and ten-man Arsenal suffered further injuries to Holton, Roper and Daniel, so that by the end of the match they had only seven fit players on the pitch;​ with the numerical advantage in their favour, Newcastle won 1–0 with a goal from George Robledo.

Despite the disappointment of the previous season, Arsenal won their seventh League title in 1952–53; in one of the closest title races ever, they beat Preston North End to the title on goal average after finishing level on points.​ The title looked to be Preston's after Arsenal lost to them 2–0 at Deepdale in the penultimate game of the season, but Arsenal came from behind to beat Burnley 3–2, to take the title on 0.099 of a goal.​ That proved to be Arsenal's last trophy for seventeen years, as Arsenal's fortunes began to wane, particularly after the unexpected death of Tom Whittaker in October 1956.

As the club's fortunes declined, they found themselves unable to attract many stars (Welsh international goalkeeper Jack Kelsey being a notable exception), while up and coming players such as David Herd left for more successful clubs. Jack Crayston and George Swindin, both former players, followed Whittaker but could not replicate his success. Apart from finishing third in 1958–59 and fifth in both 1955–56 and 1956–57, Arsenal usually finished in mid-table.​ Nor did the club have much luck in the FA Cup — after reaching the final in 1951–52, Arsenal would not get beyond the quarter-finals again until 1970–71.​ To make matters worse for the club, up the road their fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur won the Double in 1960–61.

In 1962, Arsenal made the bold but ultimately unsuccessful step of appointing former England and Wolves captain Billy Wright as manager, despite his lack of managerial experience and the fact he had no prior experience with the club. Like his two immediate predecessors, Wright was not very successful, although it was under his leadership that the club made their debut in European competition, in the 1963–64 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup after finishing seventh in 1962–63.​ In his final season, Arsenal finished 14th, their lowest position in 36 years, and recorded the lowest-ever attendance at Highbury — 4,554 in a match against Leeds United on 5 May 1966.​​ The only Arsenal player to figure in England's 1966 FIFA World Cup-winning squad was George Eastham, who did not play at all during the tournament.​ Wright was dismissed by the Arsenal board in the summer of 1966,​ and was replaced by club physiotherapist Bertie Mee. Though the club's directors did not know it at the time, Mee would turn around the club and lead them to success both in Europe and at home within the next five years.

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Crest

Arsenal's first crest from 1888.

A version of the Arsenal crest used from 1949 to 2002.

Royal Arsenal's first crest, unveiled in 1888, featured three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannons.​ This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted their first single-cannon crest, featuring an eastward-pointing cannon, with the club's nickname, The Gunners, inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.​ In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon, the club's name set in blackletter above the cannon, the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit (meaning "victory comes from harmony"), coined by Harry Homer, the club's programme editor.​ For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green.

Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright it. Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise,​ Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable.​ The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest received a critical response from some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.​

The first Double (1966–76)

Following the dismissal of Billy Wright in the summer of 1966, Arsenal appointed physiotherapist Bertie Mee as his successor. The move that brought surprise to some, not least Mee himself, who requested that he be able to return to his old role as physio if being manager had not worked out after 12 months.​ With assistant Dave Sexton, Mee brought a more professional approach to the club and promoted talent from within; Arsenal's youth team had won the FA Youth Cup in 1966, and talented attacking players such as Charlie George, John Radford, Peter Simpson and Ray Kennedy graduated to the first team.

Mee complemented this attacking ability with some more experienced heads; captain Frank McLintock at centre half marshalled a strong defence, while the hard-tackling Peter Storey filled the defensive midfield position. The team showed early signs of promise, reaching two successive League Cup finals, in 1968 and 1969. Both times the Gunners went home empty-handed. The first time Arsenal lost to Don Revie's Leeds United 1-0 in a dour match of few chances, Terry Cooper grabbing the only goal.

The second League Cup loss was an infamous upset – Arsenal lost 3-1 to Third Division side Swindon Town. Eight of the team had been struck by flu that had led to the postponement of Arsenal's previous League fixture,​ and Arsenal had only reached extra time thanks to a late goalkeeping error that had allowed Bobby Gould to score. In extra time, Don Rogers scored twice as Arsenal searched for a winner. However, that season was not a total disaster for Arsenal; they had also finished fourth, which won them a place in Europe for the 1969-70 season.

In turn, this led to the club collecting their first silverware in seventeen years and also their first European trophy, the 1969-70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Arsenal beat Ajax 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, and then staged a famous comeback against Anderlecht in the final.​ Arsenal were 3-0 down after 74 minutes of the first leg at Stade Émile Versé, but Ray Kennedy got a late away goal to give the Gunners a glimmer of hope; in the second leg in front of a packed Highbury, inspired by captain Frank McLintock, Arsenal won 3-0 with goals from John Radford, Eddie Kelly and Jon Sammels, to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate.

The same season, Arsenal had only finished 12th in the league, perhaps distracted by their European campaign, and did not look like league contenders. Yet the following season, 1970-71, Arsenal went on to become only the second club of the 20th century to win the FA Cup and League Double, the club's first. After a bright start Arsenal looked to be out of the title chase with a 5-0 loss to Stoke City in September. However, Arsenal recovered and put in a strong run (they did not lose again in the league until January), and as the season closed they became involved in a tight race with Leeds United.

Arsenal were pushed all the way – after being defeated 1-0 by Leeds in April, they needed to beat or draw 0-0 with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on the last day of the season to take the title on goal average. An 87th-minute goal by Ray Kennedy gave Arsenal a 1-0 lead and despite Spurs' desperate attempts for an equaliser Arsenal hung on to win and take the title. In the meantime, Arsenal had also reached the FA Cup Final, following a titanic semi-final battle with Stoke which saw them come from 2-0 down to force a replay and eventual victory. In the Final, five days after the win at Tottenham, Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley; Arsenal went 1-0 down early in extra time, before Eddie Kelly's 101st-minute equaliser from close range.​ Ten minutes later, Charlie George scored the winner from the edge of the penalty area to win the game, and the Double, for Arsenal.

The Double proved to a premature high point of a decade characterised by a string of near-misses. Despite signing World Cup winner Alan Ball for a club record £220,000 in the close season, Arsenal began 1971-72 badly, losing three matches in August,​ and were forced to play catch-up for the rest of the season, ultimately finishing fifth. Their debut in the European Cup started encouragingly, but they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a Johann Cruyff-inspired Ajax, who went on to win the trophy as part of a hat-trick of European titles. Arsenal also reached the FA Cup Final for the second year in a row; in a repeat of the 1968 League Cup Final they lost 1-0 to Leeds United, in an ugly match of few real chances.​

Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972-73, but within a year the Double-winning side had been broken up, and Mee was unable to build a new team in its place. The club's form declined sharply, finishing 16th in 1974-75 and 17th in 1975-76, their lowest in more than forty years, which prompted Mee's resignation. Tottenham manager Terry Neill, a former Arsenal player, was appointed in his place, even though he had never got Spurs anywhere beyond mid-table, to become Arsenal's youngest-ever manager.

Four cup finals under Neill (1976–80)

Under Neill, Arsenal moved back into the top half of the table, inspired in part by the emergence of Irish superstar Liam Brady. Brady formed part of a large Irish contingent at Highbury, which included Pat Rice, Frank Stapleton, Pat Jennings and the young David O'Leary. Further to this were experienced signings such as Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Hudson, as well as the return of Don Howe, who had been part of the backroom staff when the Double was won, to the Arsenal coaching setup.

Although they could not challenge the League dominance of Liverpool at the time, towards the end of the decade they proved their mettle in the FA Cup. Arsenal reached three finals in a row (1978, 1979, and 1980), but won only one, the 1979 final against Manchester United. Largely inspired by Brady, Arsenal went 2-0 up through Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and looked to be coasting to victory; with five minutes to go, United scored twice in quick succession to level the match. Extra time loomed, but Alan Sunderland converted Graham Rix's cross in injury time to secure a famous 3-2 win.

The next season, 1979-80, proved to be cruel as Arsenal played a record-breaking 70 matches and reached two cup finals, only to end the season empty-handed. Arsenal were favourites to beat Second Division West Ham United in the FA Cup final, but lost 1-0 to a Trevor Brooking header. Meanwhile, they had also reached the Cup Winners' Cup final against Valencia, after Paul Vaessen's goal had given them a famous victory over Juventus in the semi-finals; the final finished goalless and Arsenal lost on penalties, with Brady and Rix missing from the spot.

Slight decline (1980–86)

Liam Brady left Arsenal for Juventus in the summer of 1980, and the team entered another barren spell. They continued to finish in the top four at the start of the 1980s, but never really looked like winning the title, and they could not rediscover their FA Cup form either - aside from 1982-83 when Arsenal reached both cup semi-finals in only to be knocked out in both by Manchester United. Neill struggled to control his team at times; throughout his tenure, he had fallings-out with many of his players (including Hudson and Macdonald) and he was unable to contain the drinking culture within the squad.​ His signings to replace the departed Brady and Stapleton failed to make the same impact, and towards the end of Neill's reign the club suffered several embarrassing cup defeats; this included losing to part-timers K.F.C. Winterslag in the 1981-82 UEFA Cup and Third Division Walsall in the 1983-84 League Cup. Neill was sacked in December 1983, soon after the latter result.

Don Howe, Neill's assistant, succeeded him but he could not get the side anywhere near a trophy either. Although Arsenal managed to finish sixth and seventh under him, they never seriously challenged for the title (although they did briefly top the league in October 1984) and were dumped out of the 1984-85 FA Cup by Third Division York City. The fans were getting increasingly disillusioned with the club's muddling performances and attendances started to dip beneath 20,000.​ In March 1986, after hearing the board had approached FC Barcelona coach Terry Venables as his replacement,​ Howe resigned. Steve Burtenshaw was briefly caretaker manager but the club decided to look to outside for Howe's long-term successor.

The George Graham years (1986–95)

Alan Smith attacking for Arsenal v. Sheffield Wednesday in a match at Highbury in 1992; Arsenal won 7-1

In May 1986, Millwall manager George Graham, a former Arsenal player, was appointed as Howe's long-term replacement, and it was the beginning of a new era of success at Highbury. Graham gradually sold off most of the older players and replaced them with new signings and players promoted from the youth team, while imposing much stricter discipline than his predecessors, both in the dressing room and on the pitch. Arsenal's form immediately improved, so much so that the club were top of the League at Christmas 1986.

Players like Kenny Sansom, Steve Williams, Tommy Caton, Charlie Nicholas and Gus Caesar were gradually discarded and a new-look Arsenal side featured players including Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould, David Rocastle, Alan Smith and Paul Merson.

Though Arsenal finished fourth in Graham's first season in charge, Arsenal did win the League Cup, in a campaign marked by comebacks. Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals; after losing 1-0 at Highbury in the first leg and conceding a second goal in the first half of the second leg at White Hart Lane, Arsenal scored twice through Viv Anderson and Niall Quinn to draw 2-2 on aggregate and force a replay;​ in the replay Spurs went 1-0 up, only for Arsenal to come back again with late goals from Ian Allinson and David Rocastle to win. The final against Liverpool was a repeat performance; after Arsenal had gone 1-0 down to an Ian Rush goal, two Charlie Nicholas goals brought Arsenal their first League Cup triumph and their first major trophy for eight years. However, UEFA voted to continue ban on English clubs in European competitions (that was imposed in the wake of the Heysel disaster in 1985) for a third season, and this meant that Arsenal were unable to compete in the 1987-88 UEFA Cup.

While Arsenal lost the League Cup final the following year (a shock 3-2 defeat to Luton Town), their League form steadily improved. Graham's side featured tight defensive discipline, embodied by his young captain Tony Adams, who along with Lee Dixon, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn, formed the basis of the club's defence for over a decade. However, contrary to popular belief, during this time Graham's Arsenal were not a purely defensive side; Graham also employed capable midfielders such as David Rocastle, Michael Thomas and Paul Merson, and striker Alan Smith, whose prolific goalscoring regularly brought him more than 20 goals in most of the eight seasons he spent at the club.

At the end of Graham's third season (1988-89), the club won their first League title since 1971, in highly dramatic fashion. Having led the League since Christmas, Arsenal were overtaken by Liverpool after losing to Derby County and drawing at home to Wimbledon in May. Arsenal had seemingly thrown away the title, but the final game of the season, on 26 May, was against Liverpool at Anfield; Arsenal needed to win by two goals to take the title; Liverpool had already won the FA Cup and were favourites to complete the Double. Alan Smith scored for Arsenal early in the second half to make it 1-0, but as time ticked by Arsenal struggled to get a second, and with 90 minutes gone on the clock, Arsenal still needed another goal. With only seconds to go, a Smith flick-on found Michael Thomas surging through the Liverpool defence; the young midfielder calmly lifted the ball over Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net, and Arsenal were League Champions.

Arsenal could not retain the title the following season; they finished fourth in 1989-90 and fell behind champions Liverpool, runners-up Aston Villa and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the title challenge. They also failed to make their mark in the cups, and the post-Heysel ban on English clubs in European competition was still in force at that time, so Arsenal were unable to represent England in the European Cup. The ban was lifted at the end of the season, though Liverpool (the team present at the Heysel disaster) had to serve an extra year.

Graham sought to improve his side and signed goalkeeper David Seaman and Swedish winger Anders Limpar in the close season; both players proved vital as Arsenal retook the title in 1990-91, despite two major setbacks. Arsenal had two points deducted in October 1990 after ten of their players were involved in a brawl with Manchester United players in a match at Old Trafford, and captain Tony Adams was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for drink driving in December. These did not hinder Arsenal's progress; they lost only one league match all season and finished seven points clear. Arsenal also reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur; Paul Gascoigne scored with a free kick from 30 yards after just five minutes and Tottenham ran home 3-1 winners, dashing hopes of a second Double.

In September 1991, Arsenal paid a club record of £2.5million for Crystal Palace striker Ian Wright, who would go on to spend seven years at the club and become their all-time leading goalscorer in the process. The 1991-92 season saw the club's first entry in the European Cup for 20 years. The European venture went badly; Arsenal were knocked out by SL Benfica in the second round and failed to make the lucrative group stage. The season went from bad to worse when the Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup by lowly Wrexham, though Arsenal recovered to finish fourth in the League. The ban on English clubs in European competitions had been lifted two years earlier, but Arsenal missed out on a UEFA Cup place as English clubs were gradually being phased back into European competitions and at this stage only the second and third placed teams were qualifying for the UEFA Cup.

The big news of the 1992 close season was the acquisition of Danish midfielder John Jensen, who had just won Euro 92 with Denmark, scoring a goal in their victory over Germany in the final. Jensen's arrival coincided with the departure of fellow midfielder David Rocastle to Leeds United - the defending league champions. Around this point, Graham altered his tactics; he became more defensive and turned out far less attack-minded sides, which depended mainly on goals from Wright rather than the whole team. Between 1986-87 and 1991-92 Arsenal averaged 66 League goals a season (scoring 81 in 1991-92), but between 1992-93 and 1994-95 only averaged 48;​ this included just 40 in 1992-93, when the club finished 10th in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League, scoring fewer than any other team in the division, though they had briefly topped the table in November.​

Arsenal's form in the cups was much better than in the league, and in 1992-93 they became the first side to win the FA Cup and League Cup double. In the League Cup final, Arsenal faced Sheffield Wednesday; a Merson-inspired Arsenal side came from 1-0 down to win 2-1 thanks to a Steve Morrow goal. In the FA Cup, Arsenal beat Spurs 1-0 in the semi-finals (avenging their defeat of 1991), and played Sheffield Wednesday in the final, just as they had done in the League Cup final a few weeks earlier. The game ended 1-1 and went to a replay; Wright opened the scoring for Arsenal but Chris Waddle equalised. Extra time came, and still no goal broke the deadlock until the 120th minute, when Andy Linighan powered home a header from a corner to win the match and the cup double for Arsenal.

In 1993-94, Arsenal won their second European trophy; a side missing key players (John Jensen and Martin Keown were injured, while Ian Wright was suspended, beat favourites and holders Parma 1-0 in the Cup Winners' Cup final in Copenhagen, with a tight defensive performance and Alan Smith's 21st minute goal from a left foot volley. The 1994 Cup Winners Cup proved to be George Graham's last trophy at the club; the following February the Scot was sacked after nearly nine years in charge, after it was discovered he had accepted an illegal £425,000 payment from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge following Arsenal's 1992 acquisition of John Jensen, one of Hauge's clients.​

In the weeks before Graham was sacked, he made three major signings for Arsenal. Glenn Helder, a Dutch winger signed from Vitesse Arnhem, was a regular first team player for more than a year after joining the club but was then loaned to Benfica of Portugal before permanently departing in October 1997 to join NAC Breda back in his homeland. Chris Kiwomya, an attacking midfielder signed from Ipswich Town, scored three goals in 17 games before the end of the season but never played for the club again, finally departing in 1998 to sign for Queens Park Rangers. John Hartson, a 19-year-old Welsh striker, was signed from Luton Town and occupied the first team place vacated by the injury-hit Alan Smith, who retired from playing months later.

Bruce Rioch: The interregnum (1995–96)

Assistant manager Stewart Houston took charge until the end of the 1994-95 season. Arsenal finished 12th in the Premiership (their lowest ever-finish in the Premier League, as of 2008), but did reach the Cup Winners Cup final again, after a titanic semi-final against UC Sampdoria, which they won on penalties after drawing 5-5 on aggregate. Arsenal faced Real Zaragoza in the final; Esnáider scored for the Spaniards and John Hartson equalised for Arsenal. The game was heading to a 1-1 draw and penalties, before midfielder Nayim struck from 40 yards in the 120th minute, in virtually the last kick of the game. David Seaman, who had been Arsenal's hero in the semi-final shootout, couldn't backpedal fast enough and only got a hand to the ball as it went in.

In June 1995 Arsenal appointed Bruce Rioch, who had just guided Bolton Wanderers to the League Cup final and promotion to the top flight, as manager. He (briefly) broke the English transfer record by paying Internazionale £7.5million for Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp, and the new signing formed an impressive partnership with Ian Wright. Arsenal reached the League Cup semi-finals and finished fifth in the Premiership at the end of 1995-96, securing a place in the following season's UEFA Cup and giving hope for an eventual title challenge. The Rioch era ended abruptly, however; in August 1996, just before the start of the new season, Rioch was sacked after a dispute over transfer funds with the board of directors, triggering a couple of months' turmoil at the club. Stewart Houston was once again put in temporary charge; he remained at the helm for a month, before resigning to take over at QPR. Youth team coach Pat Rice held the fort for several games, before making way for the Frenchman Arsène Wenger at the end of September.

Two more Doubles (1996–2003)

Arsenal's players and fans celebrate their 2004 Premier League win with an open-top bus parade.

The team immediately improved under Wenger's management, coming third and winning a UEFA Cup place in 1996-97, missing out on second (and a Champions League spot) on goal difference. Wenger rebuilt the Arsenal squad with a crop of French players who were seemingly unknown in the UK. Patrick Vieira had been signed on Wenger's recommendation before he had officially taken up the reins, and Wenger added Nicolas Anelka and Emmanuel Petit, as well as Dutch winger Marc Overmars in the summer of 1997. Wenger melded the new arrivals with some of the "old guard", retaining Adams, Dixon, Winterburn, Keown and Bould, and he kept Pat Rice on as assistant manager.

Wenger got his first silverware, and became the first foreign manager to win the English league, the following season, when he steered the side to their second double. It had looked like Arsenal were out of the title race by December after losing 3-1 at home to Blackburn, but they overcame a twelve point deficit to overtake Manchester United; a 4-0 home win over Everton on 3 May won the title with two matches to spare. On 16 May, Arsenal beat Newcastle United 2-0 in the FA Cup final to complete the double. To top it off, the same season Ian Wright broke Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record, bringing his tally to 185 goals before leaving the club in the summer of 1998.

Despite the signing of Fredrik Ljungberg in 1998 and Thierry Henry a year later, a more barren period followed for Arsenal over the next few years, though they came close several times. Arsenal led the League for much of 1998-99, until a 1-0 loss to Leeds United allowed Manchester United to overtake them; Arsenal beat Aston Villa on the last day of the season but United's victory over Spurs meant they took the title. To rub it in further, Arsenal also lost the last ever FA Cup semi-final replay to Manchester United; Dennis Bergkamp had missed a penalty in normal time, and Ryan Giggs scored the winner in extra time after a mazy solo run through the Arsenal defence. Arsenal's return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years was also unsuccessful, as they failed to get past the group stage.

Arsenal came second again in 1999-2000; this time, there was never any real title race and Arsenal finished the season 18 points behind winners Manchester United. Arsenal had another poor season in the Champions League, finishing third in their group; this won them a consolation place in the UEFA Cup, and Arsenal got all the way to the final, where they faced Galatasaray in Copenhagen, the scene of their 1994 Cup Winners' Cup triumph. The match was a tepid affair, a 0-0 draw with few chances; it went to penalties and Arsenal lost after Davor Šuker and Patrick Vieira missed their spot-kicks.

Arsenal again finished second in 2000-01, this time ten points behind Manchester United; the title race had been as good as over since February, when Arsenal lost 6-1 at Old Trafford. Arsenal's season gave priority to the Cups and Europe. They beat Spurs in the semi-finals and met Liverpool in the final at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff; Arsenal dominated most of the match, and were denied a goal by the arm of defender Stephane Henchoz, which went unpunished.​ Arsenal finally did go 1-0 up through Ljungberg but succumbed to two late Michael Owen goals and lost 2-1. In Europe, Arsenal made it to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 1972, only to be eliminated on the away goals rule by eventual finalists Valencia.

By now Wenger had been forced to rebuild much of the Double-winning side of 1998; Anelka, Overmars and Petit had all left for Spanish clubs in return for hefty fees, while age was finally catching up with the famous back line; Bould and Winterburn had already left, and Adams and Dixon would only last another season before retiring. In their place, Wenger signed the likes of Sol Campbell and Lauren in defence, as well as promoting Ashley Cole from the youth ranks. In midfield, Wenger added the talismanic Robert Pirès and signed his compatriot Sylvain Wiltord in attack, while in the meantime Thierry Henry had adapted to the English game to become one of the Premiership's best strikers.

Attack was definitely Arsenal's forté as they won a record-equalling third Double in 2001-02 season; the Gunners were the only team to score in every game of the Premiership season, and went unbeaten in domestic away games. After an initially tight title race (just three points separated the top four in February), Arsenal pulled away from the pack with a 13-game winning streak, finishing seven points ahead of runners-up Liverpool. Arsenal secured the title in the penultimate game of the season with a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, the goal coming from Wiltord. The previous weekend, Arsenal had wrapped up their eighth FA Cup, beating Chelsea 2-0 with goals from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg.

In 2002-03, Arsenal became the first club in more than 20 years to retain the FA Cup, with a 1-0 victory against Southampton thanks to a Pirès goal. Their joy was soured by the fact that they narrowly missed out on retaining the Premiership title. Arsenal had led eventual winners Manchester United by eight points at one stage, but their form collapsed late on in the season; they drew 2-2 away to Bolton Wanderers after leading 2-0, and then lost 3-2 at home to Leeds United a week later, which gave United the title.

The "Invincibles" and a Champions League Final (2003–06)

Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira lifts the 2003-04 Premier League trophy.

Little did they know it at the time, but the defeat to Leeds would be Arsenal's last in the League for over a year. 2003-04 was a record-breaking season for Arsenal, as they won the Premiership unbeaten (26 wins, 12 draws, 0 defeats), finishing a clear 11 points ahead of second-place Chelsea. They became only the second team to do so, the first having been Preston North End in 1888-89, though Preston had only played 22 games in their own unbeaten league season. Their rivals for the title gained revenge in other competitions – Arsenal were defeated in the Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals by Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively, in successive matches. Faced with the potential collapse of their season, Arsenal recovered from being 1-0 and 2-1 behind to Liverpool in their next league match to win 4-2, thanks to a Thierry Henry hat-trick, and went on to win the league with a 2-2 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur, mimicking their success in 1971.

Arsenal were unable to retain the title in 2004-05, finishing second, 12 points behind a record-breaking Chelsea side. However, the Gunners did stretch their unbeaten run to 49 consecutive matches, an English league football record; the record was equalled with a dramatic 5-3 win over Middlesbrough (Arsenal having trailed 3-1 shortly after half-time) and then surpassed with a 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in August 2004, before it was ended with a 2-0 away defeat by Manchester United. This defeat arguably upset the team's form and they fell away from title contention before recovering with a late flourish to finish second, sealed with a 7-0 drubbing of Everton. Champions League glory eluded them again, with the club getting knocked out 3-2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in the second round. Arsenal did not end the season empty-handed; they came away with their third FA Cup in four years, winning 5-4 on penalties after a 0-0 draw against Manchester United.

Weakened by the sale of skipper Patrick Vieira to Juventus in the summer of 2005, Arsenal's 2005-06 season was comparatively disappointing domestically and the club failed to challenge for any trophies at home. In the league, their poor away form dogged them and despite recording some impressive wins at home (5-0 over Aston Villa, and 7-0 over Middlesbrough), Arsenal spent much of the latter stages of the season in fifth place or lower, and looked set to miss out on the Champions League for the first time since 1997. However, they won their last three matches of the season, culminating in a 4-2 victory over Wigan Athletic in the last ever match at Highbury; coupled with Tottenham Hotspur's loss at West Ham United the same day, this meant Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place and a Champions League spot.

In contrast to their domestic form, Arsenal's form in Europe in 2005-06 was much stronger; they reached the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in their history, becoming the first London club ever to do so. Arsenal finished top of their group unbeaten, above Ajax Amsterdam, FC Thun and Sparta Prague against whom Thierry Henry scored two goals on away to become the all time record goalscorer for Arsenal; in the knockout stages they beat Real Madrid (becoming the first British team to beat Real at the Bernabéu), Juventus and then Villarreal to reach the final, setting a competition record of ten matches without conceding a goal in the process. In the final, against Barcelona, Arsenal were reduced to ten men early on when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off for a professional foul; nevertheless they were the ones who scored first, Sol Campbell scoring with a header from a free kick in the 37th minute. Arsenal doggedly defended their lead, but two late goals from Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti meant Barcelona ran out 2-1 winners.

Move to Emirates Stadium (2006–)

The Emirates Stadium on the day of Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial, the first match to be played there.

Arsenal have been highly successful in the 1990s and 2000s, but Highbury's capacity was limited to only 38,500 in the post-informe Taylor era; virtually every match was sold out and the club were unable to maximise matchday revenue. With expansion of Highbury ruled impossible, in 1999 Arsenal announced plans to move down the road to Ashburton Grove; construction started in December 2002 with the demolition of buildings on the site, and in July 2006 the new Emirates Stadium opened, ready for the start of the 2006-07 season.

Arsenal took a little time to get used to their new surroundings and as early as November, manager Arsène Wenger conceded that his side was unlikely to make a serious challenge for the title.​ Dogged by poor away form throughout the season, Arsenal eventually finished fourth, level on points with third-placed Liverpool. With a team largely filled with reserve and younger players, they reached the League Cup Final, which they lost 2-1 to Chelsea. However they were less successful in other competitions, being knocked out early on in both the Champions League and FA Cup.

2006–07 marked a transitional period - Arsenal had sold a string of key players, including Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Lauren, Fredrik Ljungberg and most significantly, all-time top scorer and club captain Thierry Henry to Barcelona. Arsenal went into 2007-08 with only three first-team players from the title-winning season in 2003–04, with the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gael Clichy establishing their places in the side.

Arsenal started the season strongly, going undefeated until early December, and in the process, setting a club record of 28 matches unbeaten in all competitions.​ However, Arsenal slumped in the spring and eventually finished third. Arsenal had little success in the cups, knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool in the quarter-finals and the FA Cup by Manchester United. The League Cup was more fruitful, Arsenal reaching the semi-finals for a third season in a row, before being knocked out 6-2 on aggregate by Tottenham Hotspur - their first defeat in a North London derby in almost nine years.

Arsenal's 2008-09 started well, reaching top of the table by late September. After that the team lost momentum, with three defeats in November, and had dropped out of the top four by Christmas, despite victories over Manchester United and Chelsea. Arsenal continued to drop points in the league in the New Year, but eventually overtook Aston Villa to regain fourth place by mid-March, eventually finishing nine points clear. Arsenal also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing to Chelsea 2-1 in their first game at the new Wembley Stadium; in Europe, they finished second in their group and beat AS Roma and Villarreal before losing 4-1 on aggregate to Manchester United in the semi-finals.

Colours

For much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball.​ The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and blue socks.​

In 1933 Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box red. The origin of the white sleeves is not conclusively known, with two possible inspirations having been put forward. One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played golf.​ Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts;​ this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the 2006–07 season.​. Since the 2008–09 season, Arsenal has slightly altered the design of their traditional home shirts, replacing the all white sleeves with a thick white stripe. The remainder of the sleeves is red.

Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs. In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time;​ in 1938, Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip.​ In the 1930s, Sporting Clube de Braga's coach returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit into a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of Os Arsenalistas.​ These teams still wear these designs to this day.

Arsenal's away colours are traditionally yellow and blue, but there have been exceptions. They wore a green and navy away kit between 1982 and 1984,​ and since the early 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly. During this period the designs have been either two-tone blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season,​ and the yellow and dark grey used in 2005–06 and 2006–07. Currently the away kit is changed every season, with the outgoing away kit becoming the third choice kit if a new home kit is being introduced in the same year.​

Arsenal's shirts have been made by a variety of manufacturers, including Umbro (from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas (1986–1994), and since 1994 they have been made by Nike. Like most other major football clubs, Arsenal have had shirt sponsorship since the 1980s, with sponsors including JVC (1982–1999), Sega (1999–2002), O2 (2002–2006) and current sponsors Emirates (from 2006).

Stadiums

The North Bank Stand, Arsenal Stadium, Highbury.

The Emirates Stadium filling up on the day of Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial.

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, until the club installed stands and terracing in time for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in 1894–95), 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 West and East stands constructed, opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively;​ in addition, the North Bank terrace had a roof added, which was later bombed during World War II and not restored until 1954.​

At its peak, Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The informe Taylor 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.​ These limitations prevented the club from maximising matchday revenue during the 1990s and early 2000s, leaving them in danger of being left behind in the football boom of that time.​ After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,355-capacity 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,​ and 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;​ alternatively 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 2012, and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season.​

Arsenal's training centre is in Shenley, Hertfordshire, at a purpose-built facility which opened in 2000. Before that the club shared training facilities with University College London Student Union nearby, having trained at Highbury up until 1961.​ Arsenal's Academy teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the Reserves play their games at Underhill, home of Barnet FC.​

Supporters

Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name being derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". Arsenal have a large and generally loyal fanbase, with virtually all home matches selling out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity),​ and as of 2006, the fourth-highest all-time average attendance.​ The club's location, adjoining both wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway and Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides. In addition, Arsenal have the highest proportion (7.7%) of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, according to a 2002 report.​

Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which works closely with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line. There is also the Arsenal Supporters' Trust, which promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans. The club's supporters also publish fanzines such as The Gooner, Highbury High, Gunflash and the less cerebral Up The Arse!. In addition to the usual English football chants, Arsenal's supporters sing "One-Nil to the Arsenal" (to the tune of "Go West") and "Boring, Boring Arsenal", which used to be a common taunt from opposition fans but is now sung ironically by Arsenal supporters when the team is playing well.​

There have always been Arsenal supporters outside of London, and in recent times with the advent of satellite television, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal now have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; there are 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 overseas supporters clubs affiliated with Arsenal, as of 2007.​ A 2005 report by Granada Ventures, which at the time owned a 9.9% stake in the club, estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 27 million, the third largest in the world.​

Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur, with matches between the two being referred to as North London derbies.​ Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United have had a strong on-pitch rivalry since the late 1980s, which has intensified in recent years when both clubs have been competing for the Premier League title​ – so much so that in a 2003 online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea.​ A 2008 poll lists the Tottenham rivalry as more important.​

Ownership and finances

Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,217 shares in Arsenal have been issued,​ and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on PLUS, a specialist market. As of August 25, 2009, a single share in Arsenal has a mid price of £7,150, meaning the club's market capitalisation value is approximately £444.9m.​ The club made a pre-tax operating profit (excluding player transfers) of £36.7m in the year ending 31 May 2008, from a turnover of £223.0m.​

In April 2008, business magazine Forbes ranked Arsenal as third most valuable football team in the world, after Manchester United and Real Madrid, valuing the club at $1.2bn (£605m), excluding debt.​ Accountants Deloitte rate Arsenal sixth in the 2009 Deloitte Football Money League, a ranking of the world's football clubs in terms of revenue, with the club earning £209.3m in the 2007–08 season.​

In total, Arsenal FC's board of directors currently hold 45.2% of the club's shares; as of March 2009 the largest shareholder on the board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who launched a bid for the club in 2007,​ and as of May 2009 holds 17,613 shares (28.3%).​ Other directors with significant holdings are Danny Fiszman, who holds 10,025 shares (16.1%), and club chairman Peter Hill-Wood, who owns 500 (0.8%), with all the other directors holding nominal amounts.​ Former director Nina Bracewell-Smith (wife of the grandson of former chairman Sir Bracewell Smith) holds 9,893 shares (15.9%).​

A rival bid to Kroenke's has come from the firm Red & White Securities, which is co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and London-based financier Farhad Moshiri.​ Red & White launched their bid in August 2007, buying the stake held by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, and as of February 2009 own 15,555 shares (25.0%) in the club.​ This has led to press speculation of a bidding war between Kroenke and Usmanov.​ However, Kroenke has agreed not to purchase more than 29.9% of the club until at least September 2009,​ while the rest of the board have first option on each others' shares until October 2012.​

Arsenal in popular culture

As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in British culture and have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.​ A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first ever football match to be televised live.​ Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964.​

Arsenal also formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related films, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939).​ The film is centred on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned whilst playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves and manager George Allison was given a speaking part.​ More recently, the book Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s.​ The book was later adapted into two films – a British film, which centred on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win,​ and an American film about a fan of Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox.​

Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s;​​ many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film The Full Monty, in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their stripping.​ Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film Plunkett & Macleane, in which there are two characters named Dixon and Winterburn, named after Arsenal's long serving full backs – the right-sided Lee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.​

Arsenal Ladies

Arsenal Ladies are the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded in 1987, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are managed by Tony Gervaise. Arsenal Ladies are the most successful team in English women's football; they are the current (2008–09) holders of all three major English trophies – the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup and FA Women's Premier League Cup;​ they are also the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup, having done so in the 2006–07 season as part of a unique quadruple.​ The men's and women's clubs are formally separate entities but have quite close ties; Arsenal Ladies are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium, though they usually play their home matches at Boreham Wood.​

Arsenal in the Community

In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, "Arsenal in the Community", which offers sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects. The club support a number of charitable causes directly and in 1992 established The Arsenal Charitable trust, which has raised over £2 million for local causes.​ There is also an ex-professional and celebrity team to raise money for good causes.​

Statistics and records

David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 563 appearances.​

Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 226 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2007 having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005.​ Wright's record had stood since September 1997, a feat which overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939.​ Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League – 174​ – a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.

Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where Arsenal formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935,​ while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.​

Arsenal have also set records in English football, most notably the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (82 as of 2008–09) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004).​ This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, making Arsenal only the second club ever to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.​

Arsenal also set a UEFA Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak finally ended in the final against FC Barcelona, when Samuel Eto'o scored Barcelona's equaliser in the 76th minute.​

Players

First-team squad

As of 14 August 2009.​​

Jugadores			Equipo técnico
N.º Nac. Pos. Nombre 1 Spain ! Manuel Almunia 2 France ! Abou Diaby 3 France ! Bacary Sagna 4 Spain ! Cesc Fàbregas 5 Belgium ! Thomas Vermaelen 6 Switzerland ! Philippe Senderos 7 Czech Republic ! Tomáš Rosický 8 France ! Samir Nasri 9 Croatia ! Eduardo 10 France ! William Gallas 11 Netherlands ! Robin van Persie 12 Mexico ! Carlos Vela 14 England ! Theo Walcott 15 Brazil ! Denílson 16 Wales ! Aaron Ramsey 17 Cameroon ! Alexandre Song 18 France ! Mikaël Silvestre 19 England ! Jack Wilshere 20 Switzerland ! Johan Djourou 21 Poland ! Łukasz Fabiański 22 France ! Gaël Clichy 23 Russia ! Andrei Arshavin 24 Italy ! Vito Mannone 27 Cote d'Ivoire ! Emmanuel Eboué 28 England ! Kieran Gibbs 30 France ! Armand Traoré 32 Spain ! Fran Mérida 52 Denmark ! Nicklas Bendtner 53 Poland ! Wojciech Szczęsny			Entrenador(es) {{{entrenador}}} Leyenda Pos. : Posición Nac. : Nacionalidad deportiva Capitán Lesionado POR / ARQ : Guardameta DEF : Defensa MED / VOL : Centrocampista DEL : Delantero

For recent transfers, see Arsenal F.C. 2009–10 transfers.

Reserve squad

As of 9 October 2009.​​

Jugadores			Equipo técnico
N.º Nac. Pos. Nombre 33 Netherlands ! Nacer Barazite 34 England ! Kyle Bartley 35 France ! Francis Coquelin 36 England ! Thomas Cruise 37 England ! Craig Eastmond 39 Cameroon ! Cedric Evina 40 England ! Luke Freeman 41 England ! Emmanuel Frimpong 42 England ! Kerrea Gilbert 43 Ireland ! Conor Henderson 46 England ! Luke Ayling 47 England ! Rhys Murphy 48 England ! Mark Randall 49 Ireland ! James Shea 51 France ! Gilles Sunu 54 England ! Sanchez Watt			Entrenador(es) {{{entrenador}}} Leyenda Pos. : Posición Nac. : Nacionalidad deportiva Capitán Lesionado POR / ARQ : Guardameta DEF : Defensa MED / VOL : Centrocampista DEL : Delantero

Players out on loan

As of 9 October 2009.

Jugadores			Equipo técnico
N.º Nac. Pos. Nombre 38 England ! Jay Emmanuel-Thomas​​ 44 England ! Gavin Hoyte​ 45 England ! Henri Lansbury​ 50 England ! Jay Simpson​ — Norway ! Håvard Nordtveit​ — Brazil ! Pedro Botelho​			Entrenador(es) {{{entrenador}}} Leyenda Pos. : Posición Nac. : Nacionalidad deportiva Capitán Lesionado POR / ARQ : Guardameta DEF : Defensa MED / VOL : Centrocampista DEL : Delantero

Current coaching staff

As of 19 July 2009.​

Position	Name
Manager	Arsène Wenger
Assistant manager	Pat Rice
First team coach	Boro Primorac
Reserve team coach	Neil Banfield
Youth team coach	Steve Bould
Goalkeeping coach	Gerry Peyton
Fitness coach	Tony Colbert
Physiotherapist	Colin Lewin
Club doctor	Gary O'Driscoll
Kit manager	Vic Akers
Chief scout	Steve Rowley
Head of youth development	Liam Brady

Managers

Arsène Wenger, current manager of Arsenal

There have been eighteen permanent and five caretaker managers of Arsenal since the appointment of the club's first professional manager, Thomas Mitchell in 1897.​ The longest-serving manager in terms of time and number of games is current manager Arsène Wenger (1996–), having recently passed the thirteen year run of George Allison (1934–1947).​ Wenger is also Arsenal's only manager from outside Great Britain or Ireland and is Arsenal's most successful permanent manager in terms of percentage of wins with 57.36% (as of 11 May 2008), while Leslie Knighton is Arsenal's least successful (34.46%).​ Two Arsenal managers have died in the job – Herbert Chapman and Tom Whittaker.​

Honours

Domestic

• First Division (before 1992) and Premier League (after 1992)​

Winners (13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

Runners-up (8): 1925–26, 1931–32, 1972–73, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05

• Second Division​

Runners-up (1): 1903–04

• FA Cup

Winners (10): 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05

Runners-up (7): 1926–27, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1979–80, 2000–01

• League Cup

Winners (2): 1986–87, 1992–93

Runners-up (4): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1987–88, 2006–07

• FA Community Shield (or FA Charity Shield before 2002)​

Winners (12): 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

Runners-up (7): 1935, 1936, 1979, 1989, 1993, 2003, 2005

European

• UEFA Champions League

Runners-up (1): 2005–06

• European Cup Winners' Cup

Winners (1): 1993–94

Runners-up (2): 1979–80, 1994–95

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Winners (1): 1969–70

• UEFA Cup

Runners-up (1): 1999–2000

• UEFA Super Cup

Runners-up (1): 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.​ They were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006.​

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.​

Further reading

• Hornby, Nick (1992). Fever Pitch. Indigo. ISBN 9780575400153. 
• Maidment, Jem (2006). The Official Arsenal Encyclopedia. Hamlyn. ISBN 9780600615491. 
• Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2000). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. ISBN 9780600601753. 
• Spurling, Jon (2004). Rebels for the Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal Football Club. Mainstream. ISBN 9781840189001. 
• «Club History». Arsenal.com. Consultado el 13 de mayo de 2007. 
• «History of Arsenal FC». Arsenal-Mania. Consultado el 13 de mayo de 2007. 
• «The History of Arsenal Football Club». Arseweb. Consultado el 13 de mayo de 2007. 

Books

• Joy, Bernard (1952). Forward Arsenal!. Phoenix House. 
• Maidment, Jem (2005). The Official Arsenal 100 Greatest Games. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61376-3. 
• Roper, Alan (2003). The Real Arsenal Story: In the Days of Gog. Wherry. ISBN 0-9546259-0-0. 
• Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61344-5. 
• Spurling, Jon (2004). Rebels For The Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal Football Club. Mainstream. ISBN 0-575-40015-3. 
• Weaver, Graham (2005). Gunners' Glory: 14 Milestones in Arsenal's History. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-667-4. 
• Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin (2005). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61344-5. 
• Spurling, Jon (2004). Rebels For The Cause: The Alternative History of Arsenal Football Club. Mainstream. ISBN 9781840189001. 
• «Club History». Arsenal.com. Consultado el 17 de junio de 2006. 
• «Arsenal statistics». Arseweb. Consultado el 27 de julio de 2005. 
• «History of Arsenal FC». Arsenal-Mania. Consultado el 9 de marzo de 2006. 

Further reading

• Adams, Tony with Ridley, Ian (1998). Addicted. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-218795-7. 
• Hornby, Nick (1992). Fever Pitch. Indigo. ISBN 9780575400153. 
• Lawrence, Amy (1997). Proud to Say That Name: The Marble Hall of Fame. Mainstream. ISBN 1-85158-898-1. 
• Maidment, Jem (2005). The Official Arsenal 100 Greatest Games. Hamlyn. ISBN 0-600-61376-3. 
• Tossell, David (2002). Seventy-One Guns: The Year of the First Arsenal Double. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-589-9. 
• Weaver, Graham (2005). Gunners' Glory: 14 Milestones in Arsenal's History. Mainstream. ISBN 1-84018-667-4. 

External links

Official websites

• Arsenal.com Official club website
• Arsenal at the Premier League official website
• Arsenal at the UEFA official website

General fan sites

• Arseweb
• Arsenal-Mania
• Arsenal World
• Arsenal Land

News sites

• Arsenal news from Sky Sports

Fanzines

• Up the Arse!
• The Gooner