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From Dial Square to Highbury

Arsenal FC history can be traced to 1886 when the club was founded by workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in South London. The club was originally called Dial Square FC, but the name was changed to first Royal Arsenal, and then Woolwich Arsenal.

In 1893 they became the first London club to join the Football League. They won promotion to the First Division in 1904 and stayed there for nine years until relegation 1913. That same year, despite protests from Tottenham Hotspur, the club left South-East London to move to Highbury. In 1914, Woolwich was dropped from the club name.

Herbert Norris and the Great Promotion "Swindle"

League Football was suspended during the Great War, and when it resumed in 1919 the First Division was expanded. Club chairman, Sir Henry Norris, somehow managed to convince the league to promote Arsenal (who had finished fifth in Division Two in 1915) in place of Tottenham (who had finished bottom of Division One). The seeds of north London rivalry had well and truly been sown.

Herbert Chapman and Beyond

In 1925, after years of mediocrity, there was a major turn in Arsenal FC history when the club appointed Herbert Chapman as manager. Chapman had previously guided Huddersfield Town to two of their three successive League titles, and set about transforming the Gunners into the dominant force in English football. They won the FA Cup in 1930 and their first League Championship in 1931. This was followed by a further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years.

Chapman is also credited with having the nearby underground station renamed "Arsenal", and introducing the famous white sleeves to the club's strip. He also pioneered the use of numbers on football shirts.

When football resumed after World War II, Tom Whittaker built another great team, which won two more titles (1948 and 1953) and an FA Cup (1950). In the 1951-52 season the Gunners narrowly miss the double, finishing as runners up in both league and FA cup.

The First Double

Bertie Mee took over as manager in 1966, and led the Gunners to their first European trophy, winning the Inter-City Fairs Cup against Anderlecht in 1970. The following season the first "double" in Arsenal FC history was achieved when the club won both the League championship and FA cup.

The remainder of the seventies were relatively unsuccessful years, although towards the end of the decade Terry Neill and Don Howe achieved some success when the club reached the FA Cup final in 3 successive seasons. However, two of these visits were unsuccessful with only 1979 ending in triumph via a thrilling 3-2 victory against Manchester United.

The following season saw a double cup disappointment - defeat against West Ham in the FA Cup final, and 4 days later a loss to Valencia in the European Cup Winners Cup final, this time on penalties.

Former player George Graham took over in 1986, and delivered six major trophies in the next eight years. The League Cup was secured in 1987, and was followed by the League Championship in 1989. In the most exciting finish to an English league season ever, Arsenal beat Liverpool 2-0 in the deciding match at Anfield, to secure the title on goals scored.

Another League title followed two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded just 18 goals in 38 matches.

In the Premiership's inaugural season 1992-93 the Gunners became the first team ever to win both domestic cups in the same season, beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in both finals.

The following year they again won the European Cup Winners' Cup, beating Parma 2-1 in Copenhagen. However, despite the club's cup successes, their league form was unimpressive, and after a scandal involving illicit transfer payments, George Graham was fired midway through the 1994-95 season.

The Wenger Years

After a turbulent few years, the man destined to be the most successful manager in Arsenal FC history was appointed. Arsene Wenger soon set about replacing Arsenal's traditionally cautious style of play with a more expansive game.

In 1998 Arsenal won a second double, beating Manchester United to the title and comfortably defeating Newcastle United 2-0 in the F.A. Cup final.

Another double was achieved in 2002 and in 2004 the Gunners won the Premiership title without losing a match, a feat that has not been achieved since Preston North End won the first ever League title in 1888. A year later they won the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United.

Farewell to Highbury

In 2006 the club left Highbury, their home for 93 years, and moved to the 60 000 capacity Emirates Stadium in nearby Ashburton Grove.

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