Full Name: Arsenal Football Club City: London Founded: 1886 Stadium: Emirates Stadium (60,000) Colors: Red, White Previous Names: Dial Square (1886), Royal Arsenal (1886-91), Woolwich Arsenal (1891-1914) Nickname: The Gunners Rivals:Tottenham Hotspur
Introduction:
Arsenal Football Club are one of the modern-day big four of English football, as well one half of the North London Derby alongside arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners have been at the forefront of changes in the game dating back to the 1930s under the leadership of legendary manager Herbert Chapman. The modern era sees Arsenal still at the forefront, pioneering youth development schemes, a modern stadium to replace glorious (but small) Highbury and stylish football that has overturned the old "Boring Arsenal" nickname they were tagged with for so long.
Emirates Stadium:
The Emirates Stadium is named for its sponsor, Emirates Airlines.
Titles marked with * were shared with another club.
History:
A works team named Dial Square were formed in 1886, Dial Square being a workshop within the Royal Arsenal armaments factory in Woolwich, a neighborhood in south London. The name changed within the year to Royal Arsenal and five years later to Woolwich Arsenal to reflect its growing popularity. Woolwich Arsenal joined the Football League in 1893 and were for several decades the only major club from London in the northern-dominated league. In 1914, they moved to the north London neighborhood of Highbury and dropped the Woolwich part of their name.
The Gunners nickname is a reference to the cannon in the club's emblem and their origins in an armaments factory. The red jerseys were adopted after a charitable donation from similarly red-clad Nottingham Forest. The white sleeves were introduced by legendary manager Herbert Chapman in the 1930s as a way to stand out from a number of other red/white kits. The club's supporters are often referred to as Gooners, a pun on the typical Gunners nickname.
Arsenal FC are the only English club to finish a top division season undefeated, that happening in 2003-04. The Gunners featured in the first English match broadcast on both radio and television. The rivalry with arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur is known as the North London Derby.
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