The Arsenal Football Club Overview
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English football club that exists 121 years. It is also well-known as Arsenal, The Arsenal or The Gunners. The present director of Arsenal FC is Peter Hill-Wood. He is the third generation of his family to serve as Chairman of Arsenal, following his father, Denis Hill-Wood (1962 - 1982), and his grandfather, Samuel Hill-Wood (1929 - 1936 & 1946 - 1949). Through its history Arsenal has a long list of managers :
- 1894 - 1897 Sam Hollis
- 1897 - 1898 Thomas Brown Mitchell
- 1898 - 1899 George Elcoat
- 1899 - 1904 Harry Bradshaw
- 1904 - 1908 Phil Kelso
- 1908 - 1915 George Morrell
- 1919 - 1925 Leslie Knighton
- 1925 - 1934 Herbert Chapman
- 1934 - 1947 George Allison
- 1947 - 1956 Tom Whittaker
- 1956 - 1958 Jack Crayston
- 1958 - 1962 George Swindin
- 1966 - 1976 Bertie Mee
- 1976 - 1983 Terry Neill
- 1984 - 1986 Don Howe
- 1986 - 1995 George Graham
- 1995 - 1996 Stewart Houston
- 1995 - 1996 Bruce Rioch
- 1996-present Wenger Arsène
The present coach is Wenger Arsène who is famous for becoming the only manager in FA Premier League history to go through the season without a loss in 2004, also he has won seven major honors at Arsenal (three league championships, four FA Cups) - more than any other Gunners coach. Arsenal remarkable for having won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups. No other club in the world had more players at the 2006 FIFA World Cup than Arsenal, who sent 16 players. Arsenal played 2,010 games at Highbury, won 1,196, drew 475 and lost 339. They scored 4,038 and conceded 1,955. Through the years this club has a lot of victories:
| year | beaten football club | score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | FA Cup Winners | 2005 | Manchester Utd | on penalties (after 0-0 draw) |
| 2003 | Southampton | 1-0 | ||
| 2002 | Chelsea | 2-0 | ||
| 1998 | Newcastle United | 2-0 | ||
| 1993 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2-1 | ||
| 1979 | Manchester United | 3-2 | ||
| 1971 | Liverpool | 2-1 | ||
| 1950 | Liverpool | 2-0 | ||
| 1936 | Sheffield United | 1-0 | ||
| 1930 | Huddersfield Town | 2-0 | ||
| 2. | League Cup Winners |
1993 | Beat Sheffield Wednesday | 2-1 |
| 1987 | Beat Liverpool | 2-1 | ||
| 3. | Charity/Community Shield Winners | 2004 | Manchester United | 3-1 |
| 2002 | Liverpool | 1-0 | ||
| 1999 | Manchester United | 2-1 | ||
| 1998 | Manchester United | 3-0 | ||
| 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0-0 | ||
| 1953 | Blackpool | 3-1 | ||
| 1948 | Manchester United | 4-3 | ||
| 1938 | Preston North End | 2-1 | ||
| 1934 | Manchester City | 4-0 | ||
| 1933 | Everton | 3-0 | ||
| 1931 | West Bromwich Albion | 1-0 | ||
| 1930 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2-1 | ||
| 4. | European Fairs Cup Winners | 1970 | Anderlecht | 4-3 on aggregate |
| 5. | European Cup Winners Cup Winners | 1994 | Parma | 1-0 |
| 6. | FA Youth Cup Winners | 2001 | Blackburn Rovers | 6-3 on aggregate |
| 2000 | Coventry City | 5-1 on aggregate | ||
| 1994 | Millwall | 5-3 on aggregate | ||
| 1988 | Doncaster Rovers | 6-1 on aggregate | ||
| 1971 | Cardiff City | 2-0 on aggregate | ||
| 1966 | Sunderland | 5-3 on aggregate |
This football club was formed in 1886 by a group of workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory. The first name was Dial Square. During the years it was changed and now we know this club as Arsenal Football Club. The location and colors of the Gunners were different too over time. Today Arsenal left their stadium Highbury where they spent 93 years, and moved to a new one. It is the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway. The kit is represented by a red and white shirt, white shorts, red and white socks (the change kit: yellow shirt, blue shorts, blue socks ). The present Arsenal squad consists of:
| Goalkeepers: | Defenders: | Midfielders: | Forwards: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jens Lehmann | William Gallas | Tomas Rosicky | Emmanuel Adebayor |
| Manuel Almunia | Justin Hoyte | Gilberto Silva | Theo Walcott |
| Lukasz Fabianski | Emmanuel Eboue | Francesc (Cesc) Fabregas | Robin Van Persie |
| Vito Mannone | Gael Clichy | Kolo Toure | Nicklas Bendtner |
| Kerrea Gilbert | Alexander Hleb | Eduardo da Silva | |
| Phillippe Senderos | Denilson | ||
| Johan Djourou | Alexandre Song Billong | ||
| Matthew Connolly | Mathieu Flamini | ||
| Bakary Sagna | Vassiriki Diaby | ||
| Lassan Diarra | |||
| Jay Simpson |
Among them was Thierry Henry, Arsenal's all-time leading goalscorer with 214 goals up to the end of the 2005/06 season. He broke Ian Wright's old record with two goals against Sparta Prague on October 18, 2006. The other highest Arsenal appearance holders are:
| 1. | David O'Leary | 722 |
| 2. | Tony Adams | 669 |
| 3. | George Armstrong | 621 |
| 4. | Lee Dixon | 619 |
| 5. | Nigel Winterburn | 584 |
| 6. | David Seaman | 564 |
| 7. | Pat Rice | 528 |
| 8. | Peter Storey | 501 |
| 9. | John Radford | 481 |
| 10. | Peter Simpson | 477 |
There is also a successful ladies team, Arsenal LFC. It has excellent backing and support from Arsenal Football Club. The present ALFC has a staff of more than 14 nationalities. It includes players of such countries as: Portugal, USA, Nigeria, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand and Australia etc. Mainly they are girls from the Arsenal Youth Academy. The Arsenal Ladies academy continues to prosper. The players aged between 16 and 19 combine daily football coaching with academic study. The Arsenal Ladies won the league and FA Cup ‘double' last season, for the fifth time in their history. Arsenal LFC was created by the women's present General Manager and Men's present kit manager Vic Akers in 1987. After 20 years they have 31 major trophies including:
- 3 domestic Trebles (1992/1993, 2000/2001,2006/2007)
- 9 Premier League Titles (1992-93, 1994-95, 1996-97, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07)
- 9 FA Women's Premier League Cups (1991-92, 1992-93, 1993-94, 1997-98, 1998-99, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2004-05, 2006-07)
- 8 FA Womens' Cups (1992-93, 1994-95, 1997-98, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2006-07).