Arsenal football club is one of the best sides in the English Premier League and indeed the world. Based in North London and Nicknamed 'the Gunners' they are renowned for playing beautiful football. There isn't a team in Europe that plays the same style of football as Arsenal. They play the passing came and are masters at maintaining possession. They work the ball to the goal rather than long balls and play a game that really annoys other sides. The club was founded in 1886 by workers at the Woolwich Arsenal Armament Factory. The side turned professional just 5 years later and shortened their name to Woolwich Arsenal. They joined the Football League in 1893 but had to then wait 30 years before winning their first major title. Now their trophy cabinet contains 5 League titles and 2 FA Cups.
Arsenal is managed by Frenchman Arsene Wenger. The cool collected character is a master tactician and is well respected in the world of football. Arsenal have been somewhat criticised in recent times for fielding no Englishmen. A full squad of foreign players has upset a number of neutral supporters who believe that it is not good for the game. Originally based in Woolwich in 1913 Arsenal moved to a new stadium in London known as Highbury. Highbury became a fortress to Arsenal and they enjoyed numerous irreplaceable years there. In 2006 they moved to their current home at the Emirates stadium. The Emirates was the first of its kind in England and seats 60,432 people. Arsenal have had a high degree of success at the Emirates but are yet to win a Premier League title there. Arsenal did however make the Champions League final in 2006 narrowly losing to Barcelona in the dying minutes.
Arsenal's last top flight title came in the 2003/2004 season when they went through the whole campaign without losing a single game. Arsenal have fallen behind the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea in recent times. They have the players and the right manager at the helm. They have just lacked that killer instinct that resides in their rivals. Arsenal's biggest rival in the Premier League is Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal and Spurs have had countless unforgettable derby matches always resulting in entertaining drama. Many believe that with the current Arsenal line up it is only a matter of time before they win the Premier League title again and only time will tell if this is their season.
Might I just clarify a little point here. The trophy record that you cite is actually that accrued by Arsenal in the 1930s - not during their whole period.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the history point. Arsenal's name changed several times in the club's early years, from Royal Arsenal, to Woolwich Arsenal, to The Arsenal, to Arsenal.
Most interestingly (at least to me) were the incidents in 1910, just 100 years ago, when Fulham FC effectively took over Arsenal and tried to merge the clubs into Fulham Arsenal.
When the League refused the idea, the plan was to bring Arsenal to Fulham in a ground sharing deal, but this broke down, and finally Arsenal moved to Highbury in 1913.
The story of the Fulham takeover, and all the events of 1910 is told in "Making the Arsenal" which is available from Amazon, and www.emiratesstadium.info