47 Fun Facts About Arsenal

Arsenal were founded in 1886 under what name, taken from a Royal Arsenal workshop in Woolwich?

Dial Square, named after a workshop in the Royal Arsenal, was founded in October 1886 by Scotsman David Danskin and fifteen fellow munitions workers; it became Royal Arsenal within weeks.

For two seasons from 1998, where did Arsenal play their Champions League home matches?

Wembley Stadium held over 70,000, and Arsenal's record home crowd, 73,707 against Lens in November 1998, came there.

In 1893 Woolwich Arsenal became the first club from which region to join the Football League?

Woolwich Arsenal joined the Second Division in 1893 as the first Football League club from the south of England; they reached the First Division in 1904.

Which chairman moved Arsenal from Plumstead to Highbury in 1913?

Henry Norris, the Fulham chairman who took over Woolwich Arsenal in 1910, moved the club north of the Thames to Highbury in 1913; 'Woolwich' was dropped from the name in 1914.

Herbert Chapman was lured to Arsenal in 1925 from which club, where he had just won two league titles?

Chapman left Huddersfield Town, champions in 1924 and 1925, for Arsenal in 1925, and later won both the league and the FA Cup with Arsenal too.

Which formation did Herbert Chapman adopt at Arsenal after the 1925 change to the offside law?

Chapman's WM formation (3-2-2-3) pulled the centre-half back as a third defender and withdrew two inside-forwards; Arsenal won five titles with it in the 1930s.

Which London Underground station was renamed 'Arsenal' at Herbert Chapman's urging in 1932?

Gillespie Road on the Piccadilly line became 'Arsenal (Highbury Hill)' in October 1932 after Chapman lobbied London Underground; the suffix was later dropped.

Which Nick Hornby book chronicles his lifelong obsession with Arsenal?

Fever Pitch (1992) became a 1997 film with Colin Firth that builds to Arsenal's title-clinching win at Anfield in May 1989.

Which designer of many British football grounds first laid out Arsenal's Highbury stadium?

Archibald Leitch, who also designed stands at Ibrox, Goodison and Craven Cottage, laid out Highbury in 1913 with a single grandstand; Claude Waterlow Ferrier and William Binnie added the Art Deco stands in the 1930s.

Which competition gave Arsenal their first European trophy, in 1970?

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup of 1969-70 was also Arsenal's first silverware in seventeen years, and a League and FA Cup double followed a season later.

What nickname did Arsenal's unbeaten 2003-04 Premier League champions earn?

The Invincibles won 26 and drew 12, and the Premier League commissioned a one-off gold trophy for them.

Who scored a hat-trick in the final match at Highbury, against Wigan Athletic on 7 May 2006?

Thierry Henry scored three of Arsenal's four goals against Wigan in Highbury's farewell, a 4-2 win that secured fourth place and Champions League qualification on the last day.

Which physiotherapist became acting Arsenal manager in 1966 and won the 1971 double?

Bertie Mee, the club physiotherapist, was appointed acting manager in 1966 and went on to win the 1971 League and FA Cup double.

Who scored the extra-time winner in the 1971 FA Cup final that sealed Arsenal's first double?

Charlie George, a local lad from Holloway, struck the extra-time winner in the 111th minute and lay flat on his back in celebration, sealing the 1971 double.

Whose last-minute winner secured a famous 3-2 FA Cup final victory in 1979 over Manchester United?

Alan Sunderland slid in Graham Rix's cross in the 89th minute, moments after United had scored twice in the 'five-minute final'; it was Arsenal's only trophy between 1971 and 1987.

Who scored the last-minute goal at Anfield in May 1989 that won Arsenal the title on the season's final night?

Michael Thomas burst through in injury time to make it 2-0 at Anfield, the two-goal margin Arsenal needed to snatch the title from the hosts on goals scored; Alan Smith had scored the first.

Which manager, a 1971 double winner as a player, returned to Arsenal in 1986 and built the 'famous Back Four'?

George Graham won two league titles as manager, in 1989 and 1991; his 1990-91 champions lost just one league match all season despite a two-point deduction.

In 1993 Arsenal became the first club to do what?

Arsenal were the first to win the FA Cup and League Cup double, and League Cup match-winner Steve Morrow broke his arm when his captain dropped him celebrating.

Alan Smith's left-foot volley won the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup final against which Italian side?

Alan Smith's volley beat Parma 1-0 in Copenhagen in May 1994; a year later Arsenal lost the final to Real Zaragoza to Nayim's last-second lob over David Seaman.

From which club did Arsenal sign Ian Wright for a club-record £2.5m in 1991?

Crystal Palace sold Ian Wright, who in 1997 passed Cliff Bastin's 178 goals to become Arsenal's record scorer.

Which manager did Arsenal appoint from Nagoya Grampus Eight in October 1996?

Arsène Wenger, then little known in England, came from Nagoya Grampus Eight and stayed until 2018, winning three league titles and seven FA Cups.

The 1998 Premier League and FA Cup double had never before been achieved by whom?

The Frenchman in charge became the first foreign manager to win an English double, clinching the title with a 4-0 win over Everton before beating Newcastle 2-0 in the Cup final.

Arsenal's 49-match unbeaten league run ended in October 2004 at which ground?

Old Trafford hosted the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United, and food, reportedly pizza, was thrown at Alex Ferguson in the tunnel afterwards.

How did Arsenal win the 2005 FA Cup final, Vieira's last Arsenal game?

After a goalless 120 minutes in Cardiff, Arsenal beat Manchester United 5-4 on penalties, the first FA Cup final decided by a shootout; Vieira scored the winner with his last kick for the club.

Which Arsenal goalkeeper was sent off early in the 2006 Champions League final in Paris?

Jens Lehmann was sent off in the 18th minute for bringing down Samuel Eto'o; ten-man Arsenal led through Sol Campbell's header before losing 2-1 at the Stade de France.

After 93 years at Highbury, which ground did Arsenal move to in 2006?

Emirates Stadium, built at nearby Ashburton Grove, opened in July 2006, and Highbury's famous clock was moved there.

Whose testimonial against Ajax on 22 July 2006 was the first match at Arsenal's new stadium?

Dennis Bergkamp's testimonial, Arsenal 2-1 Ajax on 22 July 2006, opened the new ground, and a statue of the Dutchman was unveiled outside it in 2014.

Arsenal came from 2-0 down to beat which club 3-2 in the 2014 FA Cup final?

Hull City led 2-0 inside eight minutes through James Chester and Curtis Davies; Santi Cazorla, Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey's extra-time winner turned it round, ending a nine-year trophy drought.

Before joining Arsenal as head coach, Mikel Arteta was assistant to which manager?

Pep Guardiola had Mikel Arteta as a Manchester City assistant from 2016, and 28 games into his Arsenal reign Arteta won the FA Cup.

Arsenal's record-extending 14th FA Cup came in 2020 with a 2-1 win over which club?

Aubameyang's penalty and a delicate chip beat Chelsea 2-1 behind closed doors on 1 August 2020, after Christian Pulisic had put Chelsea ahead.

Which Arsenal captain announced in 2012 he would not sign a new contract, then joined Manchester United?

Robin van Persie then topped the league with 26 goals in his first season at Manchester United, helping them win the 2012-13 title.

Declan Rice scored two free kicks as Arsenal beat which reigning European champions 3-0 in April 2025?

Real Madrid were beaten in the quarter-final first leg, and Rice became the first player to score two direct free kicks in a Champions League knockout match.

Arsenal's rivalry with which club, created by the 1913 move north, is known as the North London derby?

Tottenham Hotspur became the local enemy when Arsenal moved to Highbury, four miles from White Hart Lane, in 1913; the bad blood deepened with the disputed 1919 First Division election.

Which Arsenal captain spent part of the 1990-91 title-winning season in prison for drink-driving?

Tony Adams served half of a four-month sentence, and after getting sober he founded the Sporting Chance clinic for athletes with addictions.

Which Arsenal centre-forward scored all seven in a 7-1 win at Aston Villa in 1935?

Ted Drake, signed from Southampton in 1934, scored all seven goals at Villa Park on 14 December 1935 as Arsenal won 7-1 in the First Division.

Arsenal Ladies founder Vic Akers spent over 20 years in which job with the men's team?

Vic Akers founded Arsenal Ladies in 1987 while head of the club's community section, and was the men's kit man from 1997 until 2018.

Arsenal Women won their second UEFA Women's Champions League in May 2025 by beating which club 1-0?

Stina Blackstenius's second-half goal in Lisbon on 24 May 2025 beat holders Barcelona 1-0; Arsenal's first European title had come in 2007.

Arsenal's all-time record scorer joined in 1999 for around £11 million from which club?

The club's record scorer arrived from Juventus in August 1999 for about £11 million after an unhappy spell in Turin, was moved from the wing to centre-forward and won four Golden Boots.

Whose 1-0 winner away to Manchester United clinched Arsenal's 2002 league title and third double?

Sylvain Wiltord scored the winner four days after Arsenal won the FA Cup, sealing a record-equalling third double.

Which former club trainer managed Arsenal to the league titles of 1948 and 1953?

Tom Whittaker, the former trainer who succeeded George Allison in 1947, won the league in 1947-48 and 1952-53 and the FA Cup in 1950.

By what nickname are Arsenal's supporters known?

Gooners is a play on the club's nickname, the Gunners, itself a nod to the Royal Arsenal munitions works in Woolwich where the club was founded in 1886.

Which American sports tycoon took full ownership of Arsenal in 2018?

Stan Kroenke, owner of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and LA Rams, first bought Arsenal shares in 2007, took majority control in 2011 and bought out Alisher Usmanov in 2018.

Who became Arsenal's first-ever 'head coach' when appointed in May 2018?

Unai Emery, previously at Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Valencia, was appointed on 23 May 2018 with the new title of head coach, the first change of manager in 22 years.

Arsenal's red shirts are traditionally credited to a gift from which club?

Nottingham Forest are said to have donated the first kit, though some historians say ex-Forest keeper Fred Beardsley suggested the colour and the shirts were bought locally.

In The Full Monty, the strippers co-ordinate by mimicking which Arsenal tactic?

In the 1997 film, Gaz's crew finally move in step by imagining the Arsenal offside trap, the club's late-1980s back four stepping up in unison with arms raised.

Who holds Arsenal's appearance record with 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993?

David O'Leary made 722 first-team appearances between 1975 and 1993, a club record, and David Seaman's 564 is the record for a goalkeeper.

Which ex-player became Arsenal's youngest-ever manager, aged 34, in 1976?

Terry Neill, a former Arsenal captain, took over aged 34 in July 1976, signed Malcolm Macdonald and Pat Jennings, and reached three straight FA Cup finals from 1978 to 1980.