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History of Arsenal FC

Arsenal was originally formed in 1886 by a group of workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in south London, and the club was first known as Dial Square. The name was soon changed to Royal Arsenal, though when the club turned professional in 1891 the name changed again to Woolwich Arsenal. The prefix was later dropped and the club became Arsenal Football Club. For a period it was popularly known as The Arsenal though this was never the club's official name.

Herbert Chapman took over at Arsenal in 1925, and in 1930 he guided the Gunners to their first ever trophy — beating Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup Final. The following season Arsenal were champions for the first time. Between 1933 and 1935 the Club won a hattrick of league titles (which has only been achieved by four teams in the top flight). Sadly Chapman died in the middle of the run, by which time he had reached legend status.

 (Herbert Chapman)

The visionary Chapman had the nearby underground station renamed in honour of the club, introduced the now famous white sleeves and pioneered the use of shirt numbers. Under his guidance Arsenal gradually progressed in the late twenties, coming 2nd in the league in 1926 and reaching the Cup final in 1927. The club went on to dominate English football over the following decade. The FA Cup became Arsenal's first major trophy in 1930, and the first league championship in 1931 was followed by a further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years.

1937-38 brought Arsenal's 5th league title in seven years, though the near invincible team which had dominated the decade was generally held to be in decline. After the interruption caused by the 2nd World War, Tom Whittaker forged another great team, and 2 more titles (1947-48 and 1952-53) and an FA Cup (1950) were won over a 5 year period, with the 1951-52 season also seeing the Gunners narrowly miss the elusive double, runners up in both league and FA cup.

The Second World War stopped Arsenal in their tracks but Tom Whittaker became manager and more success followed. Arsenal were Champions in 1947/48 and 1952/53; FA Cup winners in 1950 and runners-up in 1952. The ‘60s provided little in the way of silverware at Highbury, with two losing appearances in the League Cup Final in 1968 and 1969 being the closest thing to success. Bertie Mee had taken over in the mid-Sixties and Arsenal lifted their first ever European trophy in 1969/70, beating Anderlecht 4-3 over the two legged Fairs Cup Final.

Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. After losing two League Cup finals, they won their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in 1970–71.[16] This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals, in 1972, 1978 and 1980, and lost the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final, widely regarded as a classic.

 (George Graham)

Success became more habitual once again during the George Graham era. After Graham took over in 1986, Arsenal won six major trophies in the next eight years. A League Cup triumph in 1987 was built upon, and in 1989 the league championship returned to Highbury after an 18 year absence when Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title on goals scored. In the most exciting finish to the league season ever witnessed in English football the final, deciding match at Anfield was won 2-0 with a now definitive last minute winner by Michael Thomas. Another championship followed two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded just 18 goals in 38 matches.

In 1992/93 Arsenal became the first club to win both domestic cups in the same season. Sheffield Wednesday were the beaten side on both occasions. Graham’s era of success was rounded off the following season. A superb run in the European Cup Winners’ Cup ended with a memorable 1-0 win over Parma in the Final in Copenhagen, thanks to Alan Smith’s strike. Arsenal failed to retain the trophy the following season, losing in the 1995 final to Real Zaragoza. By this time George Graham had left the Club. He was succeeded by Bruce Rioch, who was in charge for one season, during which time he signed Dennis Bergkamp.

The club's success in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century owed a great deal to the 1996 appointment of Arsène Wenger as manager. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles". The club went 49 league matches unbeaten in that season, a national record.

 (Patrick Vieira)

A month before formally taking charge of the team, Wenger advised the club to sign French midfielders Patrick Vieira and Rémi Garde. Arsenal finished third in Wenger's first season, missing out on second place (occupied by Newcastle United), and hence Champions League qualification on goal difference – the tiebreaker used to determine the difference between the number of goals both clubs scored and conceded. In his second season, Arsenal won the Premier League and FA Cup, completing the second league and cup double in the club's history. The success was built on an already stalwart defence, assembled by former manager George Graham, consisting of Tony Adams, Steve Bould, Nigel Winterburn, Lee Dixon and Martin Keown. Wenger regarded striker Dennis Bergkamp as the "catalyst" for their good form towards the end of the season. New signings, Petit as a partner for Vieira, winger Marc Overmars and teenage striker Nicolas Anelka also profited from the manager's attack-minded principles.

The following seasons were comparatively barren with a series of near misses. In 1998–99 the club failed to retain the league title, losing out to Manchester United by a single point on the final day of the season. Arsenal lost the 2000 UEFA Cup Final to Galatasaray on penalties and in 2001, were beaten by Liverpool in the 2001 FA Cup Final, having dominated the majority of the match. During the trophy drought, Overmars and Petit left to join Barcelona and Wenger was linked to a coaching move there. Instead, he agreed a new four-year contract in July 2001, giving the Arsenal board assurances over his commitment to the club. Wenger made several signings in the summer, including the controversial arrival of defender Sol Campbell, from local rivals Tottenham Hotspur and wing back Giovanni van Bronckhorst from Rangers. Fredrik Ljungberg, Thierry Henry and Robert Pirès – brought in during preceding transfer windows, had now established themselves into the first team.

 (Thierry Henry)

Unsettled in Italy, Henry transferred from Juventus on 3 August 1999 to Arsenal for an estimated fee of £11 million, reuniting with his former manager Arsène Wenger. It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer, and although his transfer was not without controversy, Wenger was convinced he was worth the transfer fee. Brought in as a replacement for fellow French forward Nicolas Anelka, Henry was immediately moulded into a striker by Wenger, a move that would pay rich dividends in years to come. However, doubts were raised about his ability to adapt to the quick and physical English game when he failed to score in his first eight games. After several difficult months in England, Henry even conceded that he had to "be re-taught everything about the art of striking. It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premier League, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners.

The 2005/06 campaign was the Club’s last at Highbury and the Final Salute celebrations proved to be a fitting goodbye to the Club’s home of 93 years. Fourth place in the league — and Champions League football — was secured on the last day of the season with a 4-2 win over Wigan Athletic (coupled with Tottenham’s loss at West Ham United). Arsenal’s alltime record at Highbury reads as follows: Played 2,010; Won 1,196; Drawn 475; Lost 339; Goals Scored 4,038; Goals Conceded 1,955.

 (Arsène Wenger)

The highlight of the season was the Club’s amazing journey to the 2005/06 Champions League Final in Paris. A 12- game unbeaten run, including a new competition record for the most amount of consecutive clean sheets (10 in all), saw Arsenal line-up against Barcelona in the Final on May 17 at the Stade de France. Despite having Jens Lehmann sent-off after just 18 minutes, the Gunners scored first through Sol Campbell before, in the second-half, the Spaniards scored two late goals to break the hearts of the travelling Arsenal support.

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