A Short History of Arsenal Football Club
Just about any football fan would prefer to spend their days listening, watching, or reading about their favourite club. However, real-life sometimes gets in the way and that isn’t always possible.
Matches, and sometimes entire leagues, are cancelled or you might not be able to find the time to make it to that match you had planned.
If you do find yourself bereft of entertainment because of a lack of football in your life, it is worth remembering that Oddschecker is currently offering free spins with no deposit in conjunction with some of the best online casinos around, but for the moment, sit back and enjoy our short history of Arsenal Football Club.
The Early Years
Interestingly, the nickname, ‘The Gunners’ actually predates the team being called Arsenal. Originally called Dial Square and founded in 1886, the players on the works-based team were employed at the Woolwich Arsenal making cannons, hence the name.
The team soon turned professional and joined the Football League in 1893, changing their name to Woolwich Arsenal and becoming the first professional football club in the league from the south of England.
Unfortunately, the accolade of being the first team in the south came with its financial downsides. Fan attendance, and therefore ticket sales, were low, and the team wobbled on the edge of becoming bankrupt before being bought out by Henry Norris in 1910.
The newly stabilized team moved to North London in 1913 to their new home ground at Highbury and finally changed their name to the more familiar Arsenal.
The Chapman Years
The standout manager during this early period of Arsenal’s history is undoubtedly Herbert Chapman. Having joined the club in 1925, Chapman immediately set about making changes to the operation of the club and the team using ideas he had perfected at Huddersfield Town and which had put them in a position to look at winning a third successive league title.
New players were brought in and the training regimen was updated. These changes entirely turned the club around, changing them from a team that was fighting to avoid relegation into a team that won the FA Cup in 1930 by defeating Chapman’s old team Huddersfield Town. Thankfully this meant that Chapman avoided the traditional second season malaise that affects Arsenal managers.
From then on, Arsenal went on a trophy hunt, winning a spectacular five league titles and another FA Cup. This run of victories would only be halted by the outbreak of World War Two.
The Post WWII Period
When the league resumed after WWII, Arsenal continued to progress by winning a further two League titles in 1948 and 1953 and the FA cup again in 1950.
However, after that the team fell into a slump. Part of the issue was that the team signed by Chapman aged and no real effort had been made to bring in replacements. Chapman started the process but this was halted by his untimely death in 1934.
Despite winning their first Double in 1971 and the FA Cup again in 1979, Arsenal’s fortunes wouldn’t really recover until the 1980s under George Graham.
Graham’s defensive mindset saw the team win two League titles, two League Cups, and an FA Cup. They also won their second European trophy by defeating Parma in the Cup Winners’ Cup, having won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in the 1970s.
The Wenger Years
The appointment of Arsène Wenger in 1996 saw another complete turnaround in the club’s fortunes. Relatively unknown in English football, Wenger had seen managerial success in France and Japan.
He brought those lessons to Highbury and between his appointment and 2004, the team won three League titles and three FA Cups. In the 2003-04 season, Arsenal didn’t lose a single Premier League game, earning themselves the nickname, “The Invincibles”.
Perhaps looking to avoid the issues that sunk the team after Herbert Chapman, Arsenal and Wenger became famous for finding new talent and nurturing them. Wenger also oversaw the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.
Wenger would eventually leave Arsenal in 2018 after 22 years of service.
With new manager Mikel Arteta arriving in a similar situation to Wenger, not having much in the way of managerial experience in the Premier League, all eyes will be on him as he opens the next page in Arsenal’s history.
