A is for Adams, B is for Bastin and C is for Chapman. This summer, you can build up your very own Gunners dictionary with our Arsenal A-Z.
From the obvious to the obscure, discover a host of facts and stats about the club you love. And if we miss anything important, you'll have the chance to let us know by clicking on the link at the foot of the page.
SANSOM
Kenny Sansom remains Arsenal's
most-capped player. After arriving in August 1980 from Crystal
Palace in a deal that took Clive Allen and Paul Barron to Selhurst
Park, the left back quickly usurped the established Sammy Nelson.
He also became an England regular and racked up 86 England caps in
total, 77 of which came with Arsenal. Patrick Vieira is the nearest
player to breaking the record. He had 72 caps for France when
they were eliminated by Greece at Euro 2004.
SLEEVES
Before the arrival of Herbert Chapman in
1925, Arsenal played in a plain red shirt. The new manager launched
the Arsenal kit as we know it today. Chapman noticed someone at the
ground wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt. This
inspired him to create a new strip combining a red shirt with white
collar and sleeves. It also incorporated the Club badge, which was
positioned on the left-hand side of the shirt.
SMITH
Alan Smith signed from Leicester in March
1987 but was immediately loaned back to the The Foxes until the end
of that campaign. He even played against Arsenal at Highbury. A
tall, intelligent striker with expert distribution, he topped the
First Division scoring charts in 1988-89 and nodded home the first
goal in the dramatic finale at Anfield. He hit 22 goals in the 1991
title-winning season and, memorably, hit the clinching goal in the
Cup Winners Cup final of 1994. However, injury struck soon
afterwards and he retired in the Spring of 1995 with a record of
115 goals in 347 games. He is now a respected football journalist
and writes a column for Arsenal.com.
STANDARD LIEGE
Arsenal went to Belgium for the second leg
of their Cup Winners Cup second round tie on November 3, 1993 with
a 3-0 advantage over Standard Liege from the home game. They went
on to romp to a 7-0 victory with goals from Smith, Selley, Adams,
Campbell (2), Merson and McGoldrick. It remains the Club's most
emphatic victory in European competition.
SWINDIN
Having served Arsenal as a goalkeeper either
side of the Second World War, George Swindin was well known to the
Highbury faithful when he was appointed as manager in 1958. The
Yorkshireman made wholesale changes to a side that had performed in
average fashion the previous year and they paid dividends. Arsenal
led the table in February 1959 and seemed destined for the title.
However they could not hold on. A catalogue of injuries and the
sale of free-scoring striker David Herd did not help. Swindin left
the manager's seat in 1962 and went on to take charge at
Cardiff and Norwich.
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