Arsenal Football Club
Your introduction to Arsenal Football Club
By Chris Harris
Arsenal is not just any old football club. It is a by-word for history, tradition and success.
The century or so since the club's formation in 1886 has been littered with trophies. Arsenal has won 13 League titles, 10 FA Cups, two League Cups and two European trophies. It is the only Premier League club to complete an unbeaten League season - in 2003/04 - and holds the record for the longest unbeaten League record of 49. Arsenal scored in 55 consecutive League matches from May 2001 - another English record. And it has conquered some of the continent's biggest names, becoming the first English club to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu and Milan at the San Siro.
Some of football's greatest names have graced Arsenal. Off the pitch, legendary manager Herbert Chapman helped Arsenal dominate its sport in the 1930s while current boss Arsène Wenger transformed the club with his own revolutionary methods following his arrival in 1996. On the pitch, world-class talents like Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Cesc Fabregas have followed in the footsteps of terrace heroes such as Alex James, Charlie George and Tony Adams.
But the triumphs, the trophies and the famous names only tell you so much about Arsenal Football Club. So what makes it different? What makes it special?
For a start, Arsenal is the longest-serving member of the English top division. While every other top-flight club has suffered relegation at some point, Arsenal has been ever-present since 1919. It has always been at the forefront of London football too; no other capital club can match Arsenal's achievements and no other London team has an Underground Station named after it.
Arsenal prides itself on conducting its affairs in a correct and proper manner. Known as the 'Bank of England club' in the 1930s because of its solid financial foundations, Arsenal has maintained its tradition of self-sustainability, seeking to survive on its natural financial resources. Doing things 'the Arsenal way' is just as evident in the more trivial aspects of running a club. Go into the Boardroom before a home game, for example, and you'll see flowers to match the colours of Arsenal's opponents that day.
That respect for opponents is echoed in Arsenal's respect for its local area. Arsenal in the Community, which offers sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects, reaches out to those who need it.
Although the club is steeped in history and tradition, it has always been at the vanguard of football's development. The legendary Chapman himself was responsible for many of the innovations we now take for granted - he advocated the use of floodlights, electronic turnstiles, scoreboards and a PA system as well as proposing feeder clubs and European tours.
Highbury, the club's home from 1913 to 2006, was the backdrop for significant moments in football history. It was the venue for the first-ever live radio commentary, heard by BBC listeners in January 1927. Ten years later, sections of a game between Arsenal and its Reserve team were televised – another first. More poignantly, the famous old ground also hosted the Busby Babes' final game on English soil before the Munich Air Disaster in 1958.
Arsenal's move to North London in 1913 secured the club's survival and so much of its history is inextricably linked with Highbury. But by the turn of the century, Arsenal had outgrown its spiritual home and, in 2006, the club moved to Emirates Stadium where a new era is well underway.
It is a reminder that Arsenal Football Club is not just about the past and present. It is very much a club for the future too.
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