97 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.

What food did an Arsenal player throw at a rival manager in the 2004 tunnel row called the 'Battle of the Buffet'?

Pizza struck the opposing manager during a brawl between the two sets of staff after the final whistle. The culprit stayed secret until 2017, when Cesc Fàbregas owned up on a television panel show.

Which German airship flew low over the 1930 FA Cup final as Arsenal won a first major trophy?

Graf Zeppelin dipped its nose in salute to King George V as it passed over the crowd. At about 776 feet long, it was the largest airship in the world when it was built.

What colour was the one-off Premier League trophy made for Arsenal after their unbeaten 2003–04 season?

Gold replaced the usual silver on a unique replica that the league commissioned to mark the feat. It was handed over before Arsenal's first home game of the following season.

Which club beat Arsenal on penalties in the 2026 Champions League final in Budapest?

Paris St-Germain won the shoot-out 4–3 after a 1–1 draw and kept the trophy they had won a year earlier. It was Arsenal's second final in the competition, twenty years after the first.

Arsenal's 2025–26 league title was confirmed when Manchester City drew 1–1 away to which club?

Bournemouth held the second-placed side and left Arsenal four points clear with one match remaining. The draw ended a wait for the league title that went back to 2004.

Which England Test cricketer also played on the wing for Arsenal and won the 1950 FA Cup?

Denis Compton played 78 Tests and spent his whole cricket career with Middlesex. In football he added a league title with Arsenal in 1948, two years before the cup.

Which Russian forward scored all four Arsenal goals in a 4–4 draw at Anfield in 2009?

Andrey Arshavin had never scored four in one match before that night. No visiting player had managed it in a league game at the ground since 1946.

Arsenal's first crest, unveiled in 1888, showed three of which objects viewed from above?

Cannons pointing north were taken from the coat of arms of the Borough of Woolwich, where the club began. Seen from above they are sometimes mistaken for chimneys.

Which Japanese electronics firm had its name on Arsenal's shirts from 1981 to 1999?

JVC stayed for 18 years, one of the longest sponsorships any football club has had. A video-game maker took over the shirt when the deal ended.

Which Arsenal midfielder scored France's third goal in the 1998 World Cup final?

Emmanuel Petit's strike was the last World Cup goal of the 20th century and the 1,000th in the history of the French federation. He had just won the league and cup double with Arsenal.

Which Arsenal defender captained England's women to their first major trophy at Euro 2022?

Leah Williamson had been in Arsenal's youth programme since she was nine. In 2025 she became the first England captain to lift two major trophies.

Which Ealing-born winger joined Arsenal's Hale End academy aged seven and is nicknamed 'Starboy'?

Bukayo Saka also answers to 'Little Chilli', a name from a former Arsenal captain who said he had so much energy and power for someone quite small.

Which midfielder, first loaned to Arsenal in 2021, was named the club's captain in July 2022?

Martin Ødegaard had made his senior debut in Norway at 15 and captained his country from 2021. In his fourth season with the Arsenal armband he led the side to the league title.

Arsenal broke their transfer record in July 2023 to sign England midfielder Declan Rice from which club?

West Ham United had just won the Europa Conference League with him as captain. The initial £100 million fee matched the record for an English player.

In 1928 Arsenal made which Bolton Wanderers forward the first five-figure signing in world football?

David Jack cost almost double the previous record, a deal done because his old club was in financial trouble. He went on to score 124 goals in 208 games for Arsenal.

Which Arsenal centre-back headed the opening goal of the 2006 Champions League final at the Stade de France?

Sol Campbell met a free kick awarded for a foul on full-back Eboué to put Arsenal in front. They could not hold the lead and lost the final 2–1.

Which midfielder scored Arsenal's winning goal in both the 2014 and 2017 FA Cup finals?

Aaron Ramsey struck in the 109th minute in 2014 to end Arsenal's nine-year wait for a trophy. Three years on he got the decider again in a 2–1 win.

Which Arsenal midfielder of the 1990s and 2000s was ironically nicknamed 'the Romford Pelé'?

Ray Parlour was born in Romford, and the joke played on his image, which had no glamour at all. He collected three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal all the same.

Which goalkeeper, known for his moustache and ponytail, joined Arsenal from Queens Park Rangers in 1990?

David Seaman cost £1.3 million, then a British record for a goalkeeper. In his first season he let in only 18 league goals as Arsenal won the title.

Which 17-year-old Arsenal forward was picked for England's 2006 World Cup squad by Sven-Göran Eriksson?

Theo Walcott became England's youngest senior player that May, aged 17 years and 75 days. Two years later he scored a hat-trick against Croatia.

Which Zaragoza midfielder beat Arsenal with a 40-yard lob in the last minute of the 1995 Cup Winners' Cup final?

Nayim scored in the 119th minute, seconds before a penalty shoot-out would have begun. The goal took the trophy away from Arsenal, who had won it the year before.

Which Turkish club beat Arsenal in a penalty shoot-out in the 2000 UEFA Cup final in Copenhagen?

Galatasaray won the shoot-out 4–1 after extra time, the first time a Turkish side had won a European trophy. Arsenal scored only one of their spot kicks.

Seven Arsenal players started for England in the 1934 'Battle of Highbury' against which world champions?

Italy were playing their first match since winning the World Cup earlier that year. England won 3–2 in a game so violent that it was named a battle.

Which Arsenal forward won both the Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament at Euro 2022?

Beth Mead was also the tournament's top assist provider as England won it. Seven years earlier, aged 20, she had been the youngest top scorer the Women's Super League had seen.

Which actor and lifelong Arsenal fan narrated the club's Amazon documentary series All or Nothing in 2022?

Daniel Kaluuya, an Academy Award winner, was born and grew up in north London. The cameras followed the squad through the whole of the 2021–22 season.

Which television pundit wrote 'Good Old Arsenal', the squad's 1971 FA Cup final song set to 'Rule, Britannia!'?

Jimmy Hill urged the players to record an anthem that could rival the one sung by Liverpool supporters. The first-team squad performed it and the single reached number 16 in the UK chart.

Mikel Arteta joined Arsenal as a player in August 2011, for a reported £10 million, from which club?

Everton had twice named him their Player of the Season in his six years there. He won two FA Cups as an Arsenal player before retiring in 2016.

Which French striker won the 2017 FIFA Puskás Award for a 'scorpion kick' volley scored for Arsenal?

Olivier Giroud struck the back-heeled volley on New Year's Day 2017 in a 2–0 home win. He had arrived in 2012 as the French league's top scorer, fresh from winning the title with Montpellier.

Arsenal paid a then club-record £56 million in 2018 to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from which German club?

Borussia Dortmund had watched him score 141 goals in four and a half seasons. In his first full season in England the Gabon striker shared the Premier League Golden Boot.

Which German playmaker became Arsenal's record signing in 2013 for a fee of around £42.5 million?

Mesut Özil was also the most expensive German player in history at the time. A year after the move he helped Germany win the World Cup in Brazil.

Which Arsenal forward scored from a tight angle in the sixth minute of the 2026 Champions League final?

Kai Havertz pounced when a clearance deflected off a team-mate, but the lead lasted only until a second-half penalty. It was Arsenal's only shot on target in the whole match.

Which Arsenal midfielder became the Premier League's youngest player in 2022, aged 15 years and 181 days?

Ethan Nwaneri came on in stoppage time at Brentford and broke an English top-flight record that had stood since 1964.

Which London borough, whose coat of arms sat on Arsenal's 1949 crest, is home to the club?

Islington's arms sat on the crest above a scroll carrying the club's new Latin motto, which was coined by the editor of the matchday programme.

What did Herbert Chapman add to Arsenal's red shirts in 1933 so that his players stood out?

White sleeves came with a brighter, pillar-box shade of red. When Arsenal tried all-red shirts in 1966–67 the change was so unpopular that the old look returned a season later.

Which French winger was voted Footballer of the Year in 2002 as Arsenal won the league title?

Robert Pires also led the Premier League for assists that season. He had played for Metz and Marseille before moving to London and stayed for three FA Cup wins.

Which Swedish midfielder modelled Calvin Klein underwear and scored for Arsenal in two FA Cup finals?

Freddie Ljungberg began his career at Halmstad and won two Premier League titles in London. He later came back to the club as a coach and had a spell as interim head coach.

Marc Overmars and Nicolas Anelka scored as Arsenal beat which club 2–0 in the 1998 FA Cup final?

Newcastle United fell behind to a first-half goal from the Dutch winger. The win gave Arsenal, already champions, the league title and the cup in the same season.

Which shade of red did Arsenal wear in 2005–06, their final season at Highbury, in tribute to the 1913 kit?

Redcurrant copied the darker shirts of the club's first season at the ground. The usual brighter shirts came back as soon as Arsenal moved out.

Which street name, from the industrial estate Arsenal bought in 2000, is an alternative name for the club's stadium?

Ashburton Grove held an industrial and waste disposal estate before the builders arrived. Supporters who object to selling a ground's name to a sponsor often use it instead.

Which Arsenal manager played himself, with a speaking part, in the 1939 film The Arsenal Stadium Mystery?

George Allison was the only one of the players and staff on screen who was given lines. Before taking charge of the team he had commentated on the 1927 FA Cup final for BBC radio.

Which singer-songwriter wrote 'The Angel (North London Forever)', adopted as an Arsenal pre-match anthem in 2022?

Louis Dunford, a lifelong supporter and the son of actress Linda Robson, wrote it as a tribute to the sense of community in his part of the capital.

Which Uzbek-Russian billionaire was a major Arsenal shareholder from 2007 until he sold his stake in 2018?

Alisher Usmanov got in by paying a former vice-chairman £75 million for his shares, together with a business partner. Their company became the second-largest shareholder but never won control.

Where in Hertfordshire did Arsenal open a new £10 million training centre in October 1999?

London Colney is used as shorthand for the complex itself. Before it opened, the first team had shared training pitches that belonged to University College London.

Whose club record of 178 goals, set in the 1930s, did Ian Wright break for Arsenal in 1997?

Cliff Bastin had been the club's top scorer for 58 years, since 1939. He got his goals as a left winger, not as a centre-forward.

Arsenal came from 4–0 down to win a 2012 League Cup tie 7–5 after extra time against which club?

Reading let the four-goal lead slip and lost a twelve-goal tie in the added half hour. One Arsenal forward completed a hat-trick during extra time.

Which Glasgow-born centre-half captained Arsenal to the league and FA Cup Double in 1970–71?

Frank McLintock had lost four cup finals by then, two in the FA Cup with his first English club and two in the League Cup with Arsenal. He only moved to centre-half in 1969.

Which Scottish playmaker of Arsenal's 1930s champions wore baggy shorts to hide the long johns that kept him warm?

Alex James had rheumatism, hence the extra layer. To get round the maximum wage, Arsenal also found him a £250-a-year job as a 'sports demonstrator' at Selfridges.

Arsenal won 2–1 against which Second Division club in the first match played at Highbury, in September 1913?

Leicester Fosse visited a ground that was not yet finished after a hurried summer build costing £125,000. Arsenal had been relegated only months before moving in.

Which Irish midfielder, an Arsenal player from 1973 to 1980, returned in 1996 to run the club's youth academy?

Liam Brady's youth sides at Arsenal won the 1998 FA Premier Youth League. He had first come to London on schoolboy forms at 15.

Which Chilean forward left Arsenal for Manchester United in January 2018 in a swap for Henrikh Mkhitaryan?

Alexis Sánchez had scored in two winning FA Cup finals for Arsenal, in 2015 and 2017. The first made him the first Chilean to score in the final since 1952.