Arsenal Football Club

Arsenal were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal, but later changed their name to Royal Arsenal. After turning professional in 1891, they again changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal.

The club joined the Football League in 1893 in the Second Division and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. By 1910 Heny Norris rescued the club from financial difficulties

After their relegation back to the Second Division in 1913, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London and dropped "Woolwich" from their name in 1914. Although only finishing in fifth place in 1919, they were elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

"Highbury 1913 to 2006"

Under the guidance of manager Herbert Chapman, Arsenal dominated English football in the 1930s by winning the FA cup trophy in 1930, the First League championship in 1931 and a further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years.

After a hiatus during WWII, Arsenal won 2 more titles and an FA cup over a 5 year period under the leadership of Tom Whittaker. After his death in 1956, a barren 14 years for the club followed until the club physiotherapist Bertie Mee was appointed manager in 1966, and in 1970 Arsenal won their first European trophy, the UEFA Fairs Cup against Anderlecht, becoming the second club of the 20th century to win the Double in 1970-71.

During the past twenty years they have been one of the most successful clubs in English football winning two additional Doubles, the Premier League in 2003-04, and in 2005-06 they became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League Final.

Highbury served as Arsenal's home stadium from September 1913 until May 2006 which at its peak could hold over 60,000 spectators, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s till the Taylor Report and Premier League regulations forced Arsenal to convert Highbury into an all-seater in time for the 1993-94 season, reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators.

"Emirates Stadium 2006 to Present Date"

Based on revenue considerations and the restricted expansion of Highbury, Arsenal proposed building a new 60,000-seater stadium 500 m southwest of Highbury at Ashburton Grove in 2000.

This project, sponsored by the airline Emirates to the tune of £100 million, was completed in July 2006 in time for the start of the 2006-07 season. The stadium has an all-seated capacity of 60,355 making it the second largest stadium in the Premier League after Old Trafford. The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2012.

Arsène Wenger was never covered in glory as a player, only making his professional debut as a 28-year-old with Strasbourg after playing most of his career in the semi-pro game with Mulhouse and Vauban.

It would be as a coach that Wenger would make his name, starting off as Strasbourg's youth coach in 1981. With a growing reputation as a man with an astute footballing mind, he moved to Cannes in 1983 to be their assistant manager.

Wenger's first move into management came a year later when he accepted a post with Nancy Lorraine. Although he failed to save the club from relegation in his first year in charge, the club kept faith.

The big break would come in 1987 as Monaco moved to make him their top man. Within a year Wenger won the French championship and was named Manager of the Year.

Several years of success would follow at the Stade Louis II stadium, including victory in the French Cup and defeat to Werder Bremen in the final of the European Cup Winners' Cup.

In 1994, Wenger turned down the chance to coach the French national team and also Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich to continue with Monaco. Unfortunately for Wenger, Monaco's finish of ninth that season was not below par and he was dismissed.

It was then that Wenger's love affair with the Japanese game began. A year after leaving Monaco he was named coach of Nagoya Grampus Eight in what was still the fledgling J-League.

Wenger's managerial acumen transformed the club's fortunes and saw them climb from the bottom three to runners-up spot in just one year. He would win the Super Cup before the chance to coach in the Premiership came along.

Wenger was something of an unknown quantity in England as he arrived as Bruce Rioch's replacement in September 1996. It was clear that the deal had been in the pipeline for some time, as Wenger had insisted that Patrick Vieira and Remi Garde were bought before he put pen to paper - the duo had been signed a month earlier.

Arsenal would win the Double in his first full season in charge, 1997/98, which prompted Wenger to sign a new three-and-a-half year contract. For the following three seasons, however, the Gunners would be known as the bridesmaids and never the bride.

Wenger has built up a reputation as a great thinker, as well as a shrewd operator in the transfer market. Although some may question his eyesight - he never seems to see an incident involving one of his own players.

The main criticism of Wenger's tenure in north London has been the club's terrible disciplinary record. Countless cards have been dished out to the Gunners, with Wenger claiming that referees have a hidden agenda against his club.

He was charged with 'threatening behaviour and physical intimidation' to fourth official Paul Taylor on the opening day of the 2000/01 season and was handed a 12-match touchline ban and a fine by the Football Association - which was overturned on appeal.

Speculation began to grow over Wenger's future at Arsenal, with a return to Japan one of his rumoured destinations. The manager was said to be disillusioned with proposed changes to the transfer market, but signed a new four-year contract in December 2000.

Wenger would bring the Double back to Highbury in 2002, and many pundits believe his brand of exciting attacking football could lead to an era of domination for Arsenal. Now considered one of the best coaches ever to grace the English game.

European success has eluded Wenger during his time at Highbury, bar losing out to Galasataray in the UEFA Cup final of 2000. It is success in the Champions League that Wenger now craves most, having reached the knock-out stages of the competition on only one occasion.

However, Wenger came in for much criticism afer Arsenal failed to win the Premiership in 2003. Early season boasts that his side could go unbeaten proved fatally floored as they ran out of steam and Manchester United regained their crown.

The loss of the championship was offset by a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup - the club's third successive appearance in the final.

Wenger was awarded an honorary OBE (Officer in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the Queen's Birthday honours list in June 2003, for his 'outstanding contribution to British football'.

Arsenal regained the Premiership crown in 2003/04 - in oustanding fashion. They went the entire season undefeated, the first club to achieve the feat since Preston in the 1800's. As Wenger stated, it left his Arsenal 'immortal'.

However, defeat in the Champions League quarter-finals to Chelsea meant question marks remain over their European performance.

And three games into the 2004/05 season, Wenger's side eclipsed Nottingham Forest's unbeaten run, with the 3-0 home win over Blackburn making it 43 games without defeat. That unbeaten run was to stretch for another 6 matches, until old rivals Manchester Utd got the better of Wenger's conquering side, beating them 2-0 at Old Trafford in a highly controversial manner.

The Frenchman's talent for picking up top talent from the continent is again in evidence as Francesc Fabregas, only 17, is proving to be one of the stars of the side. He was picked up from Barcelona's youth side in the summer of 2003 - and looks to be a star in the making.

Arsenal have a large and generally loyal fanbase, with virtually all home matches selling out; in 2006-07 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,045, which was 99.8% of available capacity), and the fourth-highest all-time average attendance. Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name being derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". The club's location, adjoining both wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway and Highbury, and the adjacent London Borough of Camden, and largely working class areas such as Finsbury Park and Stoke Newington has meant that Arsenal's supporters have come from across the usual class divides. In addition, Arsenal have the highest proportion (7.7%) of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, according to a 2002 report.

Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Official Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which is affiliated with the club, and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains an independent line. The club's supporters also publish fanzines such as The Gooner, Highbury High, Gunflash and the less cerebral Up The Arse!. In addition to the usual English football chants, Arsenal's supporters sing "One-Nil to the Arsenal" (to the tune of "Go West") and "Boring, Boring Arsenal", which used to be a common taunt from opposition fans but is now sung ironically by Arsenal supporters when the team is playing well.

In recent times, a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography, and Arsenal now have many fans not just from London but all over England and the world. While there have always been small pockets of supporters abroad, Arsenal's support base has widened considerably with the advent of satellite television, and there are now significant supporters' clubs worldwide. A 2005 report by Granada Ventures, which at the time owned a 9.9% stake in the club, estimated Arsenal's global fanbase at 27 million, the third largest in the world.

Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur, with matches between the two being referred to as North London derbies. Matches against other London sides, such as Chelsea and West Ham United are also derbies, but the rivalry is not as intense as that between Arsenal and Tottenham. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United have had a strong on-pitch rivalry since the late 1980s, which has intensified in recent years when both clubs have been competing for the Premier League title.

In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, "Arsenal in the Community", which offers sporting, social inclusion, educational and charitable projects. The club support a number of charitable causes directly and in 1992 established The Arsenal Charitable trust, which has raised over £2 million for local causes. There is also an ex-professional and celebrity team to raise money for good causes.