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Arsenal Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Islington, London. The club was formed in Woolwich in 1886 as Dial Square before being renamed as Royal Arsenal, and then Woolwich Arsenal in 1893.[1] In 1914, the club's name was shortened to Arsenal F.C. after moving to Highbury a year earlier.[2] After spending their first four seasons solely participating in cup tournaments and friendlies, Arsenal became the first southern member admitted into the Football League in 1893.[3] In spite of finishing fifth in the Second Division in 1919, the club was voted to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.[4] Since that time, they have not fallen below the first tier of the English football league system and hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the top flight.[5] The club remained in the Football League until 1992, when its First Division was superseded as English football's top level by the newly formed Premier League, of which they were an inaugural member.[6]
The list encompasses the honours won by Arsenal at national, regional, county and friendly level, records set by the club, their managers and their players. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Arsenal players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at Highbury, the Emirates Stadium, the club's home ground since 2006, and Wembley Stadium, their temporary home for UEFA Champions League games between 1998 and 1999, are also included.
Arsenal have won 13 top-flight titles, and hold the record for the most FA Cup wins, with 14. The club's record appearance maker is David O'Leary, who made 722 appearances between 1975 and 1993. Thierry Henry is Arsenal's record goalscorer, scoring 228 goals in total.
All figures are correct as of 6 August 2023.
Arsenal's first ever silverware was won as the Royal Arsenal in 1890. The Kent Junior Cup, won by Royal Arsenal's reserves, was the club's first trophy, while the first team's first trophy came three weeks later when they won the Kent Senior Cup.[7][8] Their first national major honour came in 1930, when they won the FA Cup.[9] The club enjoyed further success in the 1930s, winning another FA Cup and five Football League First Division titles.[10][11] Arsenal won their first league and cup double in the 1970–71 season and twice repeated the feat, in 1997–98 and 2001–02, as well as winning a cup double of the FA Cup and League Cup in 1992–93.[12] In 2003–04, Arsenal recorded an unbeaten top-flight league season, something achieved only once before by Preston North End in 1888–89, who only had to play 22 games.[13] To mark the achievement, a special gold version of the Premier League trophy was commissioned and presented to the club the following season.[14] Their most recent success came in 2023, when they defeated Manchester City 4–1 on penalties to secure their 17th Community Shield title.[15]
Arsenal F.C. timeline | ||
1890 — – 1900 — – 1910 — – 1920 — – 1930 — – 1940 — – 1950 — – 1960 — – 1970 — – 1980 — – 1990 — – 2000 — – 2010 — – 2020 — | Second tier First tier | |
Arsenal's honours and achievements include the following:[lower-alpha 1]
Competitive matches only, includes appearances as substitute. Numbers in brackets indicate goals scored.[29][30]
Rank | Player | Years | Leaguea | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Otherb | Total | Total including Centenary Trophy |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
1975–1993 | 558 (11) | 70 (1) | 70 (2) | 21 (0) | 3 (0) | 722 (14) | 724 (14) |
2 | ![]() |
1983–2002 | 504 (32) | 54 (8) | 59 (5) | 48 (3) | 4 (0) | 669 (48) | 672 (49) |
3 | ![]() |
1961–1977 | 500 (53) | 60 (10) | 35 (3) | 26 (2) | 0 (0) | 621 (68) | |
3 | ![]() |
1988–2002 | 458 (25) | 54 (1) | 45 (0) | 57 (2) | 5 (0) | 619 (28) | 621 (28) |
5 | ![]() |
1987–2000 | 440 (8) | 47 (0) | 49 (3) | 43 (1) | 5 (0) | 584 (12) | 587 (12) |
6 | ![]() |
1990–2003 | 405 (0) | 48 (0) | 38 (0) | 69 (0) | 4 (0) | 564 (0) | |
7 | ![]() |
1964–1980 | 397 (12) | 67 (1) | 36 (0) | 27 (0) | 1 (0) | 528 (13) | |
8 | ![]() |
1965–1977 | 391 (9) | 51 (4) | 37 (2) | 22 (2) | 0 (0) | 501 (17) | |
9 | ![]() |
1964–1976 | 379 (111) | 44 (15) | 34 (12) | 24 (11) | 0 (0) | 481 (149) | |
10 | ![]() |
1964–1978 | 370 (10) | 53 (1) | 33 (3) | 21 (1) | 0 (0) | 477 (15) |
Thierry Henry is the all-time top goalscorer for Arsenal. He passed Ian Wright's eight-year record after scoring twice in a European tie against Sparta Prague in October 2005.[36] Henry was Arsenal's leading goalscorer for seven consecutive seasons, from 1999–2000 to 2005–06.[37]
Competitive matches only. Numbers in brackets indicate appearances made.[34][38][39]
Rank | Player | Years | Leaguea Games/Goals |
FA Cup Games/Goals |
League Cup Games/Goals |
Europe Games/Goals |
Otherb Games/Goals |
Total Games/Goals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
1999–2007, 2012 | 258 / 175 | 26 / 8 | 3 / 2 | 86 / 42 | 4 / 1 | 377 / 228 |
2 | ![]() |
1991–1998 | 221 / 128 | 16 / 12 | 29 / 29 | 21 / 15 | 1 / 1 | 288 / 185 |
3 | ![]() |
1929–1947 | 350 / 150 | 42 / 26 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 4 / 2 | 396 / 178 |
4 | ![]() |
1964–1976 | 379 / 111 | 44 / 15 | 34 / 12 | 24 / 11 | 0 / 0 | 481 / 149 |
5 | ![]() |
1923–1931 | 204 / 125 | 27 / 14 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 0 | 232 / 139 |
![]() |
1934–1945 | 168 / 124 | 14 / 12 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 2 / 3 | 184 / 139 | |
7 | ![]() |
1948–1956 | 226 / 125 | 17 / 10 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 1 / 2 | 244 / 137 |
8 | ![]() |
2004–2012 | 193 / 96 | 17 / 10 | 12 / 6 | 53 / 20 | 2 / 0 | 278 / 132 |
9 | ![]() |
1926–1938 | 333 / 107 | 39 / 17 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 2 / 1 | 374 / 125 |
10 | ![]() |
1928–1934 | 181 / 113 | 25 / 10 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 2 / 1 | 208 / 124 |
This section refers only to caps won while an Arsenal player.
At 17 years and 75 days, Theo Walcott became the youngest player to earn an England cap, against Hungary on 30 May 2006.[52]
Declan Rice's transfer from West Ham United is Arsenal's record transfer fee paid for a player, the England international joined the club on 15 July 2023 for £100m, with another £5m in additional bonuses.[56] At the time of the transfer, he was the second most expensive signing in Premier League history after Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández (£105.6m).[56] English midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (31 August 2017) and American striker Folarin Balogun (30 August 2023) drew Arsenal's record fee received for a player transfer when they joined Liverpool and Monaco respectively for £35m each.[54][55]
In 1928, with Bolton Wanderers in financial trouble, Herbert Chapman's Arsenal made David Jack the first five-digit signing in world football, almost double the previous record; the final fee paid was £10,647 10 shillings.[57] According to Bob Wall, Chapman negotiated the transfer with Bolton's representatives in a hotel bar, his tactic being to drink gin and tonics without any gin in them, while asking the waiter to double the alcohol served to the other side. Chapman remained sober while the Bolton representatives got very drunk, and managed to haggle down the fee to a price he considered a bargain.[58] Jack's transfer to Arsenal was the second time Jack broke the world football transfer record, the first time being his £3,500 move from Plymouth Argyle to Bolton Wanderers in 1920.[59]
For consistency, fees in the record transfer tables below are all sourced from BBC Sport's contemporary reports of each transfer. Where the report mentions an initial fee potentially rising to a higher figure depending on contractual clauses being satisfied in the future, only the initial fee is listed in the tables.
Rank | Player | Fee (min.) | Date | Club transferred from | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
£100m[upper-alpha 1] | 15 July 2023 | ![]() |
[56] |
2 | ![]() |
£72m | 1 August 2019 | ![]() |
[60] |
3 | ![]() |
£65m | 28 June 2023 | ![]() |
[61] |
4 | ![]() |
£56m | 31 January 2018 | ![]() |
[62] |
5 | ![]() |
£50m | 30 July 2021 | ![]() |
[63] |
Rank | Player | Fee (min.) | Date | Club transferred to | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() |
£35m | 30 August 2023 | ![]() |
[55] |
![]() |
£35m | 31 August 2017 | ![]() |
[54] | |
3 | ![]() |
£28m[upper-alpha 1] | 8 August 2019 | ![]() |
[64] |
4 | ![]() |
£27m[upper-alpha 2] | 29 July 2024 | ![]() |
[65] |
5 | ![]() |
£25.4m[upper-alpha 3] | 15 August 2011 | ![]() |
[66] |
Arsenal hold several English football records, including the longest unbeaten sequence in the top flight, with 49. Arsenal scored in all 55 league matches from between 19 May 2001 to 30 November 2002 and the club also holds the longest unbeaten away sequence in league football with 27, from 5 April 2003 to 25 September 2004.[84]
This section applies to attendances at Highbury, where Arsenal played their home matches from 1913 to 2006, the Emirates Stadium, the club's present home, and Wembley Stadium, which acted as Arsenal's home in the UEFA Champions League during the 1998–99 and 1999–2000 seasons.[29] Arsenal's attendance figures since the move to the Emirates Stadium have been measured by tickets sold.[94]
On 17 January 1948, a league-record attendance of 83,260 watched Manchester United play Arsenal at Maine Road.[95] All of the top three attendances in league football occurred at Arsenal games.[95]
Arsenal have won two European honours: the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994. They also reached the final of the UEFA Cup in 2000 and the Europa League in 2019, and became the first London team to appear in a UEFA Champions League final in 2006.[96][97] Despite having never won the UEFA Champions League, Arsenal have set numerous records in the competition. Between the 1998–99 and 2016–17 seasons, they participated in nineteen successive editions, a record only surpassed in Europe by Real Madrid.[98] Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann kept ten consecutive clean sheets in the run-in to Arsenal's first UEFA Champions League final and the defence went 995 minutes until conceding a goal.[99] Arsenal were also the first British side to defeat Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund away from home, and both Milanese teams: Internazionale and Milan at the San Siro. They were also the first British side to win away to Juventus.[100]
In August 1928, Arsenal, alongside Chelsea, made history by becoming the first football clubs to wear numbered shirts.[101] A year earlier the first ever live radio commentary of a football match took place, between Arsenal and Sheffield United.[102] Arsenal played in the first match broadcast live on television, against their reserve counterparts in 1937 and have since participated in the world's first live 3D and interactive football matches, both with Manchester United.[103][104][105]