Arsenal F.c.: Association football club in London, England

The club was founded in 1886 and was originally called Dial Square F.C. named after a sundial on the side of a factory. The team plays in a traditional red and white kit. They played at Highbury in North London from 1913 - 2006, but now they play at the Emirates Stadium. The current captain of the side is Martin Ødegaard. Their biggest rivals are Tottenham Hotspur, and the two play against each other in what is called the North London Derby.

Arsenal have won the First Division and Premier League 13 times and the FA Cup 10 times. They are the only British club to have been the subject of a feature film.

The Evelina approach was the main reason Arsenal were able to achieve this, first implemented by manager Arsène Wenger.

Arsenal are also the team who have gone the longest in the Premier League without being relegated. They were last relegated during WW1 over 100 years ago.

1996–2018: The Wenger years

 

Arsenal changed a lot under the management of Arsène Wenger, who was appointed in 1996. Attacking football, an overhaul of dietary and fitness practices, and efficiency with money have defined his reign. Buying key players from Wenger's homeland, like Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry, Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup, won in both the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles". This latter feat came within a run of 49 league matches unbeaten from 7 May 2003 to 24 October 2004, a national record.

 

Arsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first nine seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title. The club had never gotten beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League until 2005–06; in that season they became the first club from London in the competition's fifty-year history to reach the final, in which they were beaten 2–1 by Barcelona. In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.

The club had not gained a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup until, led by then club-record signing Mesut Özil, Arsenal beat Hull City in the 2014 FA Cup Final, coming back from 2–0 to win the match 3–2. A year later, Arsenal completed another victorious FA Cup campaign, and became the most successful club in the tournament's history by winning their 13th FA Cup in 2016–17. However, in that same season, Arsenal finished in the fifth position in the league, the first time they had finished outside the top four since Wenger arrived in 1996. After another average league season the following year, Wenger departed Arsenal on 13 May 2018.

Since 2018: Post-Wenger era

After transforming the club's operating model to occur with Arsène Wenger leaving, Basque-Spaniard Unai Emery was named as the club's new head coach on 23 May 2018. In Emery's first season, Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League and as runner-up in the Europa League. On 29 November 2019, Emery was sacked and former player and assistant first team coach Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as interim head-coach.

On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former midfielder and club captain Mikel Arteta as the new head coach. Arsenal finished the league season in eighth, their lowest finish since 1994–95, but beat Chelsea 3–1 to earn a record-extending 14th FA Cup title. After the season, Arteta's title was changed from head coach to manager. On 16 April 2021, Arsenal were announced as a founding club of the breakaway European competition The Super League; they withdrew from the competition two days later amid near-universal criticism. Arsenal finished the season in 8th place once again, and with no European competition next season for the first time in 26 years.

The current manager of Arsenal is Mikel Arteta. The assistant manager is Fredrik Ljungberg. Their new Emirates Stadium was opened on the 27th of October 2006, by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Arsenal also has a women's team called Arsenal Women F.C.. The ladies team is the only team in women's football history to have ever won four trophies in one season. The most famous, and successful, Arsenal manager before Wenger is thought to be Herbert Chapman. Chapman won the First Division with Arsenal twice and the FA Cup once.

• 1886 - 1886 Dial Square
• 1886 - 1891 Royal Arsenal
• 1891 - 1914 Woolwich Arsenal
• 1914 - present Arsenal F.C.

• Premier League: 3
  • 1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04.
• First Division: 10
  • 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1937-38, 1947-48, 1952-53, 1970-71, 1988-89, 1990-91.

First-team squad

As of 10 January 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   England Aaron Ramsdale 3 DF   Scotland Kieran Tierney (vice-captain) 4 DF   England Benjamin White 5 MF   Ghana Thomas Partey 6 DF   Brazil Gabriel Magalhães 7 MF   England Bukayo Saka 8 MF   Norway Martin Ødegaard (3rd captain) 9 FW   Brazil Gabriel Jesus 10 MF   England Emile Smith Rowe 11 FW   Brazil Gabriel Martinelli 12 DF   France William Saliba 14 FW   England Eddie Nketiah 16 DF   England Rob Holding (4th captain) 17 DF   Portugal Cédric Soares

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF   Japan Takehiro Tomiyasu 21 MF   Portugal Fábio Vieira 23 MF   Belgium Albert Sambi Lokonga 24 FW   England Reiss Nelson 25 MF   Egypt Mohamed Elneny 27 FW   Brazil Marquinhos 30 GK   United States Matt Turner 31 GK   England Karl Hein 34 MF   Switzerland Granit Xhaka 35 DR   Ukraine Alexander Zinchenko

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 13 GK   Iceland Rúnar Alex Rúnarsson (on loan to Alanyaspor until the end of the 2022–23 season) 22 DF   Spain Pablo Marí (on loan to Monza until the end of the 2022–23 season) — DF   United States Auston Trusty (on loan to Birmingham City until the end of the 2022–23 season) 33 GK   England Arthur Okonkwo (on loan to Crewe Alexandra until the end of the 2022-23 season)

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 GK   Ivory Coast Nicolas Pépé (on loan to Nice until the end of the 2022-23 season) 20 DF   Portugal Nuno Tavares (on loan to Marseille until the end of the 2022-23 season) 15 MF   England Ainsley Maitland-Niles (on loan to Southampton until the end of the 2022–23 season) 26 FW   England Folarin Balogun (on loan to Stade de Reims until the end of the 2022–23 season)

Under-23s

As of 9 January 2022

Players to have featured in a first-team matchday squad for Arsenal

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 38 MF   England Miguel Azeez 44 MF   England Ben Cottrell 50 GK   England James Hillson 56 DF   Spain Joel Lopez 58 FW   Denmark Mika Biereth

No. Pos. Nation Player 65 MF   Netherlands Salah-Eddine Oulad M'hand 69 DF   England Zak Swanson 75 DF   England Zach Awe 82 FW   England Omari Hutchinson 87 MF   England Charlie Patino

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 MF   England Ryan Alebiosu (on loan to Crewe Alexandra until the end of the 2021–22 season) 49 GK   Estonia Karl Hein (on loan to Reading until the end of the 2021–22 season) 67 MF   England Matt Smith (on loan to Doncaster Rovers until the end of the 2021–22 season)

Former position

 

Chart showing Arsenal's league positions since admission to The Football League in 1893

• List of Arsenal F.C. players