Arsenal Football Club was founded in 1886 as Dial Square. The club was later renamed Woolwich Arsenal shortly before turning professional in 1891. The "Woolwich" was dropped in 1913 - twenty years after the club entered the Football League in 1893. That same year, the club moved to Islington in north London, where they continue to be based. Arsenal were promoted to the top flight by a vote in 1919 when the top flight was extended to 22 teams and have never been relegated since, which means they have the longest current run in the top division. There was some controversy as Arsenal's election was at the expense of Tottenham Hotspur who had finished bottom of Division One in the final season before the war and Barnsley and Wolves who had finished above fifth-placed Arsenal in Division Two in 1915 were also ignored. Arsenal became world-renowned under their legendary manager Herbert Chapman in the 1930s where they won a hat-trick of league titles (five in total) and two FA Cups. Successful in the immediate post-war period, the club then went 17 years without a trophy before winning the Fairs Cup in 1970. Arsenal became the second club in the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup double in the 1970-71 season and have since gone on to win two further doubles, in 1997-98 and 2001-02. Those trophies were won under Arsene Wenger who rivals Chapman as the Gunners' most successful boss and was the first overseas manager of an English title-winning side. Arsenal hold an impressive league record with a 49-game unbeaten run, that included going the whole of 2003-04 without a league defeat - the first time since Preston's Invincibles in the inaugural league season. And they also scored in 55 consecutive league games between May 2001 and December 2002. The club moved from Highbury in 2006 to a new state of the art 60,000 seat stadium. The club’s traditional rivals are Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they contest the north London derby. Other rivals include fellow London club Chelsea and Manchester United.
| Record win 12-0 v Loughborough Town, 1900 |
Record defeat 0-8 v Loughborough Town, 1896 |
| Record league appearances David O'Leary (558) |
Most league goals in a season Ted Drake 42 (1934-35) |
| Most league goals Thierry Henry 226 |
League Champions 1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004 |
| FA Cup winners 1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005 |
League Cup winners 1987, 1993 |
| UEFA Cup/Fairs Cup winners 1970 |
Cup Winners Cup winners 1994 |
| Record transfer fee paid £13m for Sylvain Wiltord (Bordeaux 2000) |
Record transfer fee received £23m for Nicolas Anelka (Real Madrid 1999) |
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