A brief History of Arsenal Football Club
2 February 2007Arsenal was founded in 1886 and was first called Dial Square after a group of workers employed by the Dial Square workshop at the Royal Arsenal which was an armaments factory located in Woolwich. The clubs first match was played on December 11 1886 against a club called Eastern Wanderers a game which Dial Square won 6-0. Arsenal went on to be renamed Royal Arsenal after christmas day of the same year and played at Plumstead Common as its home ground
Arsenal first played in the FA Cup in the 1889-1890 season and changed its name yet again to Woolwich Arsenal and decided to become a professional club. Their bid for professional status was not welcomed by their fellow amateur clubs in the South and this led to them being banned from participating in local competitions. Woolwich Arsenal were therefore only permitted to play only friendlies and in the FA Cup and their attempt to set up a Southern equivalent of the Football League failed.
The League however invited Woolwich Arsenal to join in 1893 and Arsenal thus became the very first Southern club to enter the League although this was in the then Second Division were they stayed for eleven long seasons generally occupying a mid-table finish at the end of each season.
Arsenal won promotion to the First Division in the 1903-1904 season and despite strong FA Cup performances, the club slipped down the table because of to it’s ongoing financial difficulties mainly due to the location of the clubs homeground in Plumstead which was largely underpopulated and hence attendance at their matches low. Woolwich Arsenal had to sell their star players to stay afloat in the League and this did not really help their financial situation as they continued to slip down the table and were in fact close to bankruptcy. In 1910, the club went into voluntary liquidation but were given a lifeline when they were bought by a consortium of businessmen.
Arsenal finished the 1913 football season at the bottom of the table and where relegated into the Second Division. This coincided with their move to Arsenal Stadium (largely referred to as Highbury) in North London. Their move from Woolwich saw the club dropping the Woolwich in their name and being simply referred to as The Arsenal. In 1914 Arsenal finished 5th in the Second Division.
The First Division was being expanded from 20 teams to 22. The League decided to elect 2 teams from to accomodate the expansion. Chelsea who had finished that League season in the 19th position and were technically supposed to be relegated was offered a lifeline to stay on in the First Division while The Arsenal where voted in by the League board to be promoted to the First Division for their “long service to league football”. Unfortunately for Totenham Hotspurs who had finished that League season in 20th position and where expecting to be left in the First Division due to the expansion of the League, Arsenal got the vote to be promoted and Totenham where relegated. This has fuelled the long-standing enimity between these two clubs. Arsenal have remained in the top flight since then and thus hold the English record for the longest unbroken top-flight football.
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