Arsenal Football Club

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Arsenal Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Holloway, London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups. Arsenal holds the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and would be placed first in an aggregated league of the entire 20th century.^{[2Sony VAIO PCG-3B1M Battery}

It is the second side to complete an English top flight season unbeaten (in the 2003–04 season), and the only one to do it across 38 matches.

Arsenal was founded in 1886 in Woolwich and in 1893 became the first club from the south of England to join the Football League. In 1913, it moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-3C1T Battery}

In the 1930s the club won five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years it won theLeague and FA Cup Double, in the 1970–71 season, and in the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century won two more Doubles and reached the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. Arsenal has a long-standing rivalry with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom it contests the North London derby. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-3D1M Battery}

Arsenal is the fourth most valuable association football club in the world as of 2012, valued at $1.3 billion.

Arsenal Football Club started out as Dial Square in 1886 by workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south-east London, and was renamed Royal Arsenal shortly afterwards.^[4] The club was renamed again to Woolwich Arsenal after becoming a limited company in 1893.^{[5] Sony VAIO PCG-3G2M Battery}

The club became the first southern member of the Football League in 1893, starting out in the Second Division, and won promotion to the First Division in 1904. The club's relative geographic isolation resulted in lower attendances than those of other clubs, which led to the club becoming mired in financial problems and effectively bankrupt by 1910, when they were taken over by businessmen Henry Norris and William Hall.^{[6] Sony VAIO PCG-5R1M Battery}

Norris sought to move the club elsewhere, and in 1913, soon after relegation back to the Second Division, Arsenal moved to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, North London; they dropped "Woolwich" from their name the following year.^[7] Arsenal only finished in fifth place in 1919, but were nevertheless elected to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur, by reportedly dubious means.^{[8]Sony VAIO PCG-7141M Battery}

Arsenal appointed Herbert Chapman as manager in 1925. Having already won the league twice with Huddersfield Town in 1923–24 and 1924–25 (see Seasons in English football), Chapman brought Arsenal their first period of major success. His revolutionary tactics and training, along with the signings of star players such as Alex James and Cliff Bastin, laid the foundations of the club's domination of English football in the 1930s.^{[9] Sony VAIO PCG-7143M Battery}

Under his guidance Arsenal won their first major trophies – victory in the 1930 FA Cup Final preceded two League Championships, in 1930–31 and 1932–33. In addition, Chapman was behind the 1932 renaming of the local London Underground station from "Gillespie Road" to "Arsenal", making it the only Tube station to be named specifically after a football club.^{[10] Sony VAIO PCG-7151M Battery}

Chapman died suddenly of pneumonia in early 1934, leaving Joe Shaw and George Allison to carry on his successful work. Under their guidance, Arsenal won three more titles, in 1933–34, 1934–35 and 1937–38, and the 1936 FA Cup. As key players retired, Arsenal had started to fade by the decade's end, and then the intervention of the Second World War meant competitive professional football in England was suspended. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7154M Battery}

After the war, Arsenal enjoyed a second period of success under Allison's successor Tom Whittaker, winning the league in 1947–48 and 1952–53, and the FA Cup in 1950. Their fortunes waned thereafter; unable to attract players of the same calibre as they had in the 1930s, the club spent most of the 1950s and 1960s in trophyless mediocrity. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7162M Battery}

Even former England captain Billy Wright could not bring the club any success as manager, in a stint between 1962 and 1966.^[13][14][15]

Arsenal began winning silverware again with the surprise appointment of club physiotherapist Bertie Mee as manager in 1966. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7181M Battery}

After losing two League Cup finals, they won their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was followed by an even greater triumph: their first League and FA Cup double in1970–71.^[16] This marked a premature high point of the decade; the Double-winning side was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-41112M Battery}

Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, lost three FA Cup finals, in 1972, 1978 and 1980, and lost the 1980 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was a last-minute 3–2 victory over Manchester United in the 1979 FA Cup Final, widely regarded as a classic.^{[13][17] Sony VAIO PCG-7153M Battery}

The return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in 1986–87, Graham's first season in charge. This was followed by a League title win in 1988–89, won with a last-minute goal in the final game of the season against fellow title challengersLiverpool. Graham's Arsenal won another title in 1990–91, losing only one match, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-71312M Battery}

won the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993, and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1994.^[13][18] Graham's reputation was tarnished when he was found to have taken kickbacks from agent Rune Hauge for signing certain players,^[19] and he was dismissed in 1995. His replacement, Bruce Rioch, lasted for only one season, leaving the club after a dispute with the board of directors.^{[20] Sony VAIO PCG-7144M Battery}

The club's success in the late 1990s and first decade of the 21st century owed a great deal to the 1996 appointment of Arsène Wenger as manager. Wenger brought new tactics, a new training regime and several foreign players who complemented the existing English talent. Arsenal won a second League and Cup double in 1997–98 and a third in 2001–02. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7191L Battery}

In addition, the club reached the final of the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup (losing on penalties to Galatasaray), were victorious in the 2003 and 2005 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match, an achievement which earned the side the nickname "The Invincibles".^[21] The club went 49 league matches unbeaten in that season, a national record.^{[22] Sony VAIO PCG-3C1M Battery}

Arsenal finished in either first or second place in the league in eight of Wenger's first eleven seasons at the club, although on no occasion were they able to retain the title.^[13] As of June 2012, they were one of only five teams, the others being Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Chelsea, and Manchester City, to have won the Premier League since its formation in 1992.^{[23] Sony VAIO PCG-3F1M Battery}

Arsenal had never progressed 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.^[24] In July 2006, they moved into the Emirates Stadium, after 93 years at Highbury.^{[25] Sony VAIO PCG-3H1M Battery}

Arsenal reached the final of the 2007 and 2011 League Cup final, losing 2–1 to Chelsea and Birmingham City respectively. The club has not gained a major trophy since the 2005 FA Cup.

Unveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first crest featured three cannon viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-3J1M Battery}

These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a cascabel on each are clear indicators that they are cannon.^[27] This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, The Gunners, inscribed alongside it; ^{Sony VAIO PCG-8141M Battery}

this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.^[27] In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set inblackletter, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly-adopted Latin motto, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-8161M Battery}

Victoria Concordia Crescit "victory comes from harmony", coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer.^[27] For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green. Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable tocopyright it. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-3C2M Battery}

Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise,^[28] Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable.^{[29] Sony VAIO PCG-5N2M Battery}

The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.^{[30] Sony VAIO PCG-5P1M Battery}

Until the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram of the club's initials in red on a white background.^[31]

The monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-5S1M Battery}

This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors.^[32] From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname "The Gunners", in the 1990s.^{[31] Sony VAIO PCG-9Z1M Battery}

In the 2011–2012 season, Arsenal celebrated their 125th year anniversary. The celebrations included a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season. The crest was all white, surrounded by 15 oak leaves to the right and 15 laurel leaves to the left. The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7171M Battery}

The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club. The laurel leaves also represent strength. To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto "Forward" at the bottom of the crest.

For much of Arsenal's history, their home colours have been bright red shirts with white sleeves and white shorts, though this has not always been the case. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-7186M Battery}

The choice of red is in recognition of a charitable donation from Nottingham Forest, soon after Arsenal's foundation in 1886. Two of Dial Square's founding members, Fred Beardsley and Morris Bates, were former Forest players who had moved to Woolwich for work. As they put together the first team in the area, no kit could be found, so Beardsley and Bates wrote home for help and received a set of kit and a ball.^{[4] Sony VAIO PCG-81112M Battery}

The shirt was redcurrant, a dark shade of red, and was worn with white shorts and blue socks.^[34]

In 1933, Herbert Chapman, wanting his players to be more distinctly dressed, updated the kit, adding white sleeves and changing the shade to a brighter pillar box red. Two possibilities have been suggested for the origin of the white sleeves. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-31311M Battery}

One story reports that Chapman noticed a supporter in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt; another was that he was inspired by a similar outfit worn by the cartoonist Tom Webster, with whom Chapman played golf.^[35] Regardless of which story is true, the red and white shirts have come to define Arsenal and the team have worn the combination ever since, aside from two seasons. The first was 1966–67, when Arsenal wore all-red shirts;^[34] this proved unpopular and the white sleeves returned the following season. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-8152M Battery}

The second was 2005–06, the last season that Arsenal played at Highbury, when the team wore commemorative redcurrant shirts similar to those worn in 1913, their first season in the stadium; the club reverted to their normal colours at the start of the next season.^[35] In the 2008–09 season, Arsenal replaced the traditional all-white sleeves with red sleeves with a broad white stripe.^{[34] Sony VAIO PCG-31111M Battery}

Arsenal's home colours have been the inspiration for at least three other clubs. In 1909, Sparta Prague adopted a dark red kit like the one Arsenal wore at the time;^[35] in 1938, Hibernian adopted the design of the Arsenal shirt sleeves in their own green and white strip.^[36] In 1920, Sporting Clube de Braga's manager returned from a game at Highbury and changed his team's green kit to a duplicate of Arsenal's red with white sleeves and shorts, giving rise to the team's nickname of Os Arsenalistas. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-61111M Battery}

These teams still wear these designs to this day.

For many years Arsenal's away colours were white shirts and either black or white shorts. Since the 1969–70 season, they have worn yellow and blue, but there have been exceptions. They wore a green and navy away kit in 1982–83, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-51112M Battery}

and since the early 1990s and the advent of the lucrative replica kit market, the away colours have been changed regularly. During this period the designs have been either two-tone blue designs, or variations on the traditional yellow and blue, such as the metallic gold and navy strip used in the 2001–02 season, and the yellow and dark grey used from 2005 to 2007.^{[38] Sony VAIO PCG-51211M Battery}

As of 2009, the away kit is changed every season, and the outgoing away kit becomes the third-choice kit if a new home kit is being introduced in the same year.^[39]

Arsenal's shirts have been made by manufacturers including Bukta (from the 1930s until the early 1970s), Umbro (from the 1970s until 1986), Adidas (1986–1994), and Nike (since 1994). ^{Sony VAIO PCG-51212M Battery}

Like those of most other major football clubs, Arsenal's shirts have featured sponsors' logos since the 1980s; sponsors include JVC(1982–1999), Sega (1999–2002), O2 (2002–2006), and Emirates (from 2006).

For most of their time in south-east London, Arsenal played at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, apart from a three-year period at the nearby Invicta Ground between 1890 and 1893. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-41111M Battery}

The Manor Ground was initially just a field, until the club installed stands and terracing for their first Football League match in September 1893. They played their home games there for the next twenty years (with two exceptions in the 1894–95 season), until the move to north London in 1913.^[40][41]

Widely referred to as Highbury, Arsenal Stadium was the club's home from September 1913 until May 2006. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-41111V Battery}

The original stadium was designed by the renowned football architect Archibald Leitch, and had a design common to many football grounds in the UK at the time, with a single covered stand and three open-air banks of terracing.^[42] The entire stadium was given a massive overhaul in the 1930s: new Art Deco West and East stands were constructed, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-61412V Battery}

opening in 1932 and 1936 respectively, and a roof was added to the North Bank terrace, which was bombed during the Second World War and not restored until 1954.^[42]

Highbury could hold over 60,000 spectators at its peak, and had a capacity of 57,000 until the early 1990s. The Taylor Reportand Premier League regulations obliged Arsenal to convert Highbury to ^{Sony VAIO PCG-71112M Battery}

an all-seater stadium in time for the 1993–94 season, thus reducing the capacity to 38,419 seated spectators.^[43] This capacity had to be reduced further during Champions Leaguematches to accommodate additional advertising boards, so much so that for two seasons, from 1998 to 2000, Arsenal played Champions League home matches atWembley, which could house more than 70,000 spectators. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-81111V Battery}

Expansion of Highbury was restricted because the East Stand had been designated as a Grade II listed building and the other three stands were close to residential properties.^[42] These limitations prevented the club from maximising matchday revenue during the 1990s and first decade of the 21st century, putting them in danger of being left behind in the football boom of that time.^{[45] Sony VAIO PCG-81111V Battery}

After considering various options, in 2000 Arsenal proposed building a new 60,361-capacity stadium at Ashburton Grove, since renamed the Emirates Stadium, about 500 metres south-west of Highbury.^[46] The project was initially delayed by red tape and rising costs,^[47] and construction was completed in July 2006, in time for the start of the 2006–07 season. ^{Sony VAIO PCG-81212M Battery}

The stadium was named after its sponsors, the airline company Emirates, with whom the club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth around £100 million;^[49] some fans referred to the ground as Ashburton Grove, or the Grove, as they did not agree with corporate sponsorship of stadium names.^[50] The stadium will be officially known as Emirates Stadium until at least 2012, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-81212V Battery}

and the airline will be the club's shirt sponsor until the end of the 2013–14 season.^[49] From the start of the 2010–11 season on, the stands of the stadium have been officially known as North Bank, East Stand, West Stand and Clock end.^[51]

Arsenal's players train at the Shenley Training Centre in Hertfordshire, ^{Sony VAIO PCG-51111M Battery}

a purpose-built facility which opened in 1999.^[52]Before that the club used facilities on a nearby site owned by the University College of London Students' Union. Until 1961 they had trained at Highbury.^[53]Arsenal's Academy under-18 teams play their home matches at Shenley, while the reserves play their games at Underhill, home of Barnet. ^{Sony VAIO VPCS13X9E/B battery}

Arsenal fans often refer to themselves as "Gooners", the name derived from the team's nickname, "The Gunners". The fanbase is large and generally loyal, and virtually all home matches sell out; in 2007–08 Arsenal had the second-highest average League attendance for an English club (60,070, which was 99.5% of available capacity),^[55] and as of 2006, the fourth-highest all-time average attendance.^{[56] Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B battery}

Arsenal has the seventh highest average attendance of European football clubs only behindBorussia Dortmund, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Schalke.^{[57][58][59][60]} The club's location, adjoining wealthy areas such as Canonbury and Barnsbury, mixed areas such as Islington, Holloway, ^{Sony VAIO VPCS12V9E/B battery}

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.

Like all major English football clubs, Arsenal have a number of domestic supporters' clubs, including the Arsenal Football Supporters Club, which works closely with the club, ^{Sony VAIO VPCF13M8E/B battery}

and the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association, which maintains a more independent line. The Arsenal Supporters' Trust promotes greater participation in ownership of the club by fans. 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, ^{Sony VAIO VPCF13Z0E/B battery}

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.^[61]

There have always been Arsenal supporters outside of London, and since the advent of satellite television, ^{Sony VAIO VPCM13M1E/L battery}

a supporter's attachment to a football club has become less dependent on geography. Consequently, Arsenal have a significant number of fans from beyond London and all over the world; in 2007, 24 UK, 37 Irish and 49 other overseas supporters clubs were affiliated with the club.^[62] 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.^{[63] Sony VAIO VPCM13M1E/W battery}

Arsenal's longest-running and deepest rivalry is with their nearest major neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur; matches between the two are referred to as North London derbies.^[64] Other rivalries within London include those with Chelsea, Fulham and West Ham United. In addition, Arsenal and Manchester United developed a strong on-pitch rivalry in the late 1980s, ^{Sony VAIO VPCF22M1E battery}

which intensified in recent years when both clubs were competing for the Premier League title^[65] – so much so that a 2003online poll by the Football Fans Census listed Manchester United as Arsenal's biggest rivals, followed by Tottenham and Chelsea.^[66] A 2008 poll listed the Tottenham rivalry as more important.

Arsenal's parent company, Arsenal Holdings plc, operates as a non-quoted public limited company, ^{Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H battery}

whose ownership is considerably different from that of other football clubs. Only 62,217 shares in Arsenal have been issued,^[68][69] and they are not traded on a public exchange such as the FTSE or AIM; instead, they are traded relatively infrequently on PLUS (AFC), a specialist market. At 31 August 2010, a single share in Arsenal had a mid price of £10,250, which set the club's market capitalisation value at approximately £637.74m.^{[70] Sony VAIO VPCF13M0E/B battery}

The club made a pre-tax operating profit (excluding player transfers) of £62.7m in the year ending 31 May 2009, from a turnover of £313.3m.^[71]

The largest shareholder on the Arsenal board is American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke, who launched a bid for the club in 2007,^[72] and in November 2009 increased his holding to 18,594 shares (29.9%).^{[73] Sony VAIO VPCYB2M1E battery}

A rival bid to Kroenke's came from Red & White Securities, which is co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov and London-based financier Farhad Moshiri.^[74] Red & White launched its bid in August 2007, buying the stake held by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, and as at February 2009 owned 15,555 shares (25.0%) in the club.^{[75] Sony VAIO VPCYB3V1E battery}

This led to press speculation of a bidding war between Kroenke and Usmanov.^[74] However, Kroenke agreed not to purchase more than 29.9% of the club until at least September 2009,^[76] while the rest of the board have first option on each other's shares until October 2012.^[77]

In April 2011, Stan Kroenke was rumoured to be in "advanced talks" with Arsenal over a possible takeover.^{[78] Sony VAIO VPCY11M1E battery}

As of October 2011, Kroenke owns 41,574 shares (66.82%) and Red & White Securities own 18,261 shares (29.35%).^[79] Under company law Kroenke, as majority shareholder, is obliged to make an offer for the remaining shares in the club.

Arsenal have appeared in a number of media "firsts". On 22 January 1927, their match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.; ^{Sony VAIO VPCS12L9E/B battery}

A decade later, on 16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first football match in the world to be televised live.^[80][82] Arsenal also featured in the first edition of the BBC's Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool at Anfield on 22 August 1964. ^{Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B battery}

BSkyB's coverage of Arsenal's January 2010 match against Manchester United was the first live public broadcast of a sports event on 3D television.^[80][84]

As one of the most successful teams in the country, Arsenal have often featured when football is depicted in the arts in Britain. ^{Sony VAIO VPCYB3V1E/R Battery}

They formed the backdrop to one of the earliest football-related films, The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939).^[85] The film centres on a friendly match between Arsenal and an amateur side, one of whose players is poisoned while playing. Many Arsenal players appeared as themselves and manager George Allison was given a speaking part.^{[86] Sony VAIO VPCF23P1E Battery}

More recently, the book Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby was an autobiographical account of Hornby's life and relationship with football and Arsenal in particular. Published in 1992, it formed part of the revival and rehabilitation of football in British society during the 1990s.^[87] The book was twice adapted for the cinema – the 1997 British film focuses on Arsenal's 1988–89 title win,^{[88] Sony VAIO VPCF23N1E Battery}

and a 2005 American version features a fan of baseball's Boston Red Sox.^[89]

Arsenal have often been stereotyped as a defensive and "boring" side, especially during the 1970s and 1980s;^[61][90] many comedians, such as Eric Morecambe, made jokes about this at the team's expense. The theme was repeated in the 1997 film The Full Monty, ^{Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/L Battery}

in a scene where the lead actors move in a line and raise their hands, deliberately mimicking the Arsenal defence's offside trap, in an attempt to co-ordinate their striptease routine.^[86] Another film reference to the club's defence comes in the film Plunkett & Macleane, in which two characters are named Dixon and Winterburn after Arsenal's long-serving full backs – the right-sidedLee Dixon and the left-sided Nigel Winterburn.^{[86] Sony VAIO VPCY21S1E/G battery}

The 1991 television comedy sketch show Harry Enfield & Chums featured a sketch from the characters Mr Cholmondly-Warner and Grayson where the Arsenal team of 1933, featuring exaggerated parodies of fictitious amateur players take on the Liverpool team of 1991.^{[91] Sony VAIO VPCF24M1E battery}

Arsenal is mentioned in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - when a bartender asks the alien Ford Prefect if he plans to watch the match, Ford replies that there's no point, and the bartender asks "Foregone conclusion, then? Arsenal without a chance?" Ford replies that it's just that the world's about to end. Sony VAIO VPCF-11JOE battery

rsenal Ladies is the women's football club affiliated to Arsenal. Founded in 1987, they turned semi-professional in 2002 and are managed by Laura Harvey.^[93]Arsenal Ladies are the most successful team in English women's football. In the 2008–09 season, they won all three major English trophies – the FA Women's Premier League, FA Women's Cup and FA Women's Premier League Cup, Sony VGP-BPL8 Battery

and, as of 2009, were the only English side to have won the UEFA Women's Cup, having done so in the 2006–07 season as part of a unique quadruple.^[95] The men's and women's clubs are formally separate entities but have quite close ties; Arsenal Ladies are entitled to play once a season at the Emirates Stadium, though they usually play their home matches at Boreham Wood.^[96] Sony VGP-BPL9 Battery

In 1985, Arsenal founded a community scheme, "Arsenal in the Community", which offered 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 by 2006 had raised more than £2 million for local causes.^[97] Sony VGP-BPS8 Battery

An ex-professional and celebrity football team associated with the club also raised money by playing charity matches.^[98]

In the 2009/10 season Arsenal announced that they had raised a record breaking £818,897 for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. Sony VGP-BPS8A Battery

The original target was £500,000 but thanks to the overwhelming support from fans, players, directors and staff. They were able to smash the target.^[99]

On September 2011, Arsenal won their case against Alicia Simon, a Seville resident who has now been forced by the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office to change the name of her shop "Arsenale".Sony VGP-BPS9 Battery

Ms Simon registered the name of her shop before she even opened it in 2007 and has faced litigation from the North London club ever since.^[100]

Arsenal's tally of 13 League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Manchester United (19) and Liverpool (18),^[101] while the total of 10 FA Cups is the second highest, after Manchester United (11).^[102] Sony VGP-BPS9/B Battery

Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup "Doubles" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a feat only previously achieved by Manchester United (in 1994, 1996 and 1999),^[13][103] and in 1993 were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double.^[104] They were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006, losing the final 2–1 to Barcelona.^[105] Sony VGP-BPS9/S Battery

Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times. Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.5.^[2] In addition, they are one of only six clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003. Sony VGP-BPS10 Battery

Arsenal also hold the record for the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League at 49 games, and are the only team to have gone an entire Premier League season unbeaten in 2003–04.^[107]

David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Sony VGP-BPL10 Battery

Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 564 appearances.^[108]

Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2012,^[109] having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005.^[110] Sony VGP-BPL11 Battery

Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939.^[111] Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 176,^[109] a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.^[112]

Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, Sony VGP-BPS11 Battery

where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935,^[108] while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.^[113] Sony VGP-BPL12 Battery

Arsenal have also set records in English football, including the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (85 as of 2011–12) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004).^[22] This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.^[21] Sony VGP-BPS12 Battery

Arsenal also set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set byA.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final, when Samuel Eto'o scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona. Sony VGP-BPS13 Battery

The history of Arsenal Football Club from 1966 to the present day covers the third, fourth, and fifth periods of success in Arsenal's history, including three Doubles, a Cup Double, and success in European football.

Following Bertie Mee's appointment in 1966, Arsenal won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, their first European trophy, in 1969–70, and their first League and FA Cupdouble in 1970–71. Sony VGP-BPS13/B Battery

The Double-winning side, however, was soon broken up and the following decade was characterised by a series of near misses: Arsenal lost three FA Cup finals (1971–72, 1977–78, and 1979–80 and the 1979–80 Cup Winners' Cup final on penalties. The club's only success during this time was an FA Cup win in 1978–79 against Manchester United. Sony VGP-BPS13/S Battery

After stagnation in the 1980s, the return of former player George Graham as manager in 1986 brought a third period of glory. Arsenal won the League Cup in1986–87, two League title wins in 1988–89 and 1990–91, the FA Cup and League Cup double in 1992–93 and a second European trophy, the Cup Winners' Cup, in1993–94. However, Sony VGP-BPS13A/S Battery

Graham's reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that he had taken kickbacks for signing certain players and he was sacked in 1995.

Arsenal fifth period of success came with the appointment of Arsène Wenger in 1996. Under him, Arsenal won a second league and cup double in 1997–98 and then a third in 2001–02. Sony VGP-BPS13B/S Battery

In addition, the club were victorious in the 2002–03 and 2004–05 FA Cups, and won the Premier League in 2003–04 without losing a single match. In 2005–06 became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League Final, and lost 2–1 against FC Barcelona. During the following close season, they left their longstanding home of Highbury to the new Emirates Stadium nearby. Sony VGP-BPS13S Battery

Following the dismissal of Billy Wright in the summer of 1966, Arsenal appointed physiotherapist Bertie Mee as his successor. The move that brought surprise to some, not least Mee himself, who requested that he be able to return to his old role as physio if being manager had not worked out after 12 months.^[1] With assistant Dave Sexton, Mee brought a more professional approach to the club and promoted talent from within; Sony VGP-BPS13AS Battery

Arsenal's youth team had won the FA Youth Cup in 1966, and talented attacking players such as Charlie George, John Radford, Peter Simpson and Ray Kennedy graduated to the first team.

Mee complemented this attacking ability with some more experienced heads; captain Frank McLintock at centre half marshalled a strong defence, while the hard-tackling Peter Storey filled the defensive midfield position. Sony VGP-BPS13A/B Battery

The team showed early signs of promise, reaching two successive League Cup finals, in 1968 and1969. Both times the Gunners went home empty-handed. The first time Arsenal lost to Don Revie's Leeds United 1–0 in a dour match of few chances, Terry Coopergrabbing the only goal.

The second League Cup loss was an infamous upset – Arsenal lost 3–1 to Third Division side Swindon Town. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B Battery

Eight of the team had been struck by flu that had led to the postponement of Arsenal's previous League fixture,^[2] and Arsenal had only reached extra time thanks to a late goalkeeping error that had allowed Bobby Gould to score. In extra time, Don Rogers scored twice as Arsenal searched for a winner. However, that season was not a total disaster for Arsenal; they had also finished fourth, which won them a place in Europe for the 1969–70 season. Sony VGP-BPS14 Battery

In turn, this led to the club collecting their first silverware in seventeen years and also their first European trophy, the 1969–70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Arsenal beat Ajax 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals, and then staged a famous comeback against Anderlecht in the final.^[3] Arsenal were 3-0 down after 74 minutes of the first leg at Stade Émile Versé, but Ray Kennedy got a late away goal to give the Gunners a glimmer of hope; Sony VGP-BPl15 Battery

in the second leg in front of a packed Highbury, inspired by captain Frank McLintock, Arsenal won 3-0 with goals from John Radford, Eddie Kelly and Jon Sammels, to win the tie 4-3 on aggregate.

The same season, Arsenal had only finished 12th in the league, perhaps distracted by their European campaign, and did not look like league contenders. Sony VGP-BPs15 Battery

Yet the following season, 1970–71, Arsenal went on to become only the second club of the 20th century to win the FA Cup and League Double, the club's first. After a bright start Arsenal looked to be out of the title chase with a 5–0 loss to Stoke City in September. However, Arsenal recovered and put in a strong run (they did not lose again in the league until January), and as the season closed they became involved in a tight race with Leeds United. Sony VGP-BPs18 Battery

Arsenal were pushed all the way – after being defeated 1–0 by Leeds in April, they needed to beat or draw 0–0 with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur atWhite Hart Lane on the last day of the season to take the title on goal average. An 87th-minute goal by Ray Kennedy gave Arsenal a 1–0 lead and despite Spurs' desperate attempts for an equaliser Arsenal hung on to win and take the title. In the meantime, Sony VGP-BPS21A/B Battery

Arsenal had also reached the FA Cup Final, following a titanic semi-final battle with Stoke which saw them come from 2–0 down to force a replay and eventual victory. In the Final, five days after the win at Tottenham, Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–1 at Wembley; Arsenal went 1–0 down early in extra time, before Eddie Kelly's 101st-minute equaliser from close range.^[4] Sony VGP-BPS21/S Battery

Ten minutes later, Charlie George scored the winner from the edge of the penalty area to win the game, and the Double, for Arsenal.

The Double proved to be a premature high point of a decade characterised by a string of near-misses. Despite signing World Cup winner Alan Ball for a club record £220,000 in the close season, Sony VGP-BPS21B Battery

Arsenal began 1971–72 badly, losing three matches in August,^[5] and were forced to play catch-up for the rest of the season, ultimately finishing fifth. Their debut in the European Cup started encouragingly, but they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by a Johann Cruyff-inspired Ajax, who went on to win the trophy as part of a hat-trick of European titles. Sony VGP-BPS21 Battery

Arsenal also reached the FA Cup Final for the second year in a row; in a repeat of the 1968 League Cup Final they lost 1–0 to Leeds United, in an ugly match of few real chances.^[6]

Arsenal finished as First Division runners-up in 1972–73, but within a year the Double-winning side had been broken up, and Mee was unable to build a new team in its place. Sony Vaio PCG-5G2L Battery

The club's form declined sharply, finishing 16th in 1974–75 and 17th in 1975–76, their lowest in more than forty years, which prompted Mee's resignation. Tottenham manager Terry Neill, a former Arsenal player, was appointed in his place, even though he had never got Spurs anywhere beyond mid-table, to become Arsenal's youngest-ever manager. Sony Vaio PCG-5G3L Battery

Under Neill, Arsenal moved back into the top half of the table, inspired in part by the emergence of Irish superstar Liam Brady. Brady formed part of a largeIrish contingent at Highbury, which included Pat Rice, Frank Stapleton, Pat Jennings and the young David O'Leary. Further to this were experienced signings such as Malcolm Macdonald and Alan Hudson, Sony Vaio PCG-5J1L Battery

as well as the return of Don Howe, who had been part of the backroom staff when the Double was won, to the Arsenal coaching setup.

Although they could not challenge the League dominance of Liverpool at the time, towards the end of the decade they proved their mettle in the FA Cup. Sony Vaio PCG-5J2L Battery

Arsenal reached three finals in a row (1978, 1979, and 1980), but won only one, the 1979 final against Manchester United. Largely inspired by Brady, Arsenal went 2–0 up through Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton and looked to be coasting to victory; with five minutes to go, United scored twice in quick succession to level the match. Sony Vaio PCG-5K2L Battery

Extra time loomed, but Alan Sunderland converted Graham Rix's cross in injury time to secure a famous 3–2 win.

The next season, 1979–80, proved to be cruel as Arsenal played a record-breaking 70 matches and reached two cup finals, only to end the season empty-handed. Arsenal were favourites to beat Second Division West Ham United in the FA Cup final, but lost 1–0 to a Trevor Brooking header. Sony Vaio PCG-5L1L Battery

Meanwhile, they had also reached the Cup Winners' Cup final against Valencia, after Paul Vaessen's goal had given them a famous victory over Juventus in the semi-finals; the final finished goalless and Arsenal lost on penalties, with Brady and Rix having their efforts saved.

Liam Brady left Arsenal for Juventus in the summer of 1980, and the team entered another barren spell. Sony Vaio PCG-6S2L Battery

They continued to finish in the top four at the start of the 1980s, but never really looked like winning the title, and they could not rediscover their FA Cup form either – aside from 1982–83 when Arsenal reached both cup semi-finals in only to be knocked out in both by Manchester United. Neill struggled to control his team at times; throughout his tenure, Sony Vaio PCG-6S3L Battery

he had fallings-out with many of his players (including Hudson and Macdonald) and he was unable to contain the drinking culture within the squad.^[7] His signings to replace the departed Brady and Stapleton failed to make the same impact, and towards the end of Neill's reign the club suffered several embarrassing cup defeats; this included losing to part-timers K.F.C. Sony Vaio PCG-6V1L Battery

Winterslag in the 1981–82 UEFA Cup and Third Division Walsall in the 1983–84 League Cup. Neill was sacked in December 1983, soon after the latter result.

Don Howe, Neill's assistant, succeeded him but he could not get the side anywhere near a trophy either. Although Arsenal managed to finish sixth and seventh under him, Sony Vaio PCG-6W1L Battery

they never seriously challenged for the title (although they did briefly top the league in October 1984) and were dumped out of the 1984–85 FA Cup by Third Division York City. The fans were getting increasingly disillusioned with the club's muddling performances and attendances started to dip beneath 20,000.^[8] In March 1986, after hearing the board had approached FC Barcelona coach Terry Venables as his replacement,^[9] Sony Vaio PCG-7111L Battery

Howe resigned. Steve Burtenshaw was briefly caretaker manager but the club decided to look to outside for Howe's long-term successor.

The Arsenal board of directors did contact Scottish club Aberdeen with a view to offering the job to their manager Alex Ferguson (while also drawing up an offer to Millwall manager George Graham to become assistant manager of Arsenal), Sony Vaio PCG-71511M Battery

but Ferguson rejected the offer. However, Ferguson did cross the border six months later to succeed Ron Atkinson at Manchester United.

In May 1986, Millwall manager George Graham, a former Arsenal player, was appointed as Howe's long-term replacement, and it was the beginning of a new era of success at Highbury. Sony Vaio PCG-6W3L Battery

Graham gradually sold off most of the older players and replaced them with new signings and players promoted from the youth team, while imposing much stricter discipline than his predecessors, both in the dressing room and on the pitch. Arsenal's form immediately improved, so much so that the club were top of the League at Christmas 1986. Sony Vaio PCG-7113L Battery

Players like Kenny Sansom, Steve Williams, Tommy Caton, Charlie Nicholas and Gus Caesar were gradually discarded and a new-look Arsenal side featured players including Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, Steve Bould, David Rocastle, Alan Smith and Paul Merson.

Though Arsenal finished fourth in Graham's first season in charge, Arsenal did win the League Cup, in a campaign marked by comebacks. Arsenal faced Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-finals; Sony Vaio PCG-7133L Battery

after losing 1–0 at Highbury in the first leg and conceding a second goal in the first half of the second leg at White Hart Lane, Arsenal scored twice through Viv Anderson and Niall Quinnto draw 2–2 on aggregate and force a replay;^[11] in the replay Spurs went 1–0 up, only for Arsenal to come back again with late goals from Ian Allinson and David Rocastle to win. Sony Vaio PCG-7Z1L Battery

The final against Liverpool was a repeat performance; after Arsenal had gone 1–0 down to an Ian Rushgoal, two Charlie Nicholas goals brought Arsenal their first League Cup triumph and their first major trophy for eight years. However, UEFA voted to continue the ban on English clubs in European competitions that was imposed in the wake of the Heysel disaster in 1985 for a third season, and this meant that Arsenal were unable to compete in the 1987–88 UEFA Cup. Sony Vaio PCG-7Z2L Battery

While Arsenal lost the League Cup final the following year in a shock 3–2 defeat to Luton Town, their League form steadily improved. Graham's side featured tight defensive discipline, embodied by his young captain Tony Adams, who along with Lee Dixon, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn, formed the basis of the club's defence for over a decade. Sony Vaio PCG-8Y1L Battery

However, during this time Graham's Arsenal were not a purely defensive side; Graham also employed capable midfielders such as David Rocastle, Michael Thomas and Paul Merson, and striker Alan Smith, whose prolific goalscoring regularly brought him more than 20 goals in most of the eight seasons he spent at the club. Sony Vaio PCG-8Y2L Battery

At the end of Graham's third season (1988–89), the club won their first League title since 1971, in highly dramatic fashion. Having led the League since Christmas, Arsenal were overtaken by Liverpool after losing to Derby County and drawing at home to Wimbledon in May. Arsenal had seemingly thrown away the title, but the final game of the season, on 26 May, was against Liverpool at Anfield; Sony Vaio PCG-8Z2L Battery

Arsenal needed to win by two goals to take the title; Liverpool had already won the FA Cup and were favourites to complete the Double. Alan Smith scored for Arsenal early in the second half to make it 1–0, but as time ticked by Arsenal struggled to get a second, and with 90 minutes gone on the clock, Arsenal still needed another goal. With only seconds to go, a Smith flick-on found Michael Thomas surging through the Liverpool defence; Sony Vaio PCG-8Z1L Battery

the young midfielder lifted the ball over Bruce Grobbelaar and into the net, giving Arsenal the title.

Arsenal did not retain the title the following season; they finished fourth in 1989–90 and fell behind champions Liverpool, runners-up Aston Villa and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the title challenge. They also failed to make their mark in the cups, Sony Vaio PCG-7112L Battery

and the post-Heysel ban on English clubs in European competition was still in force at that time, so Arsenal were unable to represent England in the European Cup. The ban was lifted at the end of the season, though Liverpool (the team present at the Heysel disaster) had to serve an extra year.

Graham sought to improve his side and signed goalkeeper David Seaman and Swedish winger Anders Limpar in the close season; Sony Vaio PCG-6W2L Battery

both players proved vital as Arsenal retook the title in 1990–91, despite two major setbacks. Arsenal had two points deducted in October 1990 after ten of their players were involved in a brawl with Manchester United players in a match at Old Trafford, and captain Tony Adams was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for drink driving in December. Sony Vaio PCG-5K1L Battery

Despite these setbacks, Arsenal lost only one league match all season and finished seven points clear. They also reached the FA Cup semi-finals, where they faced Tottenham Hotspur; Paul Gascoigne scored with a free kick from 30 yards after just five minutes and Tottenham ran home 3–1 winners, dashing hopes of a second Double. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ Battery

In September 1991, Arsenal paid a club record of £2.5million for Crystal Palace striker Ian Wright, who would go on to spend seven years at the club and become their all-time leading goalscorer in the process. The 1991–92 season saw the club's first entry in the European Cup for 20 years. The European venture went badly; Arsenal were knocked out by SL Benfica in the second round and failed to make the lucrative group stage. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E Battery

The season went from bad to worse when the Gunners were knocked out of the FA Cup by lowly Wrexham, though Arsenal recovered to finish fourth in the League. The ban on English clubs in European competitions had been lifted two years earlier, but Arsenal missed out on a UEFA Cup place as English clubs were gradually being phased back into European competitions and at this stage only the second and third placed teams were qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140E/B Battery

During the 1992 close season the club acquired Danish midfielder John Jensen, who had just won Euro 92 with Denmark, scoring a goal in their victory overGermany in the final. Jensen's arrival coincided with the departure of fellow midfielder David Rocastle to Leeds United, the defending league champions. Around this point, Graham altered his tactics; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11S Battery

he became more defensive and turned out far less attack-minded sides, which depended mainly on goals from Wright rather than the whole team. Between 1986–87 and 1991–92 Arsenal averaged 66 League goals a season (scoring 81 in 1991–92), but between 1992–93 and 1994–95 they only averaged 48;^[12] this included just 40 in 1992–93, when the club finished 10th in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11L Battery

scoring fewer than any other team in the division, though they had briefly topped the table in November.^[13]

They were founder members of the FA Premier League on its launch for the 1992–93 season. They lost their first ever Premiership game 4-2 after taking a 2–0 lead over underdogs Norwich City at Highbury; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11M Battery

Norwich, among the pre-season relegation favourites, were actively involved in the title race and finished third, whereas Arsenal (among the pre-season title favourites) finished 10th.^[14]

Arsenal's form in the cups was much better than in the league, and in 1992–93 they became the first side to win the FA Cup and League Cup double. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11E Battery

In the League Cup final, Arsenal faced Sheffield Wednesday; a Merson-inspired Arsenal side came from 1–0 down to win 2–1 thanks to a Steve Morrow goal. In the FA Cup, Arsenal beat Spurs 1–0 in the semi-finals (avenging their defeat of 1991), and played Sheffield Wednesday in the final, just as they had done in the League Cup final a few weeks earlier. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ11Z Battery

The game ended 1–1 and went to a replay; Wright opened the scoring for Arsenal but Chris Waddle equalised. Extra time came, and still no goal broke the deadlock until the 120th minute, when Andy Linighan powered home a header from a corner to win the match and the cup double for Arsenal.

In 1993–94, Arsenal won their second European trophy; a side missing key players (John Jensen and Martin Keown were injured, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ140N Battery

while Ian Wright was suspended, beat favourites and holders Parma 1–0 in the Cup Winners' Cup final in Copenhagen, with a tight defensive performance and Alan Smith's 21st minute goal from a left foot volley. The 1994 Cup Winners' Cup proved to be George Graham's last trophy at the club; the following February the Scot was sacked after nearly nine years in charge, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ15G Battery

after it was discovered he had accepted an illegal £425,000 payment from Norwegian agent Rune Hauge following Arsenal's 1992 acquisition of John Jensen, one of Hauge's clients.^[15]

In the weeks before Graham was sacked, he made three major signings for Arsenal. Glenn Helder, a Dutch winger signed from Vitesse Arnhem, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ15L Battery

was a regular first team player for more than a year after joining the club but was then loaned to Benfica of Portugal before permanently departing in October 1997 to join NAC Breda back in his homeland. Chris Kiwomya, an attacking midfielder signed from Ipswich Town, scored three goals in 17 games before the end of the season but never played for the club again, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ15M Battery

finally departing in 1998 to sign for Queens Park Rangers. John Hartson, a 19-year-old Welsh striker, was signed from Luton Town and occupied the first team place vacated by the injury-hit Alan Smith, who retired from playing months later.

Assistant manager Stewart Houston took charge until the end of the 1994–95 season. Arsenal finished 12th in the Premiership (their lowest ever-finish in the Premier League, as of 2010). Sony Vaio VGN-FZ15S Battery

Along the way, they staged a famous comeback against Liverpool in the Premier league: Arsenal were 0-0 and a man down after 74 minutes at Highbury, Arsenal then went on and scored with a brilliant strike from Dennis Bergkamp, sparking a terrific 10 man comeback. However, they did reach the Cup Winners' Cup final again, after a titanic semi-final against UC Sampdoria, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ15T Battery

which they won on penalties after drawing 5–5 on aggregate. Arsenal facedReal Zaragoza in the final; Esnáider scored for the Spaniards and John Hartson equalised for Arsenal. The game was heading to a 1–1 draw and penalties, before midfielder Nayim struck from 40 yards in the 120th minute, in virtually the last kick of the game. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18 Battery

David Seaman, who had been Arsenal's hero in the semi-final shootout, couldn't backpedal fast enough and only got a hand to the ball as it went in.

In June 1995 Arsenal appointed Bruce Rioch, who had just guided Bolton Wanderers to the League Cup final and promotion to the top flight, as manager. He (briefly) broke the English transfer record by paying Internazionale £7.5million for Dutch striker Dennis Bergkamp, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18E Battery

and the new signing formed an impressive partnership with Ian Wright. Arsenal reached the League Cup semi-finals and finished fifth in the Premiership at the end of 1995–96, securing a place in the following season's UEFA Cup and giving hope for an eventual title challenge. The Rioch era ended abruptly, however; in August 1996, just before the start of the new season, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18M Battery

Rioch was sacked after a dispute over transfer funds with the board of directors, triggering a couple of months' turmoil at the club. Stewart Houston was once again put in temporary charge; he remained at the helm for a month, before resigning to take over at QPR. Youth team coach Pat Rice held the fort for several games, before making way for the Frenchman Arsène Wenger at the end of September. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18L Battery

The team immediately improved under Wenger's management, coming third and winning a UEFA Cup place in 1996–97, missing out on second (and a Champions League spot) on goal difference. Wenger rebuilt the Arsenal squad with a crop of French players who were seemingly unknown in the UK. Patrick Vieira had been signed on Wenger's recommendation before he had officially taken up the reins, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18G Battery

and Wenger added Nicolas Anelka and Emmanuel Petit, as well as Dutch winger Marc Overmars in the summer of 1997. Wenger melded the new arrivals with some of the "old guard", retaining Adams, Dixon, Winterburn, Keown and Bould, and he kept Pat Rice on as assistant manager.

Wenger got his first silverware, and became the first foreign manager to win the English league, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ18S Battery

the following season, when he steered the side to their second double. It had looked like Arsenal were out of the title race by December after losing 3–1 at home to Blackburn, but they overcame a twelve point deficit to overtake Manchester United; a 4–0 home win over Everton on 3 May won the title with two matches to spare. On 16 May, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21 Battery

Arsenal beat Newcastle United 2–0 in the FA Cup final to complete the double. To top it off, the same season Ian Wright broke Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record, bringing his tally to 185 goals before leaving the club in the summer of 1998.

Despite the signing of Fredrik Ljungberg in 1998 and Thierry Henry a year later, a more barren period followed for Arsenal over the next few years, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21M Battery

though they came close several times. Arsenal led the League for much of1998–99, until a 1–0 loss to Leeds United allowed Manchester United to overtake them; Arsenal beat Aston Villaon the last day of the season but United's victory over Spurs meant they took the title. To rub it in further, Arsenal also lost the last ever FA Cup semi-final replay to Manchester United; Dennis Bergkamp had missed a penalty in normal time, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21E Battery

and Ryan Giggs scored the winner in extra time after a mazy solo run through the Arsenal defence. Arsenal's return to the Champions League for the first time in seven years was also unsuccessful, as they failed to get past the group stage.

Arsenal came second again in 1999–2000; this time, there was never any real title race and Arsenal finished the season 18 points behind winners Manchester United. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21S Battery

Arsenal had another poor season in the Champions League, finishing third in their group; this won them a consolation place in the UEFA Cup, and Arsenal got all the way to the final, where they faced Galatasaray in Copenhagen, the scene of their 1994 Cup Winners' Cup triumph. The match was a tepid affair, a 0–0 draw with few chances; it went to penalties and Arsenal lost after Davor Šuker and Patrick Vieira missed their spot-kicks. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21J Battery

Arsenal again finished second in 2000–01, this time ten points behind Manchester United; the title race had been as good as over since February, when Arsenal lost 6–1 at Old Trafford. Arsenal's season gave priority to the Cups and Europe. They beat Spurs in the semi-finals and met Liverpool in the final at theMillennium Stadium, Cardiff; Arsenal dominated most of the match, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ21Z Battery

and were denied a goal by the arm of defender Stéphane Henchoz, which went unpunished.^[16]Arsenal finally did go 1–0 up through Ljungberg but succumbed to two late Michael Owen goals and lost 2–1. In Europe, Arsenal made it to the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 1972, only to be eliminated on the away goals rule by eventual finalists Valencia. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ25 Battery

By now Wenger had been forced to rebuild much of the Double-winning side of 1998; Anelka, Overmars and Petit had all left for Spanish clubs in return for hefty fees, while age was finally catching up with the famous back line; Bould and Winterburn had already left, and Adams and Dixon would only last another season before retiring. In their place, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31E Battery

Wenger signed the likes of Sol Campbell and Lauren in defence, as well as promoting Ashley Cole from the youth ranks. In midfield, Wenger added the talismanic Robert Pirès and signed his compatriot Sylvain Wiltord in attack, while in the meantime Thierry Henry had adapted to the English game to become one of the Premiership's best strikers. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31M Battery

Attack was definitely Arsenal's forté as they won a record-equalling third Double in 2001–02 season; the Gunners were the only team to score in every game of the Premiership season, and went unbeaten in domestic away games. After an initially tight title race (just three points separated the top four in February), Arsenal pulled away from the pack with a 13-game winning streak, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31S Battery

finishing seven points ahead of runners-up Liverpool. Arsenal secured the title in the penultimate game of the season with a 1–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, the goal coming from Wiltord. The previous weekend, Arsenal had wrapped up their eighth FA Cup, beating Chelsea 2–0 with goals from Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31J Battery

In 2002–03, Arsenal became the first club in more than 20 years to retain the FA Cup, with a 1–0 victory against Southampton thanks to a Pirès goal. Their joy was soured by the fact that they narrowly missed out on retaining the Premiership title. Arsenal had led eventual winners Manchester United by eight points at one stage, but their form collapsed late on in the season; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31B Battery

they drew 2–2 away to Bolton Wanderers after leading 2–0, and then lost 3–2 at home to Leeds United a week later, which gave United the title.

Little did they know it at the time, but the defeat to Leeds would be Arsenal's last in the League for over a year. 2003–04 was a record-breaking season for Arsenal, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ32B Battery

as they won the Premiership unbeaten (26 wins, 12 draws, 0 defeats), finishing a clear 11 points ahead of second-place Chelsea. They became only the second team to do so, the first having been Preston North End in 1888–89. Their rivals for the title gained revenge in other competitions – Arsenal were defeated in the Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals by Chelsea and Manchester United, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ32 Battery

respectively, in successive matches. Faced with the potential collapse of their season, Arsenal recovered from being 1–0 and 2–1 behind to Liverpool in their next league match to win 4–2, thanks to a Thierry Henry hat-trick, and went on to win the league with a 2–2 draw away to Tottenham Hotspur, mimicking their success in 1971. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ38M Battery

Arsenal were unable to retain the title in 2004–05, finishing second, 12 points behind a record-breaking Chelsea side. However, the Gunners did stretch their unbeaten run to 49 consecutive matches, an English league football record; the record was equalled with a dramatic 5–3 win over Middlesbrough (Arsenal having trailed 3–1 shortly after half-time) and then surpassed with a 3–0 win over Blackburn Rovers in August 2004, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ31Z Battery

before their unbeaten season was ended with a 2–0 away defeat by Manchester United. This defeat arguably upset the team's form and they fell away from title contention before recovering with a late flourish to finish second, sealed with a 7–0 drubbing of Everton. Champions League glory eluded them again, with the club getting knocked out 3–2 on aggregate by Bayern Munich in the second round. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ35 Battery

Arsenal did not end the season empty-handed; they came away with their third FA Cup in four years, winning 5–4 on penalties after a 0–0 draw where they were outplayed by Manchester United.

Weakened by the sale of skipper Patrick Vieira to Juventus in the summer of 2005, Arsenal's 2005–06 season was comparatively disappointing domestically and the club failed to challenge for any trophies at home. Sony Vaio VGN-FZ37 Battery

In the league, their poor away form dogged them and despite recording some impressive wins at home (5–0 overAston Villa, and 7–0 over Middlesbrough), Arsenal spent much of the latter stages of the season in fifth place or lower, and looked set to miss out on the Champions League for the first time since 1997. However, they won their last three matches of the season, Sony Vaio VGN-FZ38 Battery

culminating in a 4–2 victory over Wigan Athletic in the last ever match at Highbury; coupled with Tottenham Hotspur's loss at West Ham United the same day, this meant Arsenal pipped Spurs to fourth place and a Champions League spot.

In contrast to their domestic form, Arsenal's form in Europe in 2005–06 was much stronger; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ19VN Battery

they reached the UEFA Champions League final for the first time in their history, becoming the first London club ever to do so. Arsenal finished top of their group unbeaten, above Ajax, FC Thun and Sparta Prague against whomThierry Henry scored two goals on away to become the all time record goalscorer for Arsenal; in the knockout stages they beat Real Madrid Sony Vaio VGN-FZ29VN Battery

(becoming the first British team to beat Real at the Bernabéu), Juventus and then Villarreal to reach the final, setting a competition record of ten matches without conceding a goal in the process. In the final, against Barcelona, Arsenal were reduced to ten men early on when goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was sent off for a professional foul; Sony Vaio VGN-FZ4000 Battery

nevertheless they were the ones who scored first, Sol Campbell scoring with a header from a free kick in the 37th minute. Arsenal desperately defended their lead, but two late goals from Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti meant Barcelona ran out 2–1 winners.

Arsenal have been highly successful in the 1990s and 2000s, but Highbury's capacity was limited to only 38,500 in the post-Taylor report era; Sony Vaio VGN-FW11 Battery

virtually every match was sold out and the club were unable to maximise matchday revenue. With expansion of Highbury ruled impossible, in 1999, Arsenal announced plans to move down the road toAshburton Grove; construction started in December 2002 with the demolition of buildings on the site, and in July 2006, the new Emirates Stadium opened, ready for the start of the 2006–07 season. Sony Vaio VGN-FW11M Battery

Arsenal took a little time to get used to their new surroundings and as early as November, manager Arsène Wenger conceded that his side was unlikely to make a serious challenge for the title.^[17] Dogged by poor away form throughout the season, Arsenal eventually finished fourth, level on points with third-placed Liverpool. With a team largely filled with reserve and younger players, Sony Vaio VGN-FW11S Battery

they reached the League Cup Final, which they lost 2–1 toChelsea. They were less successful in other competitions, however, being knocked out early on in both the Champions League and FA Cup.

2006–07 marked a transitional period — Arsenal had sold a string of key players, including Ashley Cole, Sol Campbell, Lauren, Fredrik Ljungberg, Sony Vaio VGN-FW139E/H Battery

and most significantly, all-time top scorer and club captain Thierry Henryto FC Barcelona. Arsenal went into 2007–08 season with only four players from the title-winning season in 2003–04, with the likes of Cesc Fàbregas and Gaël Clichy establishing their places in the side.

Arsenal started the season strongly, going undefeated until early December, and in the process, setting a club record of 28 matches unbeaten in all competitions.^[18] Sony Vaio VGN-FW145E/W Battery

The young squad continued to impress into the new year, with Emmanuel Adebayor being in excellent scoring form. But Eduardo, a player of growing importance to the club, suffered a horrific injury at St Andrews in Birmingham and the subsequently drew the game 2–2. The team were rocked and, inevitably, Arsenal slumped in the spring, and eventually finished third. Sony Vaio VGN-FW15T Battery

They had little success in the cups, knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool in the quarter-finals and the FA Cup by Manchester United. The League Cup was more fruitful, where Arsenal reached the semi-finals for a third season in a row, before being knocked out 6–2 on aggregate by Tottenham Hotspur, their first defeat in a North London derby in almost nine years. Sony Vaio VGN-FW17/B Battery

Arsenal's 2008–09 season started well, reaching top of the table by late September. After that, the team lost momentum, with three defeats in November, and had dropped out of the top four by Christmas, despite victories over Manchester United and Chelsea. Arsenal continued to drop points in the league in the New Year, but eventually overtook Aston Villa to regain fourth place by mid-March, eventually finishing nine points clear. Sony Vaio VGN-FW17T/H Battery

Arsenal also reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup, losing to Chelsea 2–1 in their first game at the new Wembley Stadium. In Europe, they finished second in their group and beat Roma and Villarreal before losing 4–1 on aggregate to Manchester United in the semi-finals.

Despite being written off by much of the media going into the 2009–10 season, Sony Vaio VGN-FW17W Battery

Arsenal made a bright start in the Premier League, aided by a new attacking formation and added defensive steel, in the form of holding midfielder Alexandre Song of Cameroon and new signing Thomas Vermaelen of Belgium. Arsenal's title challenge looked set to end in late November, following losses to Chelsea, Manchester United, and Manchester City, Sony Vaio VGN-FW19 Battery

but an impressive run of games in December, aided by Chelsea and Manchester United both dropping points, restored momentum to Arsenal's title challenge going into 2010. In December, Arsenal were eliminated from the League Cup at the quarter-final stage by Manchester City.

After being written out of the title race once in the 2009–10 Premier League season by pundits,^[19] Sony Vaio VGN-FW21E Battery

Arsenal headed into a tough period of matches from 27 January through 10 February, in which they faced Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool all in a row. After losing to Stoke City in the FA Cup 3–1, Arsenal drew Aston Villa 0–0, got thrashed 3–1 at home by Manchester United, and lost at Chelsea 2–0. At the time, it left Arsenal nine points behind league leaders Chelsea. Again, Arsenal were written off in their title hopes,^[20] Sony Vaio VGN-FW21J Battery

only for it to be resurrected once again, after Chelsea lost to Everton 2–1, Manchester City 4–2, and drew with Blackburn Rovers 1–1. Meanwhile, Manchester United also dropped points, drawing with Aston Villa 1–1 and also losing to Everton 3–1. Following Arsenal's 2–0 loss to Chelsea on 7 February, Arsenal went on a good run, winning all of their league games up to 20 March. Sony Vaio VGN-FW21L Battery

On 27 February, however, a major injury to Welsh midfielder Aaron Ramsey occurred;^[21] it was eerily reminiscent of Eduardo's injury against Birmingham City on 23 February.^[22] Whereas Arsenal, however, drew against Birmingham City that year 2–2 following a penalty call against Gaël Clichy in injury time (in which James McFadden converted the penalty and left then-captain William Gallas Sony Vaio VGN-FW21M Battery

kicking at an advertisement board and in tears^[23]) and questioned Arsenal's fragile team mentality, Arsenal managed to rally against Stoke City 3–1, having scored a penalty from captain Cesc Fàbregas in the 90th minute, and defender Thomas Vermaelen scoring a third in injury time.^[21] As of 25 March, Arsenal are in third place with 67 points, two points behind league leaders Manchester United with 31 games played. Sony Vaio VGN-FW21Z Battery

Arsenal's Champions League match against F.C. Porto in the first leg did not go so well; played at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on 17 February 2010, the first goal was scored by the home side. In the 11th minute of the match, stand-in goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański (for the injured Manuel Almunia) pushed a cross fromSilvestre Varela into his own net, resulting in a quick 1–0 lead for Porto. Sony Vaio VGN-FW25T/B Battery

In the 18th minute, however, Sol Campbell, making his first Champions League appearance for Arsenal since the 2006 Champions League Final, scored a header from Thomas Vermaelen's headed flick and Tomáš Rosický's headed setup from a corner delivered by Cesc Fàbregas. This gave Arsenal a possibly vital away goal; things, however, got worse for Arsenal, Sony Vaio VGN-FW26T/B Battery

as miscommunication by Campbell and Fabiański led to the goalie picking up what was judged a deliberate back pass to the goal keeper inside the 18-yard box. As a result, the referee gave a free kick to Porto inside Arsenal's penalty area. Rúben Micael took the resulting quick free-kick directly, catching the Arsenal defense and goalie off-guard and squared a pass to the Colombian Falcao, Sony Vaio VGN-FW27/B Battery

scoring an easy goal. The game ended with the score at full-time Porto 2 – Arsenal 1.^[24][25]

Arsenal's second leg against Porto fared much better. Played at the Emirates Stadium on 9 March, Arsenal needed at least one goal and a clean sheet to advance, with the aggregate score 2–1 for Porto and away aggregate 1–0 for Arsenal. Sony Vaio VGN-FW27/W Battery

Things started off brightly for Arsenal, as Nicklas Bendtner scored in the 10th and 25th minute, before Samir Nasri scored a fantastic goal in the 66th minute, dribbling past three defenders on the far right side touchline before scoring from an acute angle, hitting the goal keeper's right post and into the net. Three minutes later, Sony Vaio VGN-FW27T/H Battery

Emmanuel Eboué managed to score on a counter-attack, dribbling past goalkeeper Helton before tucking the ball into an empty net. The night ended with Bendtner scoring a penalty in the 90th minute, thus giving him his first senior professional hat-trick, and Arsenal advancing to the quarter-finals of the Champions League 6–2 on aggregate. Sony Vaio VGN-FW29/B Battery

Ironically, Bendtner had missed a number of easy chances the game before Porto against Burnley; Arsenal, however, managed to win 3–1 in that game.^[28]

On 19 March 2010, Arsenal drew FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. The first of the two-legged match was played on 31 March at Arsenal'sEmirates Stadium; Sony Vaio VGN-FW30B Battery

it marked Thierry Henry's return to the Emirates Stadium for the first time as an opponent of Arsenal. The second leg was played on 6 April at the Camp Nou and marked Cesc Fàbregas's return to the Catalan giants, where he played in their youth squad. If Arsenal prevailed past Barcelona, they would face the winner of the CSKA Moscow – Internazionale match. Sony Vaio VGN-FW31M Battery

In their first leg match at Emirates, Arsenal drew 2–2 with Barcelona, with goals from Theo Walcott and captain Cesc Fàbregas. The second leg at the Nou Camp did not go as well, even though Nicklas Bendtner scored early on. Lionel Messi scored an impressive four times to end the game with an aggregate score of 6–3 in favour of Barcelona, ultimately knocking Arsenal out of the Champions League.^[29] Sony Vaio VGN-FW31ZJ Battery

Arsenal finished the season in third place, their 15th successive top-five finish and the 13th successive season they had achieved qualification for the Champions League. It was also their fifth successive trophyless season, however, something of a disappointment considering this trophyless spell was preceded by five trophy winning seasons from a possible eight (including two seasons where they won the double).^[30] Sony VAIO VGN-NW21EF/S Battery

2010–11 saw Arsenal perform well in the Premier League and compete strongly in a title challenge, alongside Manchester United. To prove such a challenge, they faced struggling Champions Chelsea on 27 December and mauled them 3–1 at Emirates. Good form continued in the following months and in February manager Arsène Wenger was awarded Manager of the Month Award. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21JF Battery

Notable events in this month was the 2–1 win over Barcelona, in which the team came from behind to seal a win, and the 4–4 draw against Newcastle that is widely regarded to be one of the most bizarre and great games of the Premier League era. They progressed to the final of the League Cup but were beaten by Birmingham City, ruining their chances of winning a trophy. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF Battery

After this embarrassment, the Gunners went to the Nou Camp to play the second leg of the Barca tie, where they were beaten by the three time winners and eventual victors.^[31] Their FA Cup quest ended with defeat in the quarter-finals to Manchester United. Also, completing a miserable couple of weeks for the Gunners, their title hopes were ended when they lost 2–1 toBolton away in April 2011. Sony VAIO VGN-NW21MF/W Battery

After challenging for the title for the majority of the season, Arsenal ended up finishing fourth after losses at Stoke and Aston Villa. With the current season, Arsenal have failed to win a single trophy for the 7th consecutive year.

The 2011–12 campaign commenced for Arsenal on 13 August 2011 against Newcastle United in the midst of two major transfers sagas concerning the clubs biggest assets: Sony VAIO VGN-NW21ZF Battery

Fabregas and Nasri departed Arsenal. The game finished 0–0 and neither of the said players were in the named squad, but new signing Gervinho was sent off for violent conduct. However, the team did muster a 1–0 win over Italian outit Udinese in the first leg of a Champions League Playoff.

On 15 August 2011, Francesc Fabregas departed the club for Barcelona for an estimated €35 million and, Sony VAIO VGN-NW31EF/W Battery

in addition to his loss, Samir Nasri left for Manchester City on 24 August 2011, ending a protracted transfer saga. The latter had played for Arsenal in their game against Liverpool on 21 August, in which Arsenal lost 2–0, placing them 14th with one draw and one loss. However, they managed to gain qualification for the UEFA Champions League for the upcoming year for the fourteenth time; Sony VAIO VGN-NW31JF Battery

the only other English Club to boast such a record in recent years is Manchester United. With mounting injury problems and suspensions, the season was already looking bleak for Arsenal, and this was epitomized by an 8–2 mauling at Old Trafford at the hands of Manchester United. Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/B Battery

Following their collapse early in the season, Arsenal were already written off as title challengers, with some fans suggesting that Arsenal's long standing manager, Arsène Wenger, be sacked.

After the disappointing result against Manchester United, Arsenal went on a spending spree on the last day of the transfer window, buying Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, Sony VAIO VGN-NW320F/TC Battery

André Santos and Yossi Benayoun. Results began to improve, with a win over newly promoted Swansea City, before a Champions League away draw againstBorussia Dortmund. Winning in the League Cup against Shrewsbury Town F.C., in the Premier League against Bolton Wanderers F.C. and in the Champions League against Olympiacos F.C. boosted morale around the club, and Arsenal began climbing the league table, after spending a time in the bottom quarter of the table. Sony VAIO VGN-NW35E Battery

Despite losing the first North London Derby of the season against Tottenham, Arsenal continued to gain points, and as of 23 October 2011 were in 7th place in the Premier League. In week that followed, Arsenal managed to extend their good form by beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge 5-3, with a hat trick from skipper Robin van Persie. Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/S Battery

December 2011 saw the announcement of the possible comeback of striker Thierry Henry, Arsenal's all-time best player and goalscorer, to whom a statue was built, to the club, later signing for two months (the free period of MLS) on loan from New York Red Bulls. On 9 January 2012, Henry sealed his return to Arsenal against Leeds United in the FA Cup, Sony VAIO VGN-NW380F/T Battery

scoring the winning goal after a long pass from Alex Song. However, the joy of having Henry back wouldn't last long. After scoring in the Premier League against Sunderland in a 2-1 victory, Arsenal suffered a shocking loss of 4-0 to AC Milan in the Champions League, in Henry's final match with Arsenal, in what proved to be an insurmountable obstacle for the club to overturn. Sony VAIO VGN-NW50JB Battery

Arsenal were also eliminated from the FA Cup the in fifth round, again against Sunderland, losing 2-0.

In spite of these failures, Arsenal have turned the 2011-12 season into a positive one, almost knocking out AC Milan by winning 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, and winning 5-2 in the second North London Derby of the season against Tottenham Hotspur. Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/N Battery

Arsenal currently lie third in the Premier League table; while not mathematically assured of a place in the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League due to Chelsea F.C.'s continued participation in the Champion's League, with three weeks to go before the end of the 2011-12 Premier League season, Arsenal have a tentative grip on the third place that would guarantee Arsenal of a place in the 2012-12 UEFA Champion's League, Sony VAIO VGN-NW51FB/W Battery

regardless of Chelsea F.C.'s success in the 2011-12 Champion's League final.

The beginning of 2012-13 season saw rumours about the possible departure of star player Robin van Persie, since on 4 July 2012 he announced he wouldn't renew his contract with the club. To this situation Arsène Wenger signed strikers Olivier Giroud from Montpellier and Lukas Podolski from Koln. Sony VAIO VGN-NW70JB Battery

When van Persie's transfer to rivals Manchester United was effective, Wenger also purchased Spanish winger Santi Cazorla, who during the beginning of the season took protagonism in early post-van Persie matches, including an astounding 6-1 win against newly promoted Southampton FC and a positive 1-1 tie to trophy holders Manchester City. Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/N Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW71FB/W Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW91FS Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW91GS Battery,Sony VAIO VGN-NW91VS Battery