Soccer is a complex sport in the eyes of many. The rules themselves, for the most part, are pretty straight forward. But confusion kicks in when taking stock of all the different leagues, tournaments, championships and even transfers.
Fans inside the United States, in particular, see the machinations of professional soccer as convoluted. Though the USA’s domestic league, Major League Soccer, is among the most culturally diverse in the world, it’s still in its fledgling stages compared to other sports. The MLS was founded just a few decades ago. And only recently has it begun to gain intense popularity with American Citizens. Expansion clubs are now popping up annually, teams are poaching aging international stars like Lionel Messi and MLS betting in the United States has reached all-time highs in popularity and frequency.
Still, overall, soccer is considered a global sport. The sheer amount of leagues and teams and variable stakes can be harder to track—for everyone. And yet, almost anyone who counts themselves as a sports fan knows about the Arsenal Football Club. They are one of the most popular and successful and oldest clubs in the English Premier League, which is considered to house the highest level of competition in the world.
Soccer fans, of course, will know a lot about the franchise. Even more casual fan or general sports enthusiasts will have some base knowledge about Arsenal’s success and superstar players. But for as much is known, there’s still plenty of fun tidbits that fall by the wayside.
In this space, we’ll look to explore a handful of fun facts about the Arsenal Football Club. Some will be basic. Others will be out there. All of them, though, should help you get to know more about one of the most popular professional soccer franchises in the world.
Did You Know Arsenal Wasn’t Always Arsenal?
When the franchise was founded in 1886, over 135 years ago, they were known as the Arsenal Football Club. Instead, they were originally nicknamed the Dial Square.
Later on, the club changed their name to the Royal Arsenal. After that, when they turned into a professional organization in 1891, they became the Woolwich Arsenal.
At that time, believe it or not, Arsenal was the first London club to ever turn professional. Two years later, in 1893, they became the first southern member of The Football League.
Of course, financial difficulties soon followed that elevation. Woolwich Arsenal faced dipping attendance, steeper competition, lack of assets and facilities and an overall dearth of success. They actually wound up almost declaring bankruptcy in 1910.
Eventually, though, two successful businessmen, Henry Norris and William Hall, started funneling money and resources into the club. Relegation to the Second Division followed their arrival, at which point the organization sought relocation. They ended up moving to the new Arsenal Stadium in Highbury around the year 1913.
Once there, they more commonly went by The Arsenal. By 1919, they were promoted by The Football League over Tottenham Spur, which was considered a more esteemed franchise at the time. On the heels of that promotion, the club filed paperwork to drop “The” from their moniker. They have essentially been Arsenal ever since.
How Many Titles Does Arsenal Have Under Their Belt?
Pretty much everyone understands that Arsenal has experienced a great deal of winning over the course of their 135-plus year history. But few can probably name the full breadth of their official accolades right off the cuff. After all, their biggest victories have taken many different forms.
With this is in mind, here’s a breakdown of all the honors they’ve racked up since their initial inception:
- Arsenal have won 13 Premier League (First Division) At one point, they rattled off three consecutive wins at this level. Their victories have come in 1930-31, 1932-33, 1933-34, 1934-35, 1937-38, 1947-48, 1952-53, 1970-71, 1988-89, 1990-91, 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2003-4.
- Arsenal have won a record 14 FA Cups. Their victories came in 1929-30, 1935-36, 1949-50, 1970-71, 1978-79, 1992-93, 1997-98, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20.
- Two Football League Cup/EFL Cup titles have been won by Arsenal. The first came in 1986-87. The second was in 1992-93.
- The FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield title has been won by Arsenal a whopping 17 times. Their victories have come in 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991, 1998, 1999, 20002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2023.
- Arsenal’s only Football League Centenary Trophy came in 1988.
- In 1969-70, Arsenal won their only Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
- Back in 1993-94, Arsenal won their one and only UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup
Arsenal Started a Fairly Lucrative Trend for Professional Soccer Organizations
Ever wonder how professional soccer organizations started selling lucrative sponsorships for the naming rights to their stadium? Well, it turns out we may have Arsenal to thank.
Arsenal originally gave the naming rights to their new stadium to the Emirates airline. The initial deal was signed in 2004 and was worth a reported $100 million. That set the then-record for the most expensive naming rights deal in the history of English soccer.
Fast forward to 2023, and Emirates actually still owns those rights. They are currently wrapping up a deal that will pay Arsenal over $200 million through 2024. More importantly, this particular branding rights deal set the stage for more clubs to do the same. Not only that, but it’s a trend that caught on across all professional sports.
Good luck finding a stadium, arena or field that houses a pro sports organization and doesn’t have a highly lucrative sponsor. Franchises have started selling them in droves, and across all North American sports, they are typically worth millions of dollars per year.
Beyond that, Arsenal’s initial deal with Emirates also helped set the stage for branded jersey sponsors. Though these have been fairly prevalent in pro soccer for a while, the stadium deal served as inspiration for other leagues to explore the extent of their branding opportunities. So when you see fellow soccer clubs or organizations from other sports with ads on both their home arenas, fields and stadiums as well as their uniforms, just know that Arsenal was among the teams pioneering this practice.