The Random Facts Machine: Arsenal Football Club

Jamie WardDec 26, 2008

Welcome to this edition of The Facts Machine—designed to highlight some useful, or possibly useless information that you might or might not have already known about. Today we take a look at one of the most exciting and well run clubs in the world—Arsenal.

Founded in 1886, they hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight.
The club was originally founded in Woolwich, South-East London.
The first name for the team was Dial Square, which later changed to Royal Arsenal, before becoming Woolwich Arsenal when they turned professional in 1891.
The first colours worn by the original Dial Square team was a Redcurrant shirt, white shorts and blue socks and it was donated to the club from Nottingham Forest FC.
In 1893, they were the first southern team to join the football league.
In 1932, Highbury's local tube station, Gillespie Road, was renamed "Arsenal", making it the only tube station to be named after a football club.
The Arsenal colours were changed to pillar-box red in 1933 and white sleeves was added to make the team more distinctive.
The colour's of Arsenal have been said to have inspired other clubs to change their kits during the 1930's, most notably are Sporting Clube de Bragas who earned the nickname "Os Arsenalistas" because of the identical kits.
They won their first European trophy, the Inner-Cities Fairs Cup in 1970.
The 1970-71 season brought the league title and the FA Cup—becoming only the second team in the 20th century to achieve the league and cup double.
Whilst a South London club, they played at the Manor Ground in Plumstead, it was just a field until the club built stands and terraces around it.
They moved to the Arsenal Stadium in 1913 which went on to be known as Highbury. The club built a roof on the stadium but it was bombed during the war and never rebuilt.
Before all seater stadiums was introduced, Highbury was able to hold over 60,000 supporters.
The Champions League final of 2006 saw Arsenal become the first club from London to reach the final.
Arsenal have finished in first or second place in the Premier League in eight of Arsene Wenger's 11 seasons in charge and are one of only four teams to have won the league since 1992.
Due to Highbury's limited ability to hold many supporters during European games—with less seats available due to additional advertising hoardings—they played their home European matches at Wembley.
The club signed the largest sponsorship deal in English football history, worth approximately £100 million, when they gave the naming rights to their new stadium to the airline company Emirates.
In 2002, Arsenal had the highest proportion of non-white attending supporters of any club in English football, standing at 7.7 percent.
In April 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Arsenal as the third most valuable football team in the world.
On 22 January 1927, Arsenal's match at Highbury against Sheffield United was the first English League match to be broadcast live on radio.
16 September 1937, an exhibition match between Arsenal's first team and the reserves was the first ever football match to be televised live.
Arsenal appeared in the first edition of the Match of the Day, which screened highlights of their match against Liverpool on 22 August 1964.
Arsenal and Preston North End are the only two teams in football league history to have ever gone an entire top division season unbeaten.
The Gunners hold the record for the longest Champions League campaign without conceding a goal. They went 10 games and 995 minutes without the opposition scoring against them.
Arsene Wenger is the only manager to have came from outside of Great Britain or Ireland.
They have the highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.5
They hold the title for longest unbeaten away record in the league, standing at 27 games.
Arsenal also hold the record for most consecutive scoring league games with 55 matches.
They also hold the record for the most consecutive scoring away games in the league with 27 games.
With the most consecutive away victories belonging to Arsenal as well.
The highest attendance at a league match stands at 83,260 during the Maine Road game between Arsenal and Manchester United.
The Gunners hold the record for biggest away victory at the San Siro with the game finishing 5-1 to Arsenal.
They are the first and only British team to beat Real Madrid at the Bernabau and AC Milan and Inter Milan at the San Siro.
Arsenal are believed to be the only team in Champions League history to have fielded 11 players from different nationalities in their victory over Hamburger SV in 2006.