Arsenal Football Club: The History of Arsenal Leading Up to Its First Trophies

Arsenal Football Club will be celebrating its 125th anniversary on Saturday. The Gunners have built up a wealth of history and tradition in those 125 years.

The following is an examination of the key moments in the history of Arsenal that led to its first two trophies. 

From its formation in 1886, all the way up until the Gunners Champions League defeat to Barcelona in 2006, Arsenal has endured times of incredible highs and lows. 

The North London outfit is one of the most successful clubs in English Football. In its time, the club has won 13 First Division titles, 10 FA Cups, two League Cups and two European Cups. 

Only Liverpool and Manchester United have won more trophies than Arsenal. 

So where did the club come from? 

The Formation of Arsenal: 1886

David Danskin was a football enthusiast who lived in Woolwich, an area predominantly controlled by rugby and cricket.

The Scott worked at the Arsenal munitions factory, and decided that he was going to gather a group of friends to form a football team. A total of 18 men put in sixpence, Danskin put in three shillings, and the club purchased a football club. Behold, a football club is born in October of 1886.

Not knowing what to call themselves, the group chose the name Dial Square, which referred to one of the munitions factory's workshops.  

The club scheduled their first-ever game for December of that same year. Dial Square traveled to the Isle of Dogs and defeated Eastern Wanderers 6-0. 

Fred Beardsley, one of the Dial Square squad members, was a former Nottingham Forest player. He used his connections at his old club to help secure Dial Square a proper kit.  The club received a complete set of red shirts.

However, now that they considered themselves a proper football club, the men decided that they were unhappy with their name.

They gathered at the Royal Oak pub, next to the Woolwich Arsenal station, to come up with a new name. The men decided to combine the name of the pub and their place of employment, and called themselves the Royal Arsenal.

That would remain the club's name for only a short period. The club members finally settled in 1891, and Woolwich Arsenal was born.

After a brief battle with the Football Association, Woolwich Arsenal finally achieved their professional status in the year 1893. They relocated to Manor Ground and were placed in the Second Division.  

Woolwich Arsenal's First Season: 1893

Woolwich Arsenal did not have the easiest of times getting admitted into the Football League.

When first applying to the Football League in the early 1890s, the London FA wanted to create a new league. 

London's governing body tried to create a Southern League, and encouraged Tottenham, Queens Park Rangers and Millwall to take part in this conceptual league. This was never a popular plan. 

After their Southern League idea had been killed off due to a lack of interest, the FA admitted Woolwich Arsenal to the Football League in 1893 and placed them in the Second Division. 

Woolwich Arsenal's first league game took place on September 2, 1893. That game ended in a 2-2 draw, and it was played against another newly-adopted professional side, Newcastle United. 

Despite it being the club's first season, Woolwich Arsenal did have a record-setting victory.

On October 14, 1893 the club beat Ashford United 12-0 in the FA Cup. That score remains the club's largest ever margin of victory in the competition.

In their first season of league football Woolwich Arsenal finished with 28 points in the same number of games, certainly a respectable effort in their first-ever campaign.  

Woolwich Arsenal Moves to Highbury: 1913

By the end of the 1912-1913 season, Woolwich Arsenal had found itself in financial trouble. In 1910 the club had gone into voluntary liquidation.

Luckily, help arrived in the form of English businessman Henry Norris. Norris became the majority shareholder of Woolwich Arsenal in 1910. Coincidentally, at the same time he was the chairman of Fulham.

In order to save the deteriorating Woolwich Arsenal, Norris attempted to merge his two clubs. This attempt was blocked by the FA, which left Norris with one option: He had to move the club.

After assessing the possible locations for his football club Norris decided that Highbury was to be their new home. This decision would create chaos in the North-London footballing world.

North-London was already home to Tottenham and Homerton (now Clapton Orient). Both of these teams had a firm objection to Norris moving Woolwich Arsenal into the area, and they decided to make an appeal to the league.

The club was allowed to go forward with their intended move, however, after the League Management Committee turned down the rival clubs' appeals.

On September 6, 1913 Woolwich Arsenal played their first game at Highbury. In that game Woolwich Arsenal defeated Leicester Fosse 2-1. Andy Divine scored the first-ever goal for the home team at their new ground.

The year following their move to Highbury the club decided to drop Woolwich from its name to be called, simply, Arsenal.   

Arsenal Gets Promoted to the First Division: 1919

In 1919 Arsenal became the first-ever football club to be promoted to the First Division on a basis that was unrelated to footballing performance. 

In the 1914-1915 season Arsenal finished fifth in the Second Division. Then WWI broke out, which put footballing activities on hold. 

Once they resumed in 1919 Henry Norris, the chairman of Arsenal at the time, proceeded to pull off one of the most controversial stunts in English Football history.

The First Division had decided that it would expend from 20 teams to 22 teams before the start of the 1919 season. Having already promoted the top two Second Division teams, the First Division now had two open spots. 

The previous season had seen Chelsea and Tottenham sit in 19th and 20th, respectively, and both clubs were due to be relegated. 

Provisions were made so that Chelsea were allowed to remain in the First Division, which left one spot to be fulfilled. It is at this point that Sir Henry Norris maneuvers his club into one of the most unlikely positions of all time. 

While at the Football League's Annual General Meeting, Norris argued that Arsenal deserved to be promoted because of their contribution to footballing history. 

Arsenal was the first league club located in the South. His speech was enough to influence the audience. Arsenal won promotion to the First Division by 10 votes.

Despite being promoted in suspicious circumstances, Arsenal is the only club to have remained in the top division of English Football since the sport resumed after the end of the first world war.  

Herbert Chapman Becomes the Manager of Arsenal: 1925

The hiring of Herbert Chapman is, arguably, the most important signing ever made in the history of Arsenal Football Club. 

In the summer of 1925 Arsenal were without a proper manager. Sir Henry Norris, the chairman of Arsenal, put out an ad that publicized the opening. The ad was enough to lure Chapman away from Huddersfield Town.

Chapman was appointed the manager of Arsenal Football Club in the summer of 1925. He held onto that position until he premature death in 1934.

In his time at the club Chapman won two First Division titles and two FA Cups.

He was the man behind Arsenal's white sleeves. He believed that the contrast of the white on the red made it easier for players to see each other. Arsenal has its own tube station because of Chapman.

Finally, he was the innovator of the 3-2-2-3 formation that took English Football by storm in the 1930s.

Chapman was an Arsenal legend and he put Arsenal on track to become the club that it is today.   

Arsenal Wins Its First Major Trophies: 1930 and 1931

After being appointed manager of Arsenal Football Club in 1925 Herbert Chapman didn't take long to bring success to the club. 

In 1927 Chapman helped navigate the Gunners to their first ever FA Cup final. Unfortunately, Cardiff City overcame Arsenal by a scoreline of 1-0. 

Fast forward three years. The year is 1930 and Arsenal is again in the FA Cup final. This time they are in an ironic matchup against Huddersfield Town, the side that Chapman had managed prior to Arsenal.

It was Saturday, April 26. Arsenal took the pitch at Wembley for the second time in three years. It took just 17 minutes for Arsenal to go ahead through an Alex James goal.

Arsenal kept a clean sheet and were victorious over Huddersfield Town by a 2-0 scoreline. The Gunners had won the club's first ever trophy.   

Now fast forward just one year later. The Arsenal attacking line of Jack Lambert, David Jack and Cliff Bastin combined for an incredible 97 goals in the 1930-1931 season. 

Arsenal became the first team south of Birmingham to win a First Division title. It was their first of five top division titles in eight years. 

Arsenal had won two trophies in as many years, and they were finally starting to become the successful club that the world knows today.