The First Division:

The season of 1903-04 saw the team achieve promotion to the First Division.

A season with an outstanding home record where they lost not a single game and achieved a goal average of 67-5 (their away record of just six wins and a goal average of 97-22, whilst not so impressive, was also a club record).

Arsenal remained in the First Division until their disastrous season of 1912-13 when they finished bottom with only 18 points (having scored only 26 goals and achieved only three wins). The points, goals and wins were the lowest ever recorded in the First Division and remained so until Stoke’s even more disastrous season of 1984-85.

With a reported £19 in the club’s bank account (how different now!) and the prospect of Second Division football, the club knew something had to change. That something was their home ground. Saturday, 26th April 1913 saw the Woolwich Arsenal play their last home game at the Manor Ground against Middlesborough, saying goodbye to their home ground and their name.

With the move to Highbury, Woolwich Arsenal dropped the Woolwich portion of their name (although the club never officially called itself "The Arsenal" that was the name by which they became know until Herbert Chapman insist on the name "Arsenal" some years later). Arsenal played their first game at Highbury on 6th September 1913 against Leicester Fosse and won 2-1. Their first season in the second division was a reasonable performance, with Arsenal finishing third and only failing to achieve promotion on goal average.

The following season, following the outbreak of war in Europe, the club only managed to finish fifth despite a convincing 7-0 home win over Nottingham Forest as the last game of the season.

History Overview

In the beginning, 1886, the team played at and were referred to as Dial Square. Later switching to Woolwich they became known as Woolwich Arsenal. In 1903 Woolwich Arsenal gained promotion to the first division. After a disastrous season in 1919, the team moved to Highbury and dropped the "Woolwich" from their name. Sir Henry Norris did some amazing dealings to get Arsenal promoted back to the first division (at the expense of Spurs), where Arsenal have remained ever since. Between 1925 and 1934, Chapman took the helm and Arsenal adopted the famous 3-4-3 formation and the ubiquitous red and white shirts. On Chapman's death Allison took over and held the club in the first division, during this period Cliff Bastin established a goal scoring record of 178 goals (a record not broken until 50 years later when Ian Wright scored his 179th against Bolton Wanderers). Tom Whittaker took the reins from Allison and despite some lean years lifted the fa cup and won the division. Like Chapman, Whittaker died young whilst in command of Arsenal. Following Whittaker came some unmemorable years, before Bertie Mee took the helm in 1966, Mee's most famous achievement would be the double in 1970. After Neil and Howe's years in control, George Graham (himself a player of the double season) took over, until the infamous bung scandal that cost him his job in 1995. Eventually, Arsenal would see the arrival of Arsene Wenger who achieved the unbelievable in his first full year, Arsenal's second double.

Arsenal's full honours