Herbert Chapman (now just "Arsenal" and (for the first time) red with white sleeves):

Prior to Herbert Chapmanís arrival in 1925, Arsenalís best finishing position was 9th in 1921 and reaching the FA Cup quarter round in 1922 (when they lost to Preston).

Chapmanís first game as manager was on 29th August 1925, against Spurs at Highbury; Arsenal lost 1-0. This was also the first Arsenal game for Charles Buchan and the first game of the new offside ruling (to remain onside you now required two defenders in front of you rather than three!).

1927 to 1929 saw a number of lengthy and complex FA hearings and High Court cases culminating in the dismissal of Sir Henry Norris and his ban from the club and game. The saga started with an undisputed accusation that he had sold the Arsenal team bus for £125 and pocketed the money, Sir Henry said the money was a consideration for the £17,000 the club owed him.

After a poor start to his first season (the 1-0 defeat at home to Tottenham) and a 7-0 defeat at Newcastle in October, Buchan convinced Chapman to adopt the 3-4-3 formation (later associated with the great Arsenal teams). The result was that Chapmanís first season ended with Arsenal gaining a respectable (and at that time a club record) 52 points, finishing second in the league.

Chapman had been quoted as saying that it would take five years to win a trophy, he was right. Arsenal finished the next four seasons 11th, 10th, 9th and 14th.

Despite their league performances, the 1926-27 season saw Arsenal play their first FA Cup Final. This Cup Final is famous on three counts:

• The first Cup Final with radio commentary
• The first (and only) time the cup was taken out of England (Cardiff)
• For the game having been lost by Arsenal, rather than won by Cardiff. Lewis (Arsenalís goalkeeper) bundled the ball over his own line and Brain & Buchan both left an easy ball for each other in front of an empty goal, only for the ball to roll harmlessly out of play.

The 1929-30 season saw Arsenal reach the FA Cup final a second time and take home the cup for the first time with a 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town. They also achieved some records in the league (an 8-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, equalled three years later and a record high scoring draw, 6-6 at Leicester).

This also marked the change of Arsenalís league fortunes, picking up no fewer than 4 championships (3 consecutive) out of the next 5 seasons (coming 2nd in the other year), reaching the FA Cup Final again in the 1931-32 season (losing to Newcastle) and winning 4 FA Charity Shields. This upturn in Arsenalís fortune was only marred by the death of Chapman on Saturday 6th January 1934 after a brief bout of pneumonia.

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