LITTLE BOOK OF

ARSENAL

 

 

 

 

First published in the UK in 2007

© G2 Entertainment Limited 2012 www.G2ent.co.uk

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission of the publisher.

Printed and bound in China

ISBN 978-1-907803-60-4

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Contents

A

Adams

Almunia

Arshavin

Arteta

Ashburton Grove

Attendances

B

Ball

Bastin

Bergkamp

Brady

Buchan

C

Campbell

Champions League

Chapman

Charity Shield

Clichy

D

Davis

Derby Matches

Dial Square

Dixon

Double

Drake

E

European Cup

European Cup Winners’ Cup

F

FA Cup

Fabregas

G

George

Gillespie Road

Giroud

Graham

Greatest Players

H

Hapgood

Henry

Highbury

Howe

I

Internationals

J

Jack

Jennings

K

Kelsey

Kennedy

Kits

L

Lambert

League Championship

League Cup

Lehmann

Ljungberg

M

Macdonald

Managers

McLintock

McNab

Mee

Mercer

Merson

N

Neill

Nicholas

Norris

O

O’Leary

Oxlade-Chamberlain

P

Parlour

Pires

Podolski

Premiership

Q

Quinn

R

Radford

Ramsey

Reyes

Rice

Rix

Rocastle

Royal Arsenal

S

Sansom

Seaman

Simpson

Stapleton

Storey

Szczesny

T

Thomas

U

UEFA Cup

Unbeaten Run

V

Van Persie

Vieira

W

Walcott

Wembley

Wenger

Wilshere

Wilson

Winterburn

Woolwich Arsenal

Wright

X

X-Tra Time

Y

Youth Team

Z

Zero

LITTLE BOOK OF

ARSENAL

Adams

Tony Adams (born 10 October 1966) made his League debut in November 1983, the month after he turned 17, given his first chance by another great central defender, then-manager Terry Neill. All went well, but two years later his hopes of becoming David O’Leary’s partner were halted by a stress fracture of the right foot. Martin Keown moved in but moved on to Villa after a contract dispute, and Tony made the most of his second chance. His place was never threatened after that, and Arsenal’s Player of the Year award came in 1987, confirming that Tony Adams had arrived.

England boss Bobby Robson made it Tony’s year, selecting him for the full team and remarking that he had ‘such great stature for someone so young.’ He went on to play a part in the European Championships, scoring against Yugoslavia in the qualifiers and against the USSR in the 1990 Finals. In between times, he’d played a part in securing the 1987 Littlewoods Cup and, of course, captained the side that took the Championship twice – in spellbinding style at Anfield in 1989, and two years later in 1990-91. He was the lynchpin of a steadfast Arsenal defence under George Graham that was renowned for its well organised use of the offside trap.

Adams was not to wear an England shirt that season, but Graham Taylor recalled him to play in all the 1992-93 World Cup qualifiers, and he remained in favour with Terry Venables. After 66 appearances (13 times as skipper) and 5 goals, he decided to quit international football to lengthen his Arsenal career. His last game for England was in October 2000, when Germany beat England 0-1.

Back with his club, Adams skippered the Gunners to their unique 1993 FA Cup and Coca-Cola Cup double against Sheffield Wednesday, and when he lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup in Copenhagen the following year, became the man to hoist more trophies than any previous Arsenal captain. Indeed, he captained Arsenal to League titles in three different decades, a unique achievement.

True to his quote ‘Arsenal is a great club and a successful one, so why should I want to play for anyone else?’ Adams retired from playing professional football in 2002. A spell as manager of Wycombe Wanderers proved unsuccessful, but he split his time between studying the game and running the Sporting Chance clinic for sportsmen who, like him, had struggled with addiction to drink or drugs. He was appointed assistant manager to Harry Redknapp at Portsmouth in June 2006 and was subsequently appointed manager in October 2008 when Harry left to take over at Spurs. He was sacked in February 2009 after just 16 games in which Portsmouth picked up only 10 points.

Almunia

Some nervy displays when deputising for first-team keeper Jens Lehmann gave concern over Manuel Almunia’s ability to take over the Number 1 jersey. But after an early season injury to Lehmann in 2007, Almunia kept eight clean sheets in his first 11 appearances which gave him the confidence to become first choice keeper.

He quickly won over the fans too making a stunning stop from Robbie Keane’s spot-kick at a crucial point in the North London Derby at the Emirates Stadium just before Christmas. Nicklas Bendtner scored the winner that day but Almunia’s heroics provided the platform for a vital victory.

After making more than 100 appearances for the first team his position as first choice began to be challenged, culminating in a loan move to West Ham United and subsequently being released by Arsenal at the end of the 2011-12 season.

Arshavin

Having only made a dozen appearances in his first season at Arsenal, Andrey Arshavin became a legend overnight when he scored four goals in an away game at Liverpool – virtually ruining their chances of winning the Premiership.

He was not surprisingly named Man of the Match in the thrilling 4-4 draw – when he became the first player to score four goals in a League match at Anfield since 1946 and only the sixth player in Premier League history to score four goals in an away match.

He joined Arsenal in February 2009 after winning the Russian Premier League with Zenit in 2007 as well as the Russian Footballer of the Year accolade in 2006 and has more than 70 caps for his country.

Mixed performances during the 2011-12 season drew criticism and a spell on the sidelines, prompting a loan switch back to Zenit in February 2012.

Arteta

Arsene Wenger’s last minute acquisition of Spanish midfield Mikel Arteta from Everton in August 2011 was a bolt out of the blue, since there had been no inkling that such a deal was imminent. Whilst his signing raised eyebrows in some quarters, especially as the club were felt to be more than adequately covered in midfield, the subsequent injury to Jack Wilshere proved that Arsene had pulled off a masterstroke.

Born in San Sebastian on 26 March 1982, Mikel had played alongside Xabi Alonso as a youngster but began his career at Barcelona, where he played for the B side, but despite showing great potential was unable to break into the first team and went out on loan to Paris St Germain. In 2002 he came to Britain and signed with Rangers, helping them win the treble of Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup at the end of the 2002-03 season. In 2004 he was transferred to Real Sociedad, where he expected to link up with Xabi Alonso, but Alonso’s sale to Liverpool soon after ruined the plan.

In January 2005 Mikel returned to Britain, this time signing for Everton and over the next five or so years established himself as a key member of the side, his worth recognised by both the fans and the critics. His subsequent switch to Arsenal saw him quickly show the reasons why Arsene Wenger had been keen to slot him into the midfield, scoring goals as well as creating them for others during his first season with the club.

Ashburton Grove

After nearly a century at Highbury, Arsenal decided in 1999 to build a new stadium which would massively boost club revenues and reduce reliance on Champions League and broadcasting revenues.

The stadium opened in July 2006 and has an all-seated capacity of 60,355 making it the fifth largest football stadium in the UK and the third largest stadium of any kind in London, after Wembley and Twickenham.

It was initially known as Ashburton Grove after the road it was located on, before it was renamed the Emirates Stadium after a rights deal was struck with the airline in October 2004.

Attendances

Records were set through out the Emirates Stadium’s first season, 2006-07, an average of around 59,640 comparing favourably with the 38,000 that Highbury had accommodated in recent seasons. The Emirates’ highest attendance so far, however, was when 60,161 watched a visiting Manchester United in November 2007 when the points were shared after a 2-2 draw. This still pales in comparison to the massive crowd of 73,295 that watched a 0-0 draw with Sunderland on 9 March 1935 during George Allison’s side’s League Championship-winning season.

The club’s highest attendance for a ‘home’ game, however, was registered not at Highbury, but at Wembley. The club played their UEFA Champions’ League matches there during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons and 73,707 people watched RC Lens win 1-0 on 25 November 1998.

The biggest attendance at Highbury since the inauguration of the Premiership was on 15 May 2004 when 38,419 fans crammed into the stadium to watch Patrick Vieira lift the Premiership trophy after a 2-1 win over Leicester City completed Arsenal’s famous unbeaten season.

Although the lowest recorded figure of 4,554 for the visit of Leeds United on 5 May 1966 is paltry compared to today’s attendances, Arsenal’s lowest Premiership crowd is still respectable by some top-flight team’s standards. Only 18,253 paid to watch the visit of Wimbledon on 10 February 1993 and the majority would have been disappointed as the visitors claimed the points with a solitary Dean Holdsworth goal.

Ball

Born on 12 May 1945 in Farnworth, Lancashire, Alan Ball was the son of a professional footballer/manager, also Alan, but eclipsed his dad in every respect by becoming a World Cup winner with England in 1966. He then moved on to Everton, from where an Arsenal record fee of £220,000 tempted him to Highbury at the end of 1971.

The fiery midfielder with a temper to match his red hair was intended to help Bertie Mee’s team retain the title – this did not happen, but Ball was at the peak of his powers at 26 and became the captain of Don Revie’s England team. His 72 appearances in white yielded eight goals. His Arsenal career of 177 appearances and 45 goals sadly coincided with a period of mediocrity and, while an influential figure on the pitch, he was not to win domestic honours in red and white.

After joining Southampton in 1976 and helping them to the top flight, Ball spent time in the North American Soccer League before returning home to start a managerial career with the likes of Portsmouth (twice) and Manchester City. Alan Ball died in April 2007, aged just 61, and was much mourned.

Bastin

Born in Exeter on 14 March 1912, Cliff Bastin’s arrival at Highbury in 1929 as a teenage winger from local club Exeter City coincided with Herbert Chapman perfecting his footballing formula. Bastin, a bargain at just £2,000, would leave Arsenal’s employ with five League Championships plus two FA Cup winner’s medals. Indeed, he was the only member of the triumphant side that carried all before it in the pre-war decade to see first-team action in 1946-47, the first peacetime season.

He topped the club’s scoring chart in 1932-33 with 33 goals, a prodigious haul for a winger, and would remain the club’s overall top scorer until 1997 when his goals total was beaten by Ian Wright (and since, of course, by Thierry Henry). He played for England 21 times, scoring 12 goals, and would undoubtedly have registered many more honours for club and country had Hitler not intervened.

Forever known as ‘Boy’ in deference to his youth, Cliff Bastin died in December 1991, his first club Exeter City naming a stand in his honour.

Bergkamp

Dennis Bergkamp, born in Amsterdam on 10 May 1969, was named after Denis Law (despite the spelling) by his soccer-mad father. Arsenal rescued him in 1995 from two miserable years with Inter Milan, where he was in and out of the team, often as substitute, and he paid back the club record £7.5 million fee with interest over the decade that followed.

Bergkamp made his name in the great Ajax Amsterdam team that ruled European club football. There he enjoyed a memorable strike partnership with Stefan Petterson, and he was quick to link with Ian Wright at Arsenal. Both helped each other to improve their game, and the Dutchman gave Arsenal an extra dimension.

At Highbury, he wore the Number 10 shirt from the 1995-96 season kick-off, mocking the critics who claimed he would follow his Milan nightmare with another in London. He supplanted the London rivals Spurs’ just-departed Jürgen Klinsmann as the highest-profile import in the Premiership.

Indeed, Bergkamp dominated the division in 1997-98, leading Arsenal to the title. He was forced to miss the Cup Final through injury but was voted ‘Player of the Year’ by his PFA peers and came third in the voting for ‘FIFA Player of the Year’. Arsène Wenger, who inherited him from Bruce Rioch, considered him ‘at the peak of his career – I don’t think there’s anybody better in the world.’

He shone in the World Cup in France ‘98 but a subsequent back injury put him out of the first half of the next campaign and he bowed out of international football after Euro 2000. His record was 79 games played, 37 goals scored.

The second Double season of 2001-02 saw him play a major role. A pair of wonder goals against Leverkusen in the Champions League and a few days later against Newcastle made headlines. After the Double was achieved he admitted ‘I’ve never, ever been this happy in my entire career.’ He passed the 100th goal mark in January 2003 and the following season (2004-05) helped steer the side to another title triumph, sometimes wearing the captain’s armband.

Surrounded by controversy at various times in his Highbury career – not least because of the fear of flying that ruled him out of many crucial European away matches – his full appearances have diminished as time goes on. His north London stay ended in 2006, but Bergkamp can be assured he is one of the greats.