BACKGROUND
Arsenal
were originally formed as Dial Square FC in 1886 by workers at the
Woolwich
armaments factory in South London, a connection immortalised in the
club crest, adopted in 1888, featuring three cannons (which never
appeared on players' shirts). The name was changed to the more imposing
Royal Arsenal a few months after their formation and when the club
turned professional in 1891
they became Woolwich Arsenal. The
club's first red and white strip was donated by Nottingham Forest.
At the
time, Forest wore "Garibaldi Red" shirts, a richer and darker
shade than the conventional red. It appears that the club retained
this
shade (aside from 1895-96) until after the Great War although this has been impossible to confirm so far. (See Footnote)
In 1893
Woolwich Arsenal became the first club south of Birmingham to join
the
Football League. Having turned professional just two years earlier,
the club
found themselves ostracised by their amateur peers (association
football in the metropolitan area was still dominated by
gentlemen-players from the upper classes). Their initial attempts
to form a professional league foundered (it would be another two
years
before the Southern League was formed) so they had nowhere else to
go.
They won promotion to the First Division in 1904 and survived for
nine
years until they were relegated 1913. That year the club left
Plumstead
in South-East London to move to Highbury despite vigorous protests
from Tottenham Hotspur. When League football resumed after the First
World
War in 1919 the First Division was expanded. Arsenal's chairman, Sir
Henry Norris, contrived to have his club (who had finished fifth in
Division
Two in 1915) replace Tottenham (bottom of Division One).
After several mediocre seasons, Arsenal appointed
Herbert Chapman as manager. Having previously guided Huddersfield Town
to two of their three successive League titles, Chapman set about transforming
Arsenal from an average First Division club into one of the great names
in world football. He had the nearby underground station renamed "Arsenal",
introduced the now famous white sleeves and pioneered the use of shirt
numbers. Under his guidance the club went on to dominate English football
over the 
following decade.
Although crests were not worn in league games, they did appear in FA Cup finals, the first being a monogram in 1927 followed, in 1930, by a version with a cannon.
The
FA Cup became Arsenal's first major trophy
in 1930 and their first League Championship in 1931 was followed
by a
further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years. A new
art deco crest was designed and appeared on the shirts worn in the 1932 FA Cup Final and other pre-war finals. A slightly different version appeared
prominently in the club's fabled marbled halls, over the East Stand and
in the boardroom.
After the interruption caused by the Second World War, Tom Whittaker forged another
great team winning two more titles (1948
and 1953) and an FA Cup (1950) with the 1951-52 season also seeing the
Gunners narrowly miss the elusive double, runners up in both league and
FA Cup. The crest worn in the 1950 and 1952 finals was slightly different to the pre-war version.
Whittaker's death in 1956 presaged a barren 14 years.
Around 1957 Arsenal adopted the modern continental style shirts but the older style, with buttoned collars and long sleeves occasionaly appeared until at least 1962 in cold weather.
Club
physiotherapist Bertie
Mee took over as manager in 1966 and in 1967, after two seasons
wearing plain red shirts, the classic Gunners' strip was reintroduced,
now enhanced by a smart new crest consisting of a cannon. Defeat in the
League Cup final of 1969
at the hands of Third Division Swindon did not bode well but a year
later Arsenal captured their first European trophy, winning the
Inter-City
Fairs Cup against Anderlecht. The following season Arsenal achieved
the
domestic "double," clinching the League championship with a
1-0 win over Tottenham. Days later a Charlie George goal won the FA
cup
in extra time at Wembley against Liverpool.
Despite
reaching the FA Cup final again in 1972
and finishing second in the league the following season Arsenal
became
a mediocre side during the mid seventies. Towards the end of the
decade
Terry Neill and Don Howe achieved some success when Arsenal reached
the
FA Cup final in 3 successive seasons. This coincided with a slight
modification to the crest, which now had "AFC" superimposed on three,
stacked cannonballs, a motif now repeated on the shorts. Only the middle
visit to Wembley,
in 
1979, was triumphant, a thrilling last minute 3-2 victory against Manchester
United. The following season saw cup heartbreak when Arsenal lost the
FA Cup final to West Ham, and 4 days later the European Cup Winners Cup
final to Valencia on penalties.
In the 1985-86 season the legend "Centenary Year 1986" was added to the crest.
After George Graham took over in 1986, Arsenal won six major trophies in the next eight years. A League Cup triumph in 1987 was built upon, and in 1989 the League Championship returned to Highbury after an 18 year absence when Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title on
goals
scored. In the most exciting finish to the league season ever witnessed
in English football the final, deciding match at Anfield was won
2-0,
the decisive second goal coming in injury time. Another
championship followed
two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded
just
18 goals in 38 matches. In 1990 the club adopted the crest first
designed in 1949 and now worn on the pitch for the first time.
In the Premiership's inaugural year 1992-93
Arsenal became the first team ever to win both domestic cups in the same
season. The following year the European Cup Winners' Cup was captured
in Copenhagen. Despite the cup successes, Arsenal's league results remained
ordinary and following a scandal over illicit transfer payments, Graham
was sacked in the middle of the 1994-95 season. Also in 1994, the crest was altered to more subtle colouring which, 
with slight modifications in 1995 and 1998, appeared on a navy shield until 2000.
After a period of turbulence, Frenchman Arsene Wenger was confirmed as Arsenal's new manager at the end of September 1996. Wenger set about transforming Arsenal's traditional cautious playing style. In 1998 Arsenal won the double
for the second time, eclipsing Manchester
United after trailing them by 13 points in January. The second half of
the double, the FA Cup, was achieved with a comfortable 2-0 win against
Newcastle at Wembley in May. The following season Arsenal fell just short
of repeating their triumph, losing unluckily in the FA Cup semi-final
in extra time to Manchester United and missing out on the title to the
same deadly rivals by just one point. As the new millennium approached,
the balance of power between Sir Alex 
Ferguson's Manchester United and
Wenger's Arsenal tipped towards the Londoners.
In 2001 the crest was modified again for commercial reasons with solid yellow replacing the gold tones and the club motto rendered in clearer script to make the whole image easier to reproduce but this version was not applied to the team's shirts.
Because Arsenal's crest had evolved over many years, incorporating design elements from several sources, the club was unable to register copyright. To overcome this and to
emphasise
the renaissance of the club, a new crest was introduced in 2002, which
combined Arsenal's traditional colours (red, dark red, white and navy)
with metallic gold, all of which would be featured in Nike's kits over
the following seasons.
Another double was achieved in 2002 and in 2004, the Gunners won the Premiership title without being defeated, a feat that has not been achieved since Preston North End won the first ever League title in 1888, undefeated in 18 games. Arsenal were unbeaten in 38 League matches. A year later club won the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United, the first time the competition had been decided in this way.
In June 2005 the club announced that they would play in dark "red currant" jerseys for one season to mark their last season at Highbury. The following season a more traditional strip was introduced, restoring white sleeves (with metallic gold trim on the body) and in 2008, Nike took something of a risk by reintroducing
predominently red shirts with white and "red currant" trim.
Nike's 2010 strip marked a popular return to tradition with a recreation of the iconic shirt from the Seventies, matched by a similarly bold but simple outfit for the club's 125th anniversary in 2011-12. For this occasion a special crest was introduced. This featured 15 oak leaves (representing the fifteen founders of the club who met in the Royal Oak public house), 15 laurel leaves (taken from the threepenny bits each paid to establish the club) and the club's first motto, "Forward."
following decade.Although crests were not worn in league games, they did appear in FA Cup finals, the first being a monogram in 1927 followed, in 1930, by a version with a cannon.
The
FA Cup became Arsenal's first major trophy
in 1930 and their first League Championship in 1931 was followed
by a
further 4 titles and another FA Cup over the next 7 years. A new
art deco crest was designed and appeared on the shirts worn in the 1932 FA Cup Final and other pre-war finals. A slightly different version appeared
prominently in the club's fabled marbled halls, over the East Stand and
in the boardroom.After the interruption caused by the Second World War, Tom Whittaker forged another
great team winning two more titles (1948
and 1953) and an FA Cup (1950) with the 1951-52 season also seeing the
Gunners narrowly miss the elusive double, runners up in both league and
FA Cup. The crest worn in the 1950 and 1952 finals was slightly different to the pre-war version.Whittaker's death in 1956 presaged a barren 14 years.
Around 1957 Arsenal adopted the modern continental style shirts but the older style, with buttoned collars and long sleeves occasionaly appeared until at least 1962 in cold weather.
Club
physiotherapist Bertie
Mee took over as manager in 1966 and in 1967, after two seasons
wearing plain red shirts, the classic Gunners' strip was reintroduced,
now enhanced by a smart new crest consisting of a cannon. Defeat in the
League Cup final of 1969
at the hands of Third Division Swindon did not bode well but a year
later Arsenal captured their first European trophy, winning the
Inter-City
Fairs Cup against Anderlecht. The following season Arsenal achieved
the
domestic "double," clinching the League championship with a
1-0 win over Tottenham. Days later a Charlie George goal won the FA
cup
in extra time at Wembley against Liverpool.Despite
reaching the FA Cup final again in 1972
and finishing second in the league the following season Arsenal
became
a mediocre side during the mid seventies. Towards the end of the
decade
Terry Neill and Don Howe achieved some success when Arsenal reached
the
FA Cup final in 3 successive seasons. This coincided with a slight
modification to the crest, which now had "AFC" superimposed on three,
stacked cannonballs, a motif now repeated on the shorts. Only the middle
visit to Wembley,
in 1979, was triumphant, a thrilling last minute 3-2 victory against Manchester
United. The following season saw cup heartbreak when Arsenal lost the
FA Cup final to West Ham, and 4 days later the European Cup Winners Cup
final to Valencia on penalties. In the 1985-86 season the legend "Centenary Year 1986" was added to the crest.
After George Graham took over in 1986, Arsenal won six major trophies in the next eight years. A League Cup triumph in 1987 was built upon, and in 1989 the League Championship returned to Highbury after an 18 year absence when Arsenal pipped Liverpool to the title on
goals
scored. In the most exciting finish to the league season ever witnessed
in English football the final, deciding match at Anfield was won
2-0,
the decisive second goal coming in injury time. Another
championship followed
two years later when Arsenal lost only one league game and conceded
just
18 goals in 38 matches. In 1990 the club adopted the crest first
designed in 1949 and now worn on the pitch for the first time.In the Premiership's inaugural year 1992-93
Arsenal became the first team ever to win both domestic cups in the same
season. The following year the European Cup Winners' Cup was captured
in Copenhagen. Despite the cup successes, Arsenal's league results remained
ordinary and following a scandal over illicit transfer payments, Graham
was sacked in the middle of the 1994-95 season. Also in 1994, the crest was altered to more subtle colouring which, with slight modifications in 1995 and 1998, appeared on a navy shield until 2000.After a period of turbulence, Frenchman Arsene Wenger was confirmed as Arsenal's new manager at the end of September 1996. Wenger set about transforming Arsenal's traditional cautious playing style. In 1998 Arsenal won the double
for the second time, eclipsing Manchester
United after trailing them by 13 points in January. The second half of
the double, the FA Cup, was achieved with a comfortable 2-0 win against
Newcastle at Wembley in May. The following season Arsenal fell just short
of repeating their triumph, losing unluckily in the FA Cup semi-final
in extra time to Manchester United and missing out on the title to the
same deadly rivals by just one point. As the new millennium approached,
the balance of power between Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and
Wenger's Arsenal tipped towards the Londoners. In 2001 the crest was modified again for commercial reasons with solid yellow replacing the gold tones and the club motto rendered in clearer script to make the whole image easier to reproduce but this version was not applied to the team's shirts.
Because Arsenal's crest had evolved over many years, incorporating design elements from several sources, the club was unable to register copyright. To overcome this and to
emphasise
the renaissance of the club, a new crest was introduced in 2002, which
combined Arsenal's traditional colours (red, dark red, white and navy)
with metallic gold, all of which would be featured in Nike's kits over
the following seasons.Another double was achieved in 2002 and in 2004, the Gunners won the Premiership title without being defeated, a feat that has not been achieved since Preston North End won the first ever League title in 1888, undefeated in 18 games. Arsenal were unbeaten in 38 League matches. A year later club won the FA Cup in a penalty shoot-out against Manchester United, the first time the competition had been decided in this way.
In June 2005 the club announced that they would play in dark "red currant" jerseys for one season to mark their last season at Highbury. The following season a more traditional strip was introduced, restoring white sleeves (with metallic gold trim on the body) and in 2008, Nike took something of a risk by reintroducing
predominently red shirts with white and "red currant" trim.Nike's 2010 strip marked a popular return to tradition with a recreation of the iconic shirt from the Seventies, matched by a similarly bold but simple outfit for the club's 125th anniversary in 2011-12. For this occasion a special crest was introduced. This featured 15 oak leaves (representing the fifteen founders of the club who met in the Royal Oak public house), 15 laurel leaves (taken from the threepenny bits each paid to establish the club) and the club's first motto, "Forward."
The Arsenal Kit
2012-2013
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