DID YOU KNOW ? 


Arsenal were involved in the first Football League meeting between London clubs when they met Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on November 2, 1907.

Arsenal hold the dubious record (jointly with Stoke City) of winning the least number of First Division games in a season. The season in question was 1912-13 when Woolwich Arsenal won only 3 out of 38 matches. By the way, even though the record is listed as a joint one with Stoke, we can take some satisfaction in knowing that Stoke played 42 games in 1984-5 when they had their miserable season! We can also take great solace in that our single home victory in the same season is also a record low for the Football League.

Arsenal are the ONLY team in the Football League to be promoted from 5th position in the league. There was a lot of complaining about this matter in 1914- 15, the loudest voice was that of Tottenham Hotspur (but, frankly, who gives a damn?!!).

On the 22nd of January 1927 the FIRST BBC Broadcast of a Football League game was made from Arsenal's Highbury Stadium for their match against Sheffield United. Arsenal's Charlie Buchan scored the first goal to be broadcast live.

Three months later Arsenal also figured in the FIRST broadcast of an F.A. Cup Final, when they met Cardiff on 23rd April 1927. Unfortunately, Arsenal lost the final 0-1. Which is the ONLY time in the history of the F.A. Cup that a foreign side has been crowned as Champions.

On May 5th 1928 Dixie Dean's Everton were playing Arsenal at Goodison Park in the final League game of the season. Dean needed to score 2 goals to equal George Camsell's 1927 First Division goal scoring record. He managed to score all 3 in a 3-3 final score ending up with 60 League goals in a season. It now seems likely that this feat will never be surpassed.

Arsenal met Sheffield Wednesday on the 25th August 1928 in the Football League. This may not sound to significant on it's own, but it was the FIRST time that players wore numbers on their backs in the competition. The system used that day (until 1939) was one using numbers 1 - 22.

On 21st April 1930, Arsenal played Leicester City at Filbert Street and the game resulted in the ONLY 6-6 draw in the history of the Football League. The goal scorers on that day were Halliday (4) and Bastin (2). Ironically, Halliday was dropped for Arsenals next game which was the F.A. Cup Final against Huddersfield Town. Arsenal of course won the final 2-0 and Halliday's replacement Jack Lambert scored Arsenal's 2nd!

The 1930 FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Huddersfield saw the two captains come out side by side for the first time before a major game.

In 1932, a London XI consisting of players from Arsenal, Chelsea, West ham and Spurs defeated a Rest XI 3-0 under the White City Floodlights. A White ball was used for the FIRST time experimentally. Every time the ball went out of play, it was washed and returned!

In 1932, Arsenal were the first team to actually score FIRST in a Wembley final and end up as runners-up! (Not really a record I'm too happy about!)

In 1934 - 5 Arsenal were the FIRST club to ever have gate receipts over 100,000 pounds in a season. They made a profit of 35,000 pounds, the second nearest club in profitablility stakes was Portsmouth who made 14,961, no other club made it to double figures....

In November 1934, such was the strength of the Arsenal side of the 1930's that SEVEN players were chosen from the team to play for England against Italy at Highbury. England were 3-2 winners by the way.

Arsenal were also the FIRST team to be covered by television cameras. On the 16th of September 1937 the cameras rolled for the first time for a friendly match arranged specially for the occasion between Arsenal first and Arsenal reserve teams.

An Arsenal player, Bernard Joy, was the last amateur to appear in a full international for England on May 9, 1936 against Belgium.

Since 1937, every F.A. Cup Final has been televised LIVE by the BBC with the exception of the 1952 final between Arsenal and Newcastle when the Football Association refused to give permission for television coverage.

When Arsenal visited Maine Road to play Manchester United on January 1, 1948 in a First Division fixture, the match attracted a Football League record crowd of 83,260

Leslie Compton of Arsenal became the oldest debutant at full international level for any of the home countries when he played for England against Wales on November 15, 1950, aged 38.

FIRST independant television coverage of a football match was the F.A. Cup tie between Bedford Town and Arsenal on January 12th 1956. Arsenal won the tie 2 - 1

The first time that the Football League allowed edited highlights to be shown regularly on television was 22nd of August 1964. The FIRST game to be showed on the BBC's NEW "Match of the Day" programme was Liverpool v Arsenal.

Bob Wilson was the ONLY player to play in every single minute of the 64 competative games that Arsenal played in their glorious 1970-71 double winning season.

Alan Sunderlands goal after 13 second in the F.A. Cup Semi-Final second replay against Liverpool in 1980 was the FASTEST ever F.A. Cup Semi-Final goal.

When Arsenal reached the F.A. Cup Final against West Ham on 10th May 1980 they became the FIRST team this century to paticipate in three consecutive F.A. Cup Finals.

When Arsenal won the League Championship in 1988-9, they were the FIRST team to win a League Championship on Goal's Scored when they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield on the very last day of the season with a goal by Michael Thomas in the 93rd minute of the very last game of the season giving us the very last laugh of the season. Both Arsenal and Liverpool finished having secured the same number of points with the same goal difference......

Had the Football League not changed the rules from Goal Average to Goal Difference in 1976-7 Arsenal would have LOST the 1988 - 9 Championship against Liverpool. Liverpool's goal average was in fact 2.3214, whilst Arsenals was only 2.0277 (hehehehe)!!

When Arsenal won the League Championship in 1990-1, they achieved it with the FEWEST number of League defeats in Modern History. Our only defeat of the season was a 1-2 loss at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea. Ironically, this was the ONLY league game of the season that Steve Bould missed

When Arsenal won the League Cup and the F.A. Cup in 1993, they became the first team ever to win both domestic cup competitions in the same season! A feat that EVEN Manchester United can only dream about!!!

In May 1998 Arsene Wenger became the first overseas manager to win the League Premiership Trophy with an English Club

In May 1998 Arsene Wenger became the first overseas manager to win the League Premiership and F.A. Cup "Double" with an English Club

On May 12th 2001 Arsenal became the first team ever to lose the FA Cup Final outside England when Liverpool beat us 2-1 at the Millennium Stadium Cardiff

On September 15th 2002 Gilberto Silva scored the fastest goal in UEFA Champions League history when he scored Arsenal's first goal against PSV Eindhoven (in the Phillips Stadium) after only 20.07 seconds. Arsenal went on to win the game 4-0

If you have any records, firsts or one-offs that Arsenal have been involved in that I have missed (either here or in my history section), please e-mail us, and I will add them to my listing. 
Thanks in anticipation.........