In other words, it is a big and worthy club that is the next Bodø/Glimt challenger in the Europa League.

Arsenal was founded in 1886 as “Dial Square”, but the name was soon changed to Royal Arsenal, named after the factory of the same name where the workers who founded the club worked. In 1893 the club joined the professional league and again changed its name to Woolwich Arsenal. The team moved to the first division in 1904, but due to their non-central geographic location, Woolwich Arsenal did not have the same attendance figures as other clubs in London. This left the club on the verge of bankruptcy when Henry Norris took over in 1910. He moved the club to Arsenal’s stadium at Highbury three years later. Then the Woolwich part of the name was also omitted.

Arsenal’s toughest competitor in North London is district club Tottenham. Arsenal came straight from a strong 3-1 win over their rivals to the encounter with Bodø/Glimt. However, the rivalry between the clubs has more to say than just that they are both in North London. In 1919, the football league in England would resume after a four-year break due to the First World War. In 1915, Arsenal was ranked 5th in the second division, while Tottenham finished last in the top division. The league also increased the number of teams from 20 to 22 teams. Instead of Tottenham retaining their place, Tottenham were relegated to the second division. The team that took over was not 3rd or 4th in the second division, but 5th place Arsenal. No one really knows why, but it was the start of the hatred between the two clubs.

Arsenal is an old and traditional club with a very interesting history. We have neither the capacity nor the time to trace the entire history of the club. Instead, we encourage those who are particularly interested to seek other sources for more comprehensive history lessons. But we quickly go through what happened after the controversial promotion in 1919.

From 1925 and through the 30s, Arsenal had their first successful period. In 1925, Herbert Chapman, a very meritorious manager, came to Arsenal and laid the groundwork for what would become a little adventure for the red shirts of the ’30s. From 1930 to 1938 they won the league five times and the FA Cup twice. Unfortunately, Chapman himself did not get to experience this when he died of pneumonia in 1934.

After the Second World War, Arsenal again experienced a period of success. They won the league twice and the FA Cup once again before the mid fifties. After that, there were some skinny years in the middle of the table for Arsenal. But in 1966 Arsenal started to win the title again. As mentioned, they won the Messebycupen in the 69/70 season and the following season they won their first “The double”, i.e. league and cup in the same season. From the 80s to the previous championship series on 03/04, the club had sporadically had good seasons and continued to achieve achievements along the way. Among other things, the team was in the recent Europa League final in the 2018/19 season. The team also won the FA Cup in 2020.

As mentioned, Arsenal are based at Highbury, but no longer play their home games at Highbury Stadium. In 2006, they moved about 500 meters southwest of their old stadium into today’s home arena. Emirates Stadium, or Arsenal stadium as an arena is referred to in the context of UEFA because of the sponsor’s name. Many supporters also don’t use Emirates as the stadium’s name and instead swear by Ashburton Grove or “The Grove” according to the area where the stadium is located.

Arsenal Stadium has a capacity of over 60,000 spectators and is mostly packed at every match. In the 06/07 season, there was 99.8 percent coverage at the stadium.