Why was the first Arsenal side called Dial Square and why did it only last one game?

  By Tony Attwood Imagine yourself to have been working in a factory complex whose grounds covered over 1000 acres, and which employed around 70,000 people. The year is 1886 and you are working in an era when the game of football was already well known and well established.  Indeed the oldest football competition – …

The end of Knighton, Herbert Chapman’s arrival, the truth about “WM” and a new club high

I have recently been writing about Arsenal’s summers – simply because no one seems to have gathered the summer pre and post season campaigns and signings together before.  But I have had several comments to the effect that it would be even better if a similar style could be used but for the whole season …

Happy Birthday Arsène Wenger; 22 October 2015

Arsène Wenger OBE is the longest serving and most successful Arsenal manager of all time.  Indeed it is no exaggeration to say that he has singlehandedly created the second Arsenal Golden Age, while at the same time revolutionising English top division football. The first Arsenal Golden Age ran of course from 1930 to 1953, encompassing the careers …

Arsenal in the summer. 1947: The Phoenix rises out of the ashes

By Tony Attwood The first season after the second world war was fairly gruesome for Arsenal.  In fact it turned out to be worse in terms of the league than any season since 1929/30 when Arsenal had the overwhelming compensation of winning the FA Cup for the first time – indeed their first ever major …

Arsenal in the summer: 1946, back from the war

By Tony Attwood This is part of our series that focusses on Arsenal’s activities each summer.  A list of all the articles in the series thus far is given at the foot of the article, and updated each week on the home page of the site. As soon as war broke out in 1939 the …