Some quirky facts about Arsenal that may surprise you | OneFootball

Arsenal Facts Even Diehard Fans Wouldn’t Know

Even if you are the biggest Arsenal fan in the world, it is more than likely that there are one or two things that you do not know about your club. It is these facts that the following blog post is going to share an illuminate on. This way, you can go down to the pub and amaze even some of the biggest Gunners fans out there. Most already know when the club was founded and what stadium we played in before the Emirates, so here are a few quirky facts about the club.

The Club Was Originally Founded in South London

Like many football teams in England, Arsenal was originally formed by a group of workers, but it was not in the North London home that we all know today. In fact, it was all the way on the opposite side of the city entirely! The club was originally known as Dial Square, which became Royal Arsenal a little further down the line. Soon, the first word was dropped, and the club was simply known as Arsenal. In 1893, the club entered the Second Division before moving up to the First Division and remaining there for a number of years. 1913 was a landmark year in which it moved to its North London home of Highbury. At the time, the chairman Sir Henry Norris saw a lot of potential in the new home, but like the rest of the clubs in the country, a break was enforced during the period of the First World War.

Arsenal Spent its First Years Outside the Top Division

In the first 30 years after the club was established, it was not the great force of world football that we have all come to know and love in recent years. In fact, it was a fairly run-of-the-mill team before its promotion to the top league, but it soon went back down again. In fact, it took 33 full years before the team won its first major honors.

The Battle of Highbury

England did not take part in the World Cup until the 1950 edition of the tournament rolled around. Sixteen years before that, Italy won the global competition and came for a match at Highbury against the England team of the era. At the time, seven members of the team were all Arsenal players. It was a hard-fought game that included many tackles that would be considered straight red cards by the modern letter of the law, but the England team was eventually able to emerge victorious 2-1. It was made even more amazing by the fact that Arsenal defender Ted Drake broke his foot, which left England playing with ten men as this was the age before substitutes were a thing. You can imagine what it would have been like if you were able to bet online on that particular match!

How many of these facts did you already know about your club? Hopefully, you have come away with some interesting tidbits that you are able to share when you get back out onto the terraces all over again in the coming weeks and months!