Arsenal Retro Football Shirts

Arsenal Football Club were founded in 1896 as a workers team from Woolwich and were elected to the second division of the Football League in 1893. They were promoted to the first division in 1904 but never really finished above mid table before the war despite a couple of good FA Cup semi final performances. The club were close to bankrupcy in 1910 but were brought out by Sir Henry Norris before moving to Highbury to play their football. In 1913, the team were relegated to the second division where they finished in 6th before the First World War broke out. In 1919, Arsenal were controversially elected back up to the first division ahead of Tottenham which fuelled their long standing rivalry. Ever since then, the club has stayed in the top flight and therefore hold the record for the longest unbroken stretch in the top flight.

The team were not originally successful until the appointment of Herbert Chapman in 1925. Chapman modernised the club’s practices and reaped immediate rewards. In 1926, the club produced their best ever finish of 2nd place and reached their first FA Cup final in 1927 where they were defeated by Cardiff. Three years later the club won their first FA Cup with a 2-0 victory over Huddersfield Town in 1930. This was to be the start of a vastly successful period of history for Arsenal as League titles followed in 1931, 1933, and 1934. Despite Herbert Chapman suddenly dying in 1934, the club’s success continued as George Allison took over as manager and led the club to a hat-trick of league titles in 1935. A second FA Cup was secured in 1935 with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United and a 5th league title was wrapped up in 1938 before the Second World War brought a halt to domestic football.

The Second World War claimed the lifes of nine Arsenal players and with George Allison retiring, the club found life difficult on their return to division one with a 13th placed finish. However, the following year in 1948 saw Arsenal secure another League title before more FA Cup success in 1949. The club managed to secure their 7th league title in 1953 but it proved to be their final trophy for seventeen years as the club went through a dark period in their history.

After a disappointing decade in the 1960’s, Arsenal started the 70’s with their first European trophy as the club beat Ajax 3-1 on aggregate in the Inter Fairs Cup. This catapulted Arsenal to only the second double winning season in English history in 1971 with a League and FA Cup double. In 1972, the team made their debut in the European Cup but were defeated in the quarter finals to Johan Cruyff inspired Ajax. Nevertheless, the next few years saw a slight decline until Terry Neill was appointed in 1976. The club reached three FA Cup finals under Neill but were only successful in one of them with a 3-2 win over Manchester United in 1979. The first half of the 1980’s saw a decline in fortunes before George Graham took over in 1986. Graham won league titles in 1989 and 1991 before an FA Cup victory in 1993 and the Cup Winners Cup in 1994 with a 1-0 victory over Parma.

Bruce Rioch was appointed Arsenal manager in 1995 but only lasted a season before leaving after a dispute over transfer funds. Arsene Wenger was announced as the new manager and rebuilt the team with a crop of foreign players. He became the first foreign manager to win the English league in 1998 along with the FA Cup to give Arsenal their second ever double. A couple of runner up seasons followed before another double came about in 2001 as the club won the league comfortably and beat Chelsea 2-0 in the FA Cup final. The team retained the FA Cup in 2002, becoming the first team in more than 20 years to do so, with a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the final.

2003 marked a record breaking season for Arsenal as they became the first team since Preston North End in 1889 to go an entire season unbeaten as they won the league with 90 points. However, they were defeated in the latter stages of the FA Cup and Champions League. In 2004, the team were less successful in the league but won another FA Cup with a penalty shoot out victory over Manchester United. In 2006, the team had their best European campaign to date with a final appearance against Barcelona. However, after taking an early lead, Barcelona came back to win 2-1 and clinch the title. Since their FA Cup victory in 2005, Arsenal have failed to win another title despite being a permenant fixture in the top four. Wenger will hope to lead the team back to the glory days in 2009/10.