Arsenal are one of the biggest and most successful football clubs in the history of English football. Their home ground is in north London at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal were originally named Dial Square and had their home ground in Woolwich, South East London. In 1891 the team turned professional and changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal. In 1913 they moved north to Highbury before moving to the brand-new Emirates Stadium in 2006. Valued at well over 600 million pounds, Arsenal are not only one of the biggest, but also one of the richest clubs in England.

The selection of the colour red as the principal colour of the Arsenal shirt has an interesting history. Once Dial Square had been formed, they needed a kit to play in however one could not be found or afforded. Among the founding players were two men recently relocated south for work who were formally Nottingham Forest players. These two men wrote back to Nottingham Forest asking for help and received a set of kit and a ball. Naturally, coming from Nottingham Forest, the kit was dark red. The kit was completed with white shorts and blue socks. The kit was update in 1933 to the now familiar pillar box red with white sleeves. The precise reason for the white sleeves is not known. However one story claims that a fan spotted in the stands wearing a red sleeveless sweater over a white shirt was the inspiration. This strip has remained unchanged apart from two seasons. The first in 1966-67 was when Arsenal wore all red shirts. The second occasion was in the 2006 season, the last to be played at Highbury when the team reverted to the darker, blackcurrant colours worn in the first Highbury season of 1913.

Yellow and Blue are the colours most often used for the away Arsenal shirt. However there have been deviations from this. In 1982-1984 they wore a green and navy shirt. Since 1990 the away strip has changed more frequently to take advantage of the replica shirt market. Blue designs have been used in addition to the substitution of the traditional yellow, with gold. Currently the away shirt in use at the end of each season is rotated to the Third Shirt.

The crest sewn onto the Arsenal shirt has been modified over the years as well. The first crest dating to 1888 was made up of three cannon viewed from above, pointing north. The coat of arms of Woolwich borough was the inspiration behind this design. Each cannon was decorated with the head of a lion and a cascabel. This design did not survive the move to Highbury. The now-familiar single cannon crest was introduced in 1925. In 1949, the crest was changed again. The cannon was unchanged but the name “Arsenal” was added above the gun. The Islington coat of arms was placed beneath the gun and a scroll with the club’s new motto beneath that. In 2002, in order to create a simpler crest that was copy-writable, a new crest was introduced with the cannon once again facing east with the green colour being replaced by dark blue.

This article has hopefully provided an interesting insight into the history of the Arsenal Shirt from the Dial Square amateur days to the professional, huge money team now plying their trade at the Emirates Stadium.

Patrick Attlee is a free-lance writer who writes extensively on the big clubs of England. You can discover more about the Arsenal Shirt at => http://www.arsenal-shirt.com

What do you think of this blog about Arsenal Football Club?

www.flairfootball.blogspot.com

Read it and tell me what you think

Answer
i think all blogs should say how overatted arsenal are as a team.