Arsenal Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Islington, London. The club was formed in Woolwich in 1886 as Dial Square before being renamed as Royal Arsenal, and then Woolwich Arsenal in 1893. In 1914, the club's name was shortened to Arsenal F.C. after moving to Highbury a year earlier. After spending their first four seasons solely participating in cup tournaments and friendlies, Arsenal became the first southern member admitted into the Football League in 1893. In spite of finishing fifth in the Second Division in 1919, the club was voted to rejoin the First Division at the expense of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur. Since that time, they have not fallen below the first tier of the English football league system and hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the top flight. The club remained in the Football League until 1992, when its First Division was superseded as English football's top level by the newly formed Premier League, of which they were an inaugural member.
The list encompasses the honours won by Arsenal at national, regional, county and friendly level, records set by the club, their managers and their players. The player records section itemises the club's leading goalscorers and those who have made most appearances in first-team competitions. It also records notable achievements by Arsenal players on the international stage, and the highest transfer fees paid and received by the club. Attendance records at Highbury, the Emirates Stadium, the club's home ground since 2006, and Wembley Stadium, their temporary home for UEFA Champions League games between 1998 and 1999, are also included.
Arsenal have won 14 top-flight titles, and hold the record for the most FA Cup wins, with 14. The club's record appearance maker is David O'Leary, who made 722 appearances between 1975 and 1993. Thierry Henry is Arsenal's record goalscorer, scoring 228 goals in total.
All figures are correct as of 6 August 2023.
Honours and achievements
Arsenal's first ever silverware was won as the Royal Arsenal in 1890. The Kent Junior Cup, won by Royal Arsenal's reserves, was the club's first trophy, while the first team's first trophy came three weeks later when they won the Kent Senior Cup. Their first national major honour came in 1930, when they won the FA Cup. The club enjoyed further success in the 1930s, winning another FA Cup and five Football League First Division titles. Arsenal won their first league and cup double in the 1970–71 season and twice repeated the feat, in 1997–98 and 2001–02, as well as winning a cup double of the FA Cup and League Cup in 1992–93. In 2003–04, Arsenal recorded an unbeaten top-flight league season, something achieved only once before by Preston North End in 1888–89, who only had to play 22 games. To mark the achievement, a special gold version of the Premier League trophy was commissioned and presented to the club the following season. Their most recent success came in 2023, when they defeated Manchester City 4–1 on penalties to secure their 17th Community Shield title.
Arsenal's honours and achievements include the following:
EFL and Premier League First Division (until 1992) and Premier League Winners (14): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2025–26 Runners-up (12): 1925–26, 1931–32, 1972–73, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2015–16, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25 Second Division (until 1992) Runners-up (1): 1903–04 EFL Cup Winners (2): 1986–87, 1992–93 Runners-up (7): 1967–68, 1968–69, 1987–88, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2017–18, 2025–26 League Centenary Trophy Winners (1): 1988 (record)
The FA FA Cup Winners (14): 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2019–20 (record) Runners-up (7): 1926–27, 1931–32, 1951–52, 1971–72, 1977–78, 1979–80, 2000–01 FA Community Shield Winners (18): 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2023, 2026 Runners-up (7): 1935, 1936, 1979, 1989, 1993, 2003, 2005
UEFA UEFA Champions League Runners-up (2): 2005–06, 2025–26 UEFA Europa League Runners-up (2): 1999–2000, 2018–19 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Winners (1): 1993–94 Runners-up (2): 1979–80, 1994–95 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Winners (1): 1969–70 UEFA Super Cup Runners-up (1): 1994
Regional honours
London FA London Senior Cup Winners (1): 1890–91 Runners-up (1): 1889–90 London Challenge Cup Winners (11): 1921–22, 1923–24, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1957–58, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1969–70 (record) Runners-up (6): 1914–15, 1925–26, 1936–37, 1960–61, 1965–66 London Charity Cup Winners (1): 1889–90
Kent County FA Kent Senior Cup Winners (1): 1889–90
Player records
Appearances Most league appearances: David O'Leary, 558 Most FA Cup appearances: David O'Leary, 70 Most League Cup appearances: David O'Leary, 70 Most European appearances: Thierry Henry, 86 Youngest first-team player: Ethan Nwaneri, 15 years, 181 days (against Brentford, Premier League, 18 September 2022) Oldest first-team player: Jock Rutherford, 41 years 159 days (against Manchester City, First Division, 20 March 1926) Most consecutive appearances: Tom Parker, 172 (from 3 April 1926 to 26 December 1929) Most separate spells with the club: Hugh McDonald, 3 (1905–06; 1908–10 and 1912–13)
Most appearances Competitive matches only, includes appearances as substitute. Numbers in brackets indicate goals scored.
RankPlayerYearsLeagueaFA CupLeague CupEuropeOtherbTotal1 558 (11) 70 (1) 70 (2) 21 (0) 3 (0) 722 (14) 2 1983–2002 504 (32) 54 (8) 59 (5) 48 (3) 4 (0) 669 (48)3 1961–1977 500 (53) 60 (10) 35 (3) 26 (2) 0 (0) 621 (68) 4 1988–2002 458 (25) 54 (1) 45 (0) 57 (2) 5 (0) 619 (28)5 1987–2000 440 (8) 47 (0) 49 (3) 43 (1) 5 (0) 584 (12)6 1990–2003 405 (0) 48 (0) 38 (0) 69 (0) 4 (0) 564 (0)7 1964–1980 397 (12) 67 (1) 36 (0) 27 (0) 1 (0) 528 (13)8 1965–1977 391 (9) 51 (4) 37 (2) 22 (2) 0 (0) 501 (17)9 1964–1976 379 (111) 44 (15) 34 (12) 24 (11) 0 (0) 481 (149)10 1964–1978 370 (10) 53 (1) 33 (3) 21 (1) 0 (0) 477 (15)
a. Includes the Football League and the Premier League. b. Includes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the FA Charity/Community Shield.
Goalscorers Most goals in a season: Ted Drake, 44 goals (in the 1934–35 season) Most league goals in a season: Ted Drake, 42 goals in the First Division, 1934–35 Most goals in a 38-game league season: Thierry Henry, 30 goals (in the Premier League, 2003–04), Robin van Persie, 30 goals (in the Premier League, 2011–12) Most goals in a match: Ted Drake, 7 goals (against Aston Villa, First Division, 14 December 1935) Youngest goalscorer: Max Dowman, 16 years, 73 days (against Everton, Premier League, 14 March 2026) Youngest hat-trick scorer: John Radford, 17 years, 315 days (against Wolverhampton Wanderers, First Division, 2 January 1965) Oldest goalscorer: Jock Rutherford, 39 years, 352 days (against Sheffield United, First Division, 20 September 1924)
Top goalscorers Thierry Henry is the all-time top goalscorer for Arsenal. He passed Ian Wright's eight-year record after scoring twice in a European tie against Sparta Prague in October 2005. Henry was Arsenal's leading goalscorer for seven consecutive seasons, from 1999–2000 to 2005–06.
Competitive matches only. Numbers in brackets indicate appearances made.
RankPlayerYearsLeagueaGames/GoalsFA CupGames/GoalsLeague CupGames/GoalsEuropeanGames/GoalsOtherbGames/GoalsTotalGames/Goals1 , 2012 258 / 175 26 / 8 3 / 2 86 / 42 4 / 1 377 / 2282 1991–1998 221 / 128 16 / 12 29 / 29 21 / 15 1 / 1 288 / 1853 1929–1947 350 / 150 42 / 26 0 / 0 0 / 0 4 / 2 396 / 1784 1964–1976 379 / 111 44 / 15 34 / 12 24 / 11 0 / 0 481 / 1495 1923–1931 204 / 125 27 / 14 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 0 232 / 139 1934–1945 168 / 124 14 / 12 0 / 0 0 / 0 2 / 3 184 / 1397 1948–1956 226 / 125 17 / 10 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 2 244 / 1378 2004–2012 193 / 96 17 / 10 12 / 6 53 / 20 2 / 0 278 / 1329 1926–1938 333 / 107 39 / 17 0 / 0 0 / 0 2 / 1 374 / 12510 1928–1934 181 / 113 25 / 10 0 / 0 0 / 0 2 / 1 208 / 124
a. Includes the Football League and the Premier League. b. Includes goals and appearances (including those as a substitute) in the FA Charity/Community Shield.
International
This section refers only to caps won while an Arsenal player. First capped player: Caesar Jenkyns, for Wales against Scotland on 21 March 1896 First capped player for England: Jimmy Ashcroft, against Ireland on 17 February 1906 Most capped player: Thierry Henry with 81 caps Most capped player for England: Kenny Sansom with 77 caps First players to play in the World Cup finals: Dave Bowen and Jack Kelsey, for Wales against Hungary on 8 June 1958 First players to play in a World Cup for England: Graham Rix and Kenny Sansom against France on 16 June 1982 Most players from one club in an England starting line-up: 7, against Italy – the so-called "Battle of Highbury" on 14 November 1934 First player to play in a World Cup final: Emmanuel Petit for France against Brazil on 12 July 1998 First players to win a World Cup winners' medal: Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira (1998 FIFA World Cup) First players to play in a European Championship final: Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira for France against Italy on 2 July 2000 First players to win a European Championship winners' medal: Thierry Henry, Emmanuel Petit and Patrick Vieira (UEFA Euro 2000) First player to win a Copa América winners' medal: Edu Gaspar (2004 Copa América) At 17 years and 75 days, Theo Walcott became the youngest player to earn an England cap, against Hungary on 30 May 2006.
Transfers
Declan Rice's transfer from West Ham United is Arsenal's record transfer fee paid for a player, the England international joined the club on 15 July 2023 for £100m, with another £5m in additional bonuses. At the time of the transfer, he was the second most expensive signing in Premier League history after Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández (£105.6m). Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli drew Arsenal's record fee received for a player transfer he joined Al Hilal for £60m on 3 September 2026.
In 1928, with Bolton Wanderers in financial trouble, Herbert Chapman's Arsenal made David Jack the first five-digit signing in world football, almost double the previous record; the final fee paid was £10,647 10 shillings. According to Bob Wall, Chapman negotiated the transfer with Bolton's representatives in a hotel bar, his tactic being to drink gin and tonics without any gin in them, while asking the waiter to double the alcohol served to the other side. Chapman remained sober while the Bolton representatives got very drunk, and managed to haggle down the fee to a price he considered a bargain. Jack's transfer to Arsenal was the second time Jack broke the world football transfer record, the first time being his £3,500 move from Plymouth Argyle to Bolton Wanderers in 1920. Arsenal have since broken the British record for the highest transfer fee paid three times: Bryn Jones' £14,000 move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1938, Alan Ball's £220,000 move from Everton in 1971, and Dennis Bergkamp's £7,500,000 move from Inter Milan in 1995. Additionally, Nicolas Anelka's £22,500,000 move from Arsenal to Real Madrid in 1999 broke the record for the highest transfer fee received by a British club.
For consistency, where the report mentions an initial fee potentially rising to a higher figure depending on contractual clauses being satisfied in the future, only the initial fee is listed in the tables.
+ Record transfer fees paid by Arsenal Rank Player Fee () Date Club transferred from 1 £100m 15 July 2023 West Ham United 2 £75m 8 August 2026 Newcastle United 3 £72m 1 August 2019 Lille 4 £62m 28 June 2023 Chelsea 5 £60m 23 August 2025 Crystal Palace