The origin of the Arsenal's nickname (The Gunners)

Dear my readers, today I wanna show you the origin of the Arsenal's nickname 'the Gunners'. Before any clarification about this matter,  you should first understand a little bit history about this football club from establishment and beyond. Your are welcome!.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England, that plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. It was originally formed in 1886 by a group of workers at the Woolwich armaments factory in south London, and the club was first known as Dial Square.

The name was soon changed to Royal Arsenal, though when the club turned professional in 1891 the name changed again to Woolwich Arsenal. The prefix was later dropped and the club became Arsenal Football Club. For a period it was popularly known as The Arsenal though this was never the club's official name.

The Royal Arsenal was an armaments factory and storehouse; its name is ultimately of Arabic origin, meaning ‘house of industry’. When the club moved from south-east London to Highbury in 1913, it dropped the word Woolwich from its name and became Arsenal Football Club

Although Arsenal was founded in 1886, it was not until 1897 that the club appointed a permanent manager in charge of first-team affairs, with Thomas Mitchell universally recognised as Arsenal's first professional manager. Mitchell joined Arsenal five months after resigning from Blackburn Rovers in October 1896.

Arsenal was the first club from the South of England to join The Football League, in 1893, and they reached the First Division in 1904. Relegated only once, in 1913, they continue the longest streak in the top division, and have won the second-most top-flight matches in English football history.

In 1913, the club crossed the city to Arsenal Stadium in Highbury, becoming close neighbours of Tottenham Hotspur, and creating the North London derby. In the 1930s, Arsenal won five League Championships and two FA Cups, and another FA Cup and two Championships after the war. In 1970–71, they won their first League and FA Cup Double. Between 1989 and 2005, they won five League titles and five FA Cups, including two more Doubles. They completed the 20th century with the highest average league position.

In 2006, they moved to the nearby Emirates Stadium. In terms of revenue, Arsenal is the ninth highest-earning football club in the world, earned €487.6m in 2016–17 season. Based on social media activity from 2014 to 2015, Arsenal's fanbase is the fifth largest in the world. In 2018, Forbes estimated the club was the third most valuable in England, with the club being worth $2.24 billion

Arsene Wenger was the manager of Arsenal from 1996 to 2018, where he was the longest-serving and most successful in the club's history. His contribution to English football through changes to scouting, players' training and diet regimens revitalised Arsenal and aided the globalisation of the sport in the 21st century.

Arsenal won 13 League titles, a record 13 FA Cups, two League Cups, the League Centenary Trophy, 15 FA Community Shields, one UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Arsenal have won 45 trophies in their illustrious history till the year 2017.  The following descriptions show 45 trophies won by the club from the year 1930 to 2017. (Source: Arsenal football Club official website www.arsenal.com).

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS (13)

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

FA CUP WINNERS (13)*

2017  Beat Chelsea 2-1

2015  Beat Aston Villa 4-0

2014  Beat Hull City 3-2 (aet)

2005  Beat Manchester United 5-4 on pens (aet: after 0-0 draw)

2003  Beat Southampton 1-0

2002  Beat Chelsea 2-0

1998  Beat Newcastle United 2-0

1993  Beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 (aet: replay after 1-1 draw)

1979  Beat Manchester United 3-2

1971  Beat Liverpool 2-1 (aet)

1950  Beat Liverpool 2-0

1936  Beat Sheffield United 1-0

1930  Beat Huddersfield Town 2-0

* Arsenal currently hold the record for most FA Cup wins (2017)

LEAGUE CUP WINNERS (2)

1993  Beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1

1987  Beat Liverpool 2-1

EUROPEAN FAIRS CUP WINNERS (1)

1970  Beat Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate

EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS CUP WINNERS (1)

1994  Beat Parma 1-0 (in Copenhagen)

CHARITY/COMMUNITY SHIELD WINNERS (14+1 SHARED)

2017  Beat Chelsea 4-1 on pens (aet: after 1-1)

2015  Beat Chelsea 1-0

2014  Beat Manchester City 3-0

2004  Beat Manchester United 3-1

2002  Beat Liverpool 1-0

1999  Beat Manchester United 2-1

1998  Beat Manchester United 3-0

1991  Drew with Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 (shared)

1953  Beat Blackpool 3-1

1948  Beat Manchester United 4-3

1938  Beat Preston North End 2-1

1934  Beat Manchester City 4-0

1933  Beat Everton 3-0

1931  Beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0

1930  Beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1

Source/Credit: www.arsenal.com

SO,  WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE ARSENAL'S NICK NAME "THE GUNNERS"

The nickname ‘Gunners’, goes back to the club’s original home, south of the Thames, in Woolwich. As it was formed in 1886 as Woolwich Arsenal by workers from the Dial Square munitions factory, they dropped ‘Woolwich’ from their name in 1913 and moved to Highbury, but kept both the name ‘Arsenal’ and nickname ‘The Gunners’.

There are a number of theories as to why Arsenal fans have a different nickname to their team. The most famous theory says that the club was formed in 1886 as Woolwich Arsenal by workers from the Dial Square Munitions factory. The workers here used to manufacture guns and ammunition, hence the name GUNNERS.

The above clarification reveals the truth about the origin of the arsenal's nickname 'The Gunners'. If you have any other explanations about the origin of the arsenal's nickname you are free to leave your thoughts on the comments section below. You are welcome! Don't miss our future posts, Stay tuned!.

Posted by: Lusubilo A. Mwaijengo