Arsenal Football Club was founded on 1 December 1886 as Dial Square by munition workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich, south-east London. Renamed Royal Arsenal, then Woolwich Arsenal, the club moved across the Thames to Highbury in north London in 1913 and dropped "Woolwich" from its name in 1914. Arsenal became the first southern English club to be elected to the Football League in 1893. The 2006 move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium kept the club rooted in Islington.
Herbert Chapman's transformative tenure (1925-1934) made Arsenal the first major club in English football. Chapman pioneered the WM formation, introduced numbered shirts, white-sleeved jerseys, and floodlights — innovations that defined the modern game. His sides won two league titles before his sudden death in 1934, with George Allison continuing the dynasty for three more championships through the 1930s. Bertie Mee's 1970-71 side completed the rare league-and-FA-Cup Double, and George Graham's defensively-organised teams of the late 1980s and 1990s added two more league crowns and the 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
Arsène Wenger's 22-year reign (1996-2018) revolutionised English football's culture and transformed Arsenal into a global brand. Three Premier League titles came under Wenger, including the legendary 2003-04 "Invincibles" — the only English club to go a 38-game league season unbeaten — featuring Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Sol Campbell. Seven FA Cups give Arsenal a record 14 overall. After Wenger's departure, Mikel Arteta took charge in 2019 and rebuilt the club around Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard, Declan Rice and William Saliba, leading consecutive Premier League runner-up finishes and the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League final (lost to Paris Saint-Germain). The North London Derby against Tottenham Hotspur defines the club's identity, with the Stan Kroenke ownership group (KSE) holding the club since 2007.