Arsenal Trophies & Titles

Arsenal logo red backgroundIn terms of clubs based in London, you aren’t going to find many that have enjoyed the same level of success as Arsenal. The Gunners enjoyed a tremendous period of success under the French manager Arsene Wenger, adding Premier League titles to FA Cup wins to ensure that the supporters had plenty to celebrate over the years. Even after Wenger’s departure, the club continued to enjoy success thanks to the foundations that he laid down. Ask anyone, though, and they will tell you that top-flight football didn’t being in 1992, with Arsenal enjoying title wins long before the advent of the Premier League.

The season that out for the club’s supporters more than any other was the 2003-2004 campaign. The Gunners went unbeaten over the course of 38 matches, which is the only time that that specific feat has occurred in the English game. As a result, the club was presented with a special gold version of the trophy that the captain lifted at the end of the season. Whilst success on the European stage hasn’t been as easy for Arsenal to come by, they have dominated the domestic game at various different times over the years in a way that has left Gunners happy with their lot and also hungry for more.

League Titles

Arsenal win
katatonia82, Bigstockphoto.com

Whilst Arsenal might not be able to compete with the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United in terms of sheer number of league titles that they’ve picked up over the years, they have still managed to enjoy the sort of success in the top-flight that most other teams can only dream of. It says plenty about the Gunners that the only titles that they have ever won have been top-flight ones, enjoying success both in the First Division and when the top-flight was rebranded to become the Premier League. As you will see, they have enjoyed periods of sustained success, interspersed with standout seasons.

Here is a look at the times that Arsenal have won the top-flight, alongside information about the teams that came second to give you a sense of how close or otherwise their league wins were:

Season Points Second-Place Team Second-Place Points
1930-1931 66 Aston Villa 59
1932-1933 58 Aston Villa 54
1933-1934 59 Huddersfield Town 56
1934-1935 58 Sunderland 54
1937-1938 52 Wolverhampton Wanderers 51
1947-1948 59 Manchester United 52
1952-1953 54 Preston North End 54
1970-1971 65 Leeds United 64
1988-1989 76 Liverpool 76
1990-1991 83 Liverpool 76
1997-1998 78 Manchester United 77
2001-2002 87 Liverpool 80
2003-2004 90 Chelsea 79

It may appear as though some of Arsenal’s league title campaigns were quite close, particularly during the 1930s, but in reality those were the days when a club was only awarded two points for a win instead of three. A gap of four points, therefore, was the equivalent of being six points clear in the modern day. The obvious exceptions to that came in the 1952-1953 season and the 1988-1989 campaign. In the first of those the two teams finished with an identical record of games won, drawn and lost, but Arsenal’s Goal Average was superior to that of Preston North End by 0.999, having a Goal Average of 1.516 to 1.417.

The 1988-1989 season, meanwhile, is considered to be one of the most exciting in English football and one of the best in Arsenal’s history. The Gunners went to Anfield on the final day of the season, with the Merseyside club, still reeling from the loss of 97 lives in the Hillsborough Disaster, knowing that they would win the title as long as they didn’t lose by two goals or more. Arsenal were winning 1-0, which wasn’t enough, until Michael Thomas raced through and scored in the dying moments of the match. The two clubs had identical points, wins, losses, draws and goal differences, with the Gunners winning the title on goals scored.

Cups & Trophies

Emirates Stadium
Emirates Stadium (Bigstockphoto.com, Arijeet Bannerjee)

For the biggest clubs in the English game, which Arsenal are most certainly one, the top-flight title will always be the most important thing for them to win. Cups are delightful addition when the league has already been won, or a great consolation prize if the league is beyond them. In the case of Arsenal, they have been FA Cup specialists over the years, sometimes boasting the honour of having won it more than any other side. Meanwhile, trophies like the League Cup have been harder for the Gunners to come by, which is an intriguing part of their history.

Charity Shield / Community Shield

Community Shield logoThe Charity Shield, which was the original name for the trophy, had to be rebranded as the Community Shield when it was discovered that the Football Association wasn’t giving enough money to charity for it to have the word ‘charity’ in its name. You might imagine that the FA would increase the money donated to charity, but instead they avoided having to help those in need by just changing the competition’s name. It has also seen different routes of qualifying for it over the years, but the Gunners have qualified for it enough times to see the captain lift it above their head on several occasions.

Here is a look at the times that the Gunners have won it, with information on the opposition and the scoreline. Arsenal’s score will always be the first one:

Year Opposition Scoreline
1930 Sheffield Wednesday 2-1
1931 West Bromwich Albion 1-0
1933 Everton 3-0
1934 Manchester City 4-0
1938 Preston North End 2-1
1948 Manchester United 4-3
1953 Blackpool 3-1
1991 Tottenham Hotspur 0-0*
1998 Manchester United 3-0
1999 Manchester United 2-1
2002 Liverpool 1-0
2004 Manchester United 3-1
2014 Manchester City 3-0
2015 Chelsea 1-0
2017 Chelsea 1-1**
2020 Liverpool 1-1***
2023 Manchester City 1-1****
  • *In 1991, the game ended in a 1-1 draw, which at the time meant that the clubs shared the trophy. One team held it for six months before the other team took over for the following six months.
  • **In 2017, the match between Arsenal and Chelsea ended 1-1 at the end of normal time, which resulted in a penalty shootout that the Gunners won 4-1.
  • ***In 2020, the match between Arsenal and Liverpool ended 1-1 at the end of normal time, which resulted in a penalty shootout that the Gunners won 5-4.
  • ****In 2023, the match between Arsenal and Manchester City ended 1-1 at the end of normal time, which resulted in a penalty shootout that the Gunners won 4-1.

FA Cup

FA Cup logoWhen it comes to the FA Cup, no team in England has been more successful than Arsenal. They have won the trophy countless times, with only Manchester United really threatening their dominance. Arsene Wenger in particular saw the virtue in picking up FA Cup wins, lifting the trophy times as the manager of the North London club. Here is a look at the number of times that the Gunners have won it, including the opposition and the scoreline. Arsenal’s score will always be first one:

Year of Final Opposition Scoreline
1930 Huddersfield Town 2-0
1936 Sheffield United 1-0
1950 Liverpool 2-0
1971 Liverpool 2-1 a.e.t.
1979 Manchester United 3-2
1993 Sheffield Wednesday 2-1*
1998 Newcastle United 2-0
2002 Chelsea 2-0
2003 Southampton 1-0
2005 Manchester United 0-0**
2014 Hull City 3-2 a.e.t.
2015 Aston Villa 4-0
2017 Chelsea 2-1
2020 2-1 Chelsea
  • a.e.t. means that the game went to extra-time.
  • *The 1993 FA Cup final finished 0-0 originally, resulting in a replay. Arsenal won the second game 2-1 after extra-time.
  • **The 2005 FA Cup final finished 0-0 after extra-time, resulting in a penalty shootout that Arsenal won 5-4.

League Cup

EFL Cup logoThe League Cup will always be considered to be inferior to the FA Cup, making it the third-most important trophy in domestic football. Even so, teams like to win silverware, so it is somewhat surprising that Arsenal have won it so few times in their history. Given that it is the first trophy available to win each season, some managers like to try to win it to ensure that their season is a success no matter what happens in other competitions. Here is a look at how Arsenal have got on in it over the years, with their score first:

Year of Final Opposition Scoreline
1987 Liverpool 2-1
1993 Sheffield Wednesday 2-1

Other Noteworthy Trophies

The Gunners have lifted more than a few minor trophies in their history, such as when they won the Kent Junior Cup when they were known as Royal Arsenal in 1890. The likes of London Cups, County Cups and pre-season friendlies such as the Emirates Cup might be noteworthy in the history of other clubs, but they aren’t for a side like the Gunners. Here is a look at the trophies that they have won that aren’t important enough for their own category but are at least worth mentioning:

Year of Final Competition Opposition Scoreline
1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate*
1988 Football League Centenary Trophy Manchester United 2-1
1994 European Cup Winners’ Cup Parma 1-0

*The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over two legs. Arsenal lost the first leg 3-1 in Belgium, but won the second-leg 3-0 against Anderlecht, lifting the trophy thanks to a 4-3 aggregate scoreline.

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