Arsenal F.C. - Statistics and Records

Statistics and Records

Arsenal's tally of 13 League Championships is the third highest in English football, after Manchester United (19) and Liverpool (18), while the total of 10 FA Cups is the second highest, after Manchester United (11). Arsenal have achieved three League and FA Cup "Doubles" (in 1971, 1998 and 2002), a feat only previously achieved by Manchester United (in 1994, 1996 and 1999), and in 1993 were the first side in English football to complete the FA Cup and League Cup double. They were also the first London club to reach the final of the UEFA Champions League, in 2006, losing the final 2–1 to Barcelona.

Arsenal have one of the best top-flight records in history, having finished below fourteenth only seven times. Arsenal also have the highest average league finishing position for the period 1900–1999, with an average league placing of 8.5. In addition, they are one of only six clubs to have won the FA Cup twice in succession, in 2002 and 2003. Arsenal also hold the record for the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League at 49 games, and are the only team to have gone an entire Premier League season unbeaten in 2003–04.

David O'Leary holds the record for Arsenal appearances, having played 722 first-team matches between 1975 and 1993. Fellow centre half and former captain Tony Adams comes second, having played 669 times. The record for a goalkeeper is held by David Seaman, with 564 appearances.

Thierry Henry is the club's top goalscorer with 228 goals in all competitions between 1999 and 2012, having surpassed Ian Wright's total of 185 in October 2005. Wright's record had stood since September 1997, when he overtook the longstanding total of 178 goals set by winger Cliff Bastin in 1939. Henry also holds the club record for goals scored in the League, with 176, a record that had been held by Bastin until February 2006.

Arsenal's record home attendance is 73,707, for a UEFA Champions League match against RC Lens on 25 November 1998 at Wembley Stadium, where the club formerly played home European matches because of the limits on Highbury's capacity. The record attendance for an Arsenal match at Highbury is 73,295, for a 0–0 draw against Sunderland on 9 March 1935, while that at Emirates Stadium is 60,161, for a 2–2 draw with Manchester United on 3 November 2007.

Arsenal have also set records in English football, including the most consecutive seasons spent in the top flight (85 as of 2011–12) and the longest run of unbeaten League matches (49 between May 2003 and October 2004). This included all 38 matches of their title-winning 2003–04 season, when Arsenal became only the second club to finish a top-flight campaign unbeaten, after Preston North End (who played only 22 matches) in 1888–89.

Arsenal also set a Champions League record during the 2005–06 season by going ten matches without conceding a goal, beating the previous best of seven set by A.C. Milan. They went a record total stretch of 995 minutes without letting an opponent score; the streak ended in the final, when Samuel Eto'o scored a 76th-minute equaliser for Barcelona.