Arsenal got the nickname ‘Gunners’ since the club was formed by munitions factory workers in Woolwich. The fans of the club are referred as ‘Gooners’, which could be an altered enunciation of the term ‘Gunners’, just like Newcastle fans got the name ‘Toon army’ from a transformed pronunciation of ‘town’. There’s another common theory suggesting the name came from an Arsenal fan group named the ‘Goon Squad’.

Arsenal went through a series of name changes from 1886 to 1919 before settling on their current name. The club was established by ammunition factory workers in 1886 and was originally named Dial Square. Just a month after the club’s inception, they were renamed as ‘Royal Arsenals’, after the British armed force facility in Woolwich. By 1919, the club began to identify themselves simply as ‘Arsenal FC’.







Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur share one of the fiercest rivalries in English football-the North London derby. But Arsenal aren’t originally from the Northern part of the capital city unlike their hated arch-rivals. The club was originaly founded in Woolwich, located in the south-east London. Arsenal’s move to Highbury in 1913 laid foundation of their intense rivalry with Spurs as it brought the clubs’ home grounds within a four mile radius.