Arsenal

For a generation of football fans, Arsenal became a joke before they became a history lesson. “4rsenal”, “4senal” the kind of nickname that grew during the years when fourth place became associated with the club and when younger supporters were too young to remember the greatest years of Arsène Wenger. Mikel Arteta has brought Arsenal back into the fight at the top but for many fans the biggest trophies still belong to another era.

That can make it easy to forget just how much history sits behind the badge. Arsenal were transformed into one of England’s first great football powers under Herbert Chapman in the 1930s. Decades later, Arsène Wenger changed the club again, modernising English football and creating one of the most famous teams the Premier League has ever seen.

The Invincibles of 2003/04 went through an entire league season without losing a single match. In 1989, Arsenal travelled to Anfield needing to win by two goals to become champions and did exactly that, with Michael Thomas scoring one of the most dramatic title-winning goals in English football history.

The club has also been home to players who became part of football culture far beyond North London. Thierry Henry, Arsenal’s record goalscorer. Tony Adams, captain and symbol of the club for an entire generation. Dennis Bergkamp, one of the most elegant and technically gifted players to wear the shirt.

Arsenal’s history is not one of constant success. There have been long waits, painful near-misses and periods when the club seemed to live in the shadow of its own past. But that past is exactly why Arsenal matters. Chapman. Highbury. Anfield 1989. Wenger. The Invincibles. Henry, Adams, Bergkamp. Arsenal are not simply a club that spent years finishing fourth. They are one of the clubs that helped shape English football.