Women's football club in London, England
Football club
Arsenal Women Football Club
, commonly referred to as just
Arsenal
,
[2]
[3]
is an English professional
women's football
club based in
Islington
,
London
, England. The club plays in the
Women's Super League
, the top tier of
English women's football
. Arsenal were founded in 1987 following an initiative by
Vic Akers
, who became the club's first, longest-serving, and most successful manager. He guided Arsenal to continued success until his departure in 2009, winning the most top-flight matches in English football history. The club have sustained this record,
[4]
and have won the most
doubles
and
trebles
in English football history. Arsenal have also completed a record seven
unbeaten
league seasons, setting a number of English records for longest top-flight unbeaten run, for goals scored, and points won.
[5]
[6]
Arsenal are statistically the most successful club in English women's football, holding the records for most titles won in each domestic competition they have played in. The club have won 15
league titles
, 14
Women's FA Cups
, 7
Women's League Cups
, 10
Women's National League Cups
, 5
Women's FA Community Shields
, and are the only English club to win the
UEFA Women's Champions League
. They are also the only English club to win the continental treble while going undefeated in all competitions played that same season. In the 2006?07 season, the club became the first in the history of women's football to achieve the continental European
sextuple
.
[7]
Arsenal play their home games primarily at the
Emirates Stadium
, and others at
Meadow Park
in
Borehamwood
. In the
2023?24 season
, Arsenal sold out the 60,000 capacity Emirates Stadium three times against
Chelsea
,
Manchester United
, and North London rivals
Tottenham Hotspur
; and broke the
WSL record attendance
three times in total during the season. Current plans for the club are for all matches to be played at the Emirates Stadium,
[8]
beginning with all league matches, and then qualifying rounds of the champions league, with domestic cup games to follow.
[9]
History
[
edit
]
1987?2009: Founding and early success
[
edit
]
Arsenal Football Club
had explored the idea of a women's team from as early as the 1960s, when local teams asked for financial support in an attempt to turn semi-professional; the Ladies of Islington notably sought support from the club, but were turned down by the Arsenal hierarchy in 1965.
[10]
Following
The Football Association
's (FA) decision to rescind the ban on
women's football in England
in 1969, the game's popularity increased following the creation of official league matches and knock-out competition organised by the
Women's Football Association
(WFA).
[11]
Millwall Lionesses
had become the first women's team to affiliate with a prominent men's team. The
Rotherhithe
-based side was founded in 1971 and pioneered a successful youth community scheme for young women with support from their
parent club
.
[12]
Arsenal looked to replicate Millwall's success and founded their own women's team and youth programmes for girls by amalgamating with local team Aylesbury Ladies.
[13]
Arsenal Ladies Football Club was formed in 1987 by long-term Arsenal men's kit manager
Vic Akers
, and he was appointed as the amateur side's initial manager.
[14]
With the support of then vice chairman
David Dein
, Akers' plea for resources such as
playing boots
, the men's team coach and the use of training facilities were often answered in a period where financial support for the women's game was scarce; Arsenal thus dominated the women's game in England during the 1990s and 2000s.
[14]
They won their first major honour, the
Women's League Cup
, in the
1991?92
season and won promotion to the
FA Women's Premier League
from the
FA Women's National League South
in the same year. A season later, they won the top division title at the first time of asking.
[15]
This began a period of sustained dominance for the club, who soon permanently moved into
Meadow Park
in
Borehamwood
, Hertfordshire, in a groundshare agreement with non-league side
Boreham Wood
. Following the successes of the men's team, Arsenal made a conscious effort to brand women's football as equitable. Over the next 20 years, Arsenal approached all facets of the game, such as training, tactics, scouting, and finance, with the goal of growing the club and winning trophies. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Arsenal topped the Premier League for many seasons, boasting academy graduates like
Marieanne Spacey
and
Faye White
, as well as spending the club's income on stars like
Emma Byrne
, enabling the club to win a slew of trophies.
[16]
Akers stepped down as manager of Arsenal's Women's team during the summer of 1997 to become kit manager for the men's team. Terry Howard took charge of the team for the 1997?98 season
[17]
but Akers returned in 1998?99 following Howard's departure. The club became semi-professional in 2002.
[18]
[19]
Under Akers' stewardship, Arsenal enjoyed unilateral domestic success, as the club claimed 11 league titles, nine
FA Women's Cup
titles, ten
FA Women's Premier League Cup
titles, and five
FA Women's Community Shield
wins. This included seven straight league wins from the 2003?04 season to 2009?10 season, as well as six unbeaten campaigns.
[20]
[21]
Akers led the team to the most successful club season in English women's football in the 2006?07 season as the team won every competition available to them, including the
UEFA Women's Cup
. The win marked Arsenal's only European trophy and was the first time an English club had won the competition.
[22]
[23]
This unique sextuple was recognized with The Committee Award by the
Sports Journalists' Association
in the 2007 Sports Journalists' Awards.
[24]
Akers also led the team to a number of English women's football records, including a six-year league unbeaten run from October 2003
[25]
to March 2009, marking 108 games without defeat. During that spell, Arsenal won a record 51 league games in a row, between November 2005 and April 2008.
[14]
Akers retired from management following a domestic treble in the
2008?09 season
.
2009?present: Post-Akers and the WSL
[
edit
]
Akers was succeeded by
Tony Gervaise
,
[26]
who resigned in February 2010 after only eight months in charge, suggesting his position had been undermined by outside interference.
[26]
In an unusual development, reserve coach
Laura Harvey
became first-team manager and Gervaise became reserve coach.
[27]
This appointment marked the club's first female coach in any capacity.
After a year break in play in preparation for a reformatted league, Arsenal were named as founder members of the
FA Women's Super League
, which commenced in the spring of 2011.
[28]
Arsenal won the inaugural season, marking their eighth consecutive English title, and secured another domestic double by also winning the FA Cup.
[29]
After a two-year period without a league triumph,
Shelley Kerr
was announced as Harvey's successor in 2013. Under her management, the club won two FA Women's Cups, including a win in
2014
two weeks after the men's team won the
2014 FA Cup
, completing a rare FA Cup double for the club. But after a poor run of form which saw Arsenal gain only one point from the opening four league matches of the 2014 season, including exits from the Champions League to minnows Birmingham and a shock loss to Reading, Kerr resigned.
[30]
She was replaced by
Pedro Losa
.
[31]
Losa led the team to the
2015 FA WSL Cup
[32]
and the
2016 FA Women's Cup
.
[33]
Moreover, he helped to rebuild the squad, notably recruiting younger stars like
Danielle van de Donk
,
Kim Little
,
Beth Mead
and
Vivianne Miedema
. Losa also brought through youngsters like
Leah Williamson
. However, Losa left following a poor start to the
2017-18 season
[34]
and was replaced by
Joe Montemurro
.
In July 2017, the club rebranded as
Arsenal Women Football Club
,
[3]
[15]
in a move described by Arsenal as "clear signal of togetherness and unity", and to retain the progressive ethos of the club.
[2]
Utilizing the core Losa helped build, Montemurro led Arsenal to the
2018?19 Women's Super League
title with a game to spare. The win marked their first title in seven years, and marked the club's return to the
Champions League
for the first time in five years. Montemurro left the club at the end of the
2020?21 season
.
[35]
Following the resignation of Montemurro, the club appointed
Jonas Eidevall
as head coach of Arsenal.
[35]
On 24 September 2022, the
North London derby
at the
Emirates Stadium
recorded an attendance figure of 47,367, the highest ever for a WSL match. Arsenal won the match 4?0.
[36]
[37]
On 5 March 2023, Arsenal defeated
Chelsea
3?1 in the
Women's League Cup final
to win their first trophy since 2019.
[38]
Arsenal repeated the feat
the following year
, defeating Chelsea 1?0 after extra time to win their ninth Women's League Cup title.
[39]
In the
2023?24 season
, the WSL record attendance was broken three times at the Emirates; against Liverpool in September with 54,115,
[40]
Chelsea in December with 59,042,
[41]
followed by Manchester United in February with 60,160.
[42]
In March, the Emirates again sold out for the North London derby against
Tottenham Hotspur
with 60,050 in attendance, becoming the second biggest crowd in WSL history.
[43]
Kits
[
edit
]
Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors
[
edit
]
Stadium
[
edit
]
Arsenal played the majority of their home matches at
Meadow Park
, home of
National League
side
Boreham Wood
, in
Borehamwood
, Hertfordshire. The ground has a capacity of 4,500.
In the
2022?23 season
, the club had the highest home attendance of all clubs in the WSL, with an average of 15,046 fans in attendance per match.
[48]
The average was taken from matches hosted at both Meadow Park and Emirates Stadium across the season. For the
2023?24 season
, Arsenal played five of their matches at the Emirates Stadium, and the remainder at Meadow Park,
[49]
averaging 30,017 attendance per march.
[50]
As of the
2024?25 season
, Emirates Stadium is the main home of Arsenal.
[51]
The team will play 8?11 WSL matches and
Champions League 2024?25 matches
at the Emirates, with the remainder of matches played at Meadow Park.
[52]
Players
[
edit
]
First-team squad
[
edit
]
- As of 20 May 2024
[53]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
[
edit
]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Academy
[
edit
]
Arsenal also operate a
reserve team
, which is mainly formed from Academy players. The reserves have won four FA Women's Premier Reserve League titles and five FA Women's Premier Reserve League Cups in their history.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under
FIFA eligibility rules
. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Former players
[
edit
]
For notable current and former players, see
Category:Arsenal W.F.C. players
.
Management and staff
[
edit
]
Current staff
[
edit
]
As of 21 September 2023
Position
|
Name
|
Head of women's football
|
Clare Wheatley
|
Head coach
|
Jonas Eidevall
|
Assistant coaches
|
Aaron D'Antino
|
Patrick Winqvist
|
Kelly Smith
|
Renee Slegers
|
Goalkeeper coach
|
Sebastian Barton
|
Lead strength and conditioning coach
|
Eoin Clarkin
|
Head of sports medicine and sports science
|
Gary Lewin
|
Doctor
|
Dionisio Izquierdo
|
Lead physiotherapist
|
Rose Glendinning
|
Sports psychologist
|
Matt Domville
|
Analyst
|
Jonny Dixon
|
Team operations manager
|
Holly Skinner
|
Academy manager
|
James Honeyman
|
Managerial history
[
edit
]
Awards
[
edit
]
The following Arsenal players have been inducted into the English Hall of Fame.
Women's Super League Hall of Fame
[
edit
]
The following Arsenal players have been inducted into the Women's Super League Hall of Fame.
Honours
[
edit
]
Arsenal are statistically the most successful club in English women's football, holding the records for most titles won in each top-tier domestic competition they have played in.
[7]
- As of 5 March 2023
[63]
- Legend
-
? Indicates that Arsenal are the most successful club in the competition
- †
? Indicates the title was shared with another club
County
[
edit
]
- London County FA Women's Cup
- Winners (10) (record):
1994?95, 1995?96, 1996?97, 1999?00, 2003?04, 2006?07, 2007?08, 2008?09, 2009?10, 2010?11
UEFA club coefficient ranking
[
edit
]
In European football, the
UEFA coefficients
are statistics used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions.
[64]
Club coefficients are used to rank individual clubs for seeding in the UEFA Women's Champions League.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Including:
- ^
Arsenal played in the competition when it was a part of the country's joint second division, in conjunction with the
northern section
. Today the competition is a part of the country's third division and is called the FA Women's National League South.
- ^
Previously called the FA WSL Cup (2010?2018)
- ^
Previously called the FA Women's Premier League Cup (1994?2018)
- ^
Previously called the FA Charity Shield (2000?2002)
- ^
Previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001?2009)
- ^
a
b
c
d
Did not participate in European competitions that season
Citations
[
edit
]
- ^
"Emirates Stadium Arsenal FC, Info & Map"
.
Premierleague.com
. Retrieved
11 November
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Important update from our women's team"
. Arsenal Media. 28 July 2017
. Retrieved
28 July
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Women's Super League One : Arsenal drop 'Ladies' from name"
.
BBC Sport
. 28 July 2017
. Retrieved
29 July
2017
.
- ^
"Arsenal WFC ? Records and Statistics"
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10 June
2019
.
- ^
"Arsenal Women ? History"
. Arsenal F.C
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2019
.
- ^
"England ? Arsenal WFC"
. Soccerway
. Retrieved
10 June
2019
.
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a
b
Miller, Nick (25 December 2017).
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.
ESPN
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2022
.
- ^
"Arsenal Women sell out Emirates Stadium for North London Derby"
.
Gooners
. 2 March 2024.
- ^
"Emirates Stadium to host more AWFC matches"
. Arsenal Media. 19 May 2022
. Retrieved
21 July
2022
.
- ^
Smith, Jackie (1 January 1965). "Football Girls will fight on".
Islington Gazette
. p. 9.
- ^
"The Story of Women's Football in England"
. The Football Association
. Retrieved
5 January
2024
.
- ^
"About the Lionesses"
. Millwall Supporters Club. 3 August 2007. Archived from
the original
on 28 September 2007
. Retrieved
5 January
2024
.
- ^
"Arsenal Ladies FC are a franchise"
.
Women's Football Archive
. 18 October 2014
. Retrieved
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2024
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kessel, Anna (4 May 2008).
"The invincibles"
.
The Guardian
. London
. Retrieved
25 April
2010
.
- ^
a
b
Trehan, Dev (28 July 2017).
"Arsenal Ladies renamed Arsenal Women"
.
Sky Sports
. Retrieved
29 July
2017
.
- ^
"Arsenal and its Greatest Women of All Time"
. DailyCannon. 10 December 2017
. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
"Howard Takes Charge For New Season (page 31)"
. Arsenal FC. 22 October 2023
. Retrieved
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2023
.
- ^
Tony Leighton (15 May 2002).
"Banks stays with semi-pro Gunners"
. BBC Sport
. Retrieved
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2010
.
- ^
"Players"
. Arsenal F.C
. Retrieved
27 July
2021
.
- ^
"Arsenal Ladies Honours"
. Arsenal F.C. Archived from
the original
on 12 August 2008
. Retrieved
21 May
2007
.
- ^
"Arsenal Ladies 4?1 Chelsea"
. Arsenal F.C. 28 April 2008
. Retrieved
6 May
2008
.
- ^
Tony Leighton (29 April 2007).
"Arsenal boss hails Uefa Cup win"
. BBC Sport
. Retrieved
6 May
2007
.
- ^
"FA Women's Premier League"
.
The FA
. Archived from
the original
on 29 September 2015
. Retrieved
28 September
2007
.
- ^
"Sports Journalists' Awards 2007"
.
sportsjournalists.co.uk
. Archived from
the original
on 5 December 2007
. Retrieved
6 February
2008
.
- ^
"Ladies complete unbeaten League century"
. Arsenal F.C. Archived from
the original
on 5 March 2016
. Retrieved
1 April
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Tony Leighton (20 February 2010).
"Arsenal Ladies boss Tony Gervaise reveals reasons behind shock exit"
. BBC
. Retrieved
26 February
2011
.
- ^
"Laura Harvey becomes Arsenal Ladies manager"
. Arsenal F.C. 11 February 2010. Archived from
the original
on 14 February 2010
. Retrieved
11 February
2010
.
- ^
"Lincoln Ladies FA Women's Super League bid success"
. BBC. 22 March 2010.
Archived
from the original on 28 March 2010
. Retrieved
2 April
2010
.
- ^
"Arsenal take English WSL title"
. UEFA. 28 August 2011
. Retrieved
29 August
2011
.
- ^
Arsenal miss Champions League next season
Archived
20 October 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
fitaa.com. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2013.
- ^
"Arsenal Ladies: Pedro Martinez Losa appointed new manager"
. BBC Sport. 29 August 2014
. Retrieved
2 May
2017
.
- ^
"Continental Cup final: Arsenal Ladies 3?0 Notts County Ladies"
. BBC Sport. 1 November 2015
. Retrieved
2 May
2017
.
- ^
"Women's FA Cup final: Arsenal Ladies 1?0 Chelsea Ladies"
. BBC Sport. 14 May 2016
. Retrieved
2 May
2017
.
- ^
"Pedro Martinez Losa leaves Arsenal"
. 25 October 2017.
- ^
a
b
Westwood, James (28 June 2021).
"Arsenal Women appoint Eidevall to succeed Montemurro as new head coach"
.
Goal
. Retrieved
25 September
2022
.
- ^
Imber, Leon (24 September 2022).
"Arsenal-Tottenham derby smashes WSL attendance record"
.
ESPN
. Retrieved
25 September
2022
.
- ^
Unwin, Will (24 September 2022).
"Arsenal 4?0 Tottenham: Women's Super League ? as it happened"
.
the Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
.
- ^
Smith, Emma (5 March 2023).
"Women's League Cup: Arsenal win first trophy since 2019 ? reaction"
.
BBC Sport
.
- ^
Gibson, Aidan (31 March 2024).
"Report: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea (inc goal)"
.
Arseblog News
. Retrieved
13 May
2024
.
- ^
Burhan, Asif (1 October 2023).
"Liverpool Women Stun Arsenal In Front Of Record WSL Attendance"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Arsenal-Chelsea sets new WSL attendance record"
.
ESPN.com
. 10 December 2023
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Women's Super League: Attendance record broken in Arsenal's win over Man Utd"
.
BBC Sport
. 15 February 2024
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
Wrack, Suzanne (3 March 2024).
"Arsenal and Russo delight sold-out crowd with WSL derby win over Spurs"
.
The Guardian
.
ISSN
0261-3077
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Emirates and Arsenal Renew Sponsorship Deal"
. The Emirates Group
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"PUMA and Arsenal announce partnership"
. Arsenal Football Club
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"Arsenal partner with 'Visit Rwanda'
"
. Arsenal Football Club
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"adidas and Arsenal launch new home kit"
. Arsenal Football Club
. Retrieved
2 October
2021
.
- ^
"Women Women's Super League 2022/2023 - Attendance"
.
worldfootball.net
. 21 May 2024
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Arsenal Women to play more WSL games at Emirates"
.
Arsenal Women to play more WSL games at Emirates
. 20 July 2023
. Retrieved
30 May
2023
.
- ^
"Women Women's Super League 2023/2024 - Attendance"
.
worldfootball.net
. 21 May 2024
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Emirates Stadium becomes Arsenal Women's main home"
.
Emirates Stadium becomes Arsenal Women's main home
. 27 July 2024
. Retrieved
21 May
2024
.
- ^
"Arsenal women: Emirates Stadium becomes main home for next season"
.
BBC Sport
. 14 May 2024
. Retrieved
27 May
2024
.
- ^
"Women Arsenal.com"
. Arsenal F.C
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Debbie Bampton"
.
Hall of Fame
.
- ^
"PAULINE COPE"
. National Football Museum
. Retrieved
4 November
2018
.
- ^
"MARIEANNE SPACEY"
. National Football Museum
. Retrieved
4 November
2018
.
- ^
"Faye White"
.
Hall of Fame
.
- ^
"Rachel Brown"
.
Hall of Fame
.
- ^
"Kelly Smith"
.
Hall of Fame
.
- ^
"Rachel Yankey"
.
Hall of Fame
.
- ^
"Alex Scott receives surprise induction into National Football Museum Hall of Fame"
. National Football Museum. 23 November 2019
. Retrieved
17 December
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.
- ^
"KAREN CARNEY INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME"
. National Football Museum. 27 May 2021. Archived from
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on 3 June 2021
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
"Women's Honours"
. Arsenal F.C
. Retrieved
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.
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"UEFA Club Coefficients"
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.
- ^
"Member associations ? UEFA rankings ? Women's club coefficients"
. UEFA. 13 July 2018
. Retrieved
16 December
2023
.
Sources
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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