2025/26 was the 100th anniversary of Arsenal playing football in the First Division. To celebrate this achievement, we published what we think is the only ever full history of Arsenal’s 100 years in the top flight of football. The articles in order of publication are below.
It is inevitable that a series of this size turns up occasional facts and insights after an article has been published, and at the end of this series, which is the largest original series we have ever undertaken, and indeed, I think is the only full review of 100 seasons in the top division. I will be going back to resolve such oddities, but for the moment, having finished the whole review, I’m having a couple of days break.
Here is the list….
- 100 seasons in the top division: the election – minor revisions 3 July 2026
- 100 Seasons in the top Division. Part 2: The opening season
- 100 seasons in the top division: Part 3 – the first north London league derby
- 100 seasons in the top division: part 4 – oh no it’s all going wrong
- 100 Seasons in the top division part 5: slipping down the league 1921/2
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1921/2 (part two)
- Arsenal 100 seasons in the top divison: 1922/3- 1924/5: why Knighton goes why Chapman comes
- 100 seasons: Removing Knighton, the arrival of Chapman, and changing reality
- 100 seasons in the top division: Chapman’s first season
- Arsenal’s first cup final; Chapman’s second season
- 100 seasons in the top division: after the cup final, Arsenal in 1927/28
- 100 seasons in the top division: towards the title
- 100 seasons at the top. Arsenal 1930-31; the goalkeeper accused of smuggling
- After the first trophies
- 1930-33, the trophies start to arrive
- 1933/4 – the key turning point
- 1934/5: After Chapman
- 100 Arsenal seasons in the top league: Allison takes over
- 1935/6: Arsenal have lost their manager but still come good
- Arsenal 1936/7: Suddenly, the trophies stop rolling in
- Arsenal’s 100 seasons in the top division: 1937/8 and on into wartime
- Arsenal’s 100 seasons in the top division: the 1939/40 war season
- 100 seasons in the top division: Arsenal after the Second World War
- 100 Arsenal seasons in the top league: Whittaker takes over
- Winning the title in Whittaker’s first season 1947/48
- 100 years at the top. 1948/9 – expectations are high and Brazil beckons
- 1949/50: A Trophy is Demanded
- 1950/51 A roof for the North Bank, but no trophy
- 1951/2: Defeat in the cup final
- Arsenal 1952/53. Whittaker fulfils his destiny but then Arsenal collapse
- 1953/4: the Arsenal collapse begins
- 1954/5 and 1955/6: Whittaker’s final seasons, and still no more trophies
- Arsenal in the wilderness: the Jack Crayston era
- George Swindin as Arsenal manager 1958/9, and the era of Kelsey
- Arsenal in the late 1950s and the hopes of a revival
- Arsenal’s 100 seassons in the top division. 1959/60. If we thought it couldn’t get worse, we were wrong
- 100 years in the top division. The end of Swindin; the awful tenure of Wright
- 100 seasons in the top division. The rebirth of Arsenal 1967-68
- 100 seasons in the top division – 1969/70, and building a new team
- The first double: from advancement to a Midlands disaster
- Arsenal in October 1970, the great march forward begins.
- 100 seasons in the top division: cracks appear in late 1970
- Arsenal head for the first double: January / March 1971
- Arsenal march on towards the 1971 double
- 100 seasons in the top division. Winning the Double (for the first time)
- 100 seasons in the top division: what happened after the 1st double?
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1971/2 and 1972/3
- Arsenal under Mee: after the double: 1974 and 1975
- How did Arsenal collapse so quickly after the first double of 1971
- Arsenal’s 100 seasons in the top division: signs of improvement. 1976/7
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1977/78 – the return begins
- 100 seasons at the top: 1978/9 and 1979/80; the most painful lesson learned
- 100 years in the top league, Arsenal with Liam Brady
- Some seasons seem a little crazy. 1979/80 was way beyond that
- 1980/81 and 1981/82. Arsenal’s near misses, but not nearly good enough
- 100 seasons in the top division: Arsenal sink down: 1982/3
- 100 consecutive years in the top divison: Arsenal in 1983/4
- Arsenal’s 100 Seasons in the top divsiion: 1984/5 and 1985/6
- 100 seasons in the top division:1986/7. A trophy!
- 100 seasons in the top division – 1987/8: faith in Arsenal is finally rewarded
- Arsenal: 100 Seasons in the Top Division: 1988/89 – part one
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1988/89 part two – winning the league
- 1989/90: After winning the league, and the move to all-seater stadia
- 100 seasons in the top divsion part 2. 1990/91: the tale of Smith and Wright
- 100 seasons in the top division: 1991/92 and back to fourth
- 1992/3: more Arsenal trophies but not THE trophy
- Interlude: Arsenal win the league on their 100th anniversary
- 100 seasons in the top division: fourth but the signs are not good
- 1994/5: when Arsenal shocked the whole of football.
- Arsenal in 1995/6 – the interim season
- Arsenal 1996/97: the launch of the modern era
- 100 seasons in the top division: Wenger triumphant twice 1997/8
- What has happened to the Manchester City case concerning alleged cheating
- 1998/9: Almost but not quite
- 1999/2000: An Arsenal forward line the likes of which we had never seen before.
- Arsenal in 2000/01: second in the league for the third year running!
- Arsenal 2001/2: the problem of scoring, and after three second places, Arsenal come top
- 2002/3: the fourth runners’ up in five years. Could Arsenal not win the league again?
- 2003/4: the proof that the Almighty really does support Arsenal
- Arsenal win the unbeaten season; a wish for a video on my tombstone
- After the unbeaten season: the financial issues and the new stadium
- Arsenal trophies during the recovery programme
- How Arteta rescued Arsenal from the effects of the club’s past success. 100 years…
- Arsenal trophies during the recovery programme
- After the unbeaten season: the financial issues and the new stadium
- Arsenal win the unbeaten season; a wish for a video on my tombstone
- Arsenal trophies during the recovery programme
- How Arteta rescued Arsenal from the effects of the club’s past success. 100 years…
