Why Are Arsenal Called ‘The Gunners’? (But Fans Called ‘Gooners’)

Football and nicknames go side-by-side. Hardly will you see a football club without a nickname. Some of the nicknames come because of the heritage of the club; some because of the club colors, and others because of the origin of the club.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. They feature in the English Premier League, the top-flight league. The club has won 13 league titles, a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 16 FA Community Shields, the League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners’ Cup, and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.

Arsenal Football Club were formed in 1886. The club is nicknamed ‘The Gunners’ because the club was established by munitions workers in the Royal Arsenal factory in Woolwich in southeast London.

This factory (The Royal Arsenal factory) specilises in the production of weapons and explosives, hence the nickname. Their badge is also a testament to a nod on their heritage and history.

The club was initially known as Dial Square Football Club. It was named after a workshop located at the heart of the Royal Arsenal factory. It went on to become Royal Arsenal and it was changed to Woolwich Arsenal before it was switched to The Arsenal before simply ‘Arsenal’.

There have been suggestions to change the nickname but because of the history behind the club, the nickname ‘The Gunners’ has been permanently adopted.

Football League and Premier League

• First Division / Premier League (Level 1)

Winners (13): 1930–31, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1970–71, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04

• League Cup / EFL Cup

Winners (2): 1986–87, 1992–93

• League Centenary Trophy

Winners (1): 1988

The FA

• FA Cup

Winners (14) : 1929–30, 1935–36, 1949–50, 1970–71, 1978–79, 1992–93, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2019–20

• FA Community Shield (FA Charity Shield before 2002)

Winners: 1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (shared), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020

UEFA

• UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (European Cup Winners’ Cup before 1994)

Winners (1): 1993–94

• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Winners (1): 1969–70

Current staff

Position	Name
Manager	Mikel Arteta
Assistant coaches	Steve Round
	Albert Stuivenberg
	Carlos Cuesta
	Nicolas Jover
	Miguel Molina
Goalkeeping coach	Iñaki Caña Pavon
Academy manager	Per Mertesacker
Loan manager	Ben Knapper
Head of performance	Shad Forsythe
Head of medical services	Gary O’Driscoll
Head physiotherapist	Jordan Reece
Lead performance nutritionist	Laura Andrews
Technical director	Edu
Director of football operations	Richard Garlick
Chief executive officer	Vinai Venkatesham
Chief commercial officer	Juliet Slot

On the other hand, Arsenal fans are also known as ‘Gooners’ which is different from what the public know them as ‘Gunners’. The popular Arsenal song (‘Ooh, to be a Gooner’, for instance) emanates from the name. Although there has been a massive decline, Mikel Arteta is expected to lead the club back to its glory days.