Never Mind the Gunners: The Ultimate Arsenal Quiz Book

By Graham Lister

This is the definitive quiz book on the Arsenal Football Club, meticulously researched to provide fans of the Gunners of all ages with an informative, entertaining, challenging and enjoyable test of their knowledge of this great club. Populated by the many characters, heroes and occasional villains who have helped create a rich footballing legacy during 126 years of history, and full of themed questions on all aspects of the club, this is the ideal companion on those long trips to away games, for settling arguments and for finding out just how much you and your Arsenal-supporting friends really know about the legendary Gunners.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Nov 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9780752498928

Book preview

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2012/13

Season

Welcome to this ultimate Arsenal quiz book, designed to test your knowledge of the history of one of the world’s great football clubs. Among its pages you’ll find teasing questions that will hark back to the distant (but certainly not dim!) past as we trawl through nearly 127 years of compelling characters, remarkable records, priceless players and fabulous facts. To ease you into the swing of things, we’re going to start with a round exclusively about recent happenings concerning the Gunners, so you won’t have to tax your memory too much initially as you warm to the task. Be warned, though – like trying to claim that elusive next trophy, things become tougher as you carry on …

  1   How many goals did Arsenal score against Reading in total during the 2012/13 season?

  2   On 19 December 2012, which five young Gunners all signed new long-term contracts with Arsenal?

  3   Against whom did Santi Cazorla score his first goal for Arsenal?

  4   How many hat-tricks did Theo Walcott score for Arsenal during 2012/13?

  5   Lukasz Podolski opened the Gunners’ goalscoring account in their 2012/13 Champions League campaign, but who were the opponents?

  6   Who had the poor taste to inflict upon Arsenal their first defeat of the 2012/13 season?

  7   Whose first 2 goals for the Gunners were both scored against dear friends Tottenham?

  8   This midfielder notched the 20th goal of his Arsenal career in a Champions League group game in 2012. Who is he?

  9   Who scored the late goal for Arsenal that forced their Capital One Cup tie against Bradford City into extra-time and eventually – fatefully – penalties?

10   The anniversary of which Arsenal star’s death was commemorated during the home match against Reading?

11   From which club did Arsène Wenger sign Nacho Monreal for Arsenal during the January transfer window?

Making History

– Formation &

Fledgling Years

This is a round all about the formation and fledgling years of the club we know and love as the Arsenal. Well, it’s a round that covers the Victorian/Edwardian period from 1886 until the suspension of League football in 1915, following the outbreak of the First World War. It will test how well you’ve studied your ancient history of the Gunners, as almost certainly none of us were around at the time to have witnessed it.

And as we go delving into the past, like all good rounds, this one starts in the pub …

  1   In what Plumstead public house was the decision taken by munitions workers at Woolwich Arsenal’s Dial Square workshop to form a football club?

  2   What significant decision was taken at another meeting, held at the Royal Oak pub in Woolwich on Christmas Day 1886?

  3   When Arsenal participated in the FA Cup for the first time in 1889/90, who were their first opponents – and for a bonus point, what was the fairly emphatic outcome?

  4   Which co-founder of Dial Square, Royal Arsenal committee member and occasional goalkeeper successfully proposed the revolutionary step of embracing professionalism at the club’s AGM in 1891?

  5   When Woolwich Arsenal were promoted to the First Division in 1903/04, who went up with them as Second Division Champions?

  6   From which club that he had previously played for did Royal Arsenal’s first goalkeeper Fred Beardsley request help with kit?

  7   Of the other four clubs who were elected to the Football League in 1893 along with Woolwich Arsenal, two have gone on to win 22 top-flight titles between them. Can you name them?

  8   At what venue did Woolwich Arsenal make their debut as a Football League club?

  9   What unusual event is credited with rescuing Woolwich Arsenal from financial oblivion in 1902 by raising £1,200, which was used to buy new players including Tommy Shanks, Tommy Briercliffe and Jimmy Bellamy?

10   Fact or Fiction: When Woolwich Arsenal joined the Football League in 1893, having changed their name that year when becoming a limited liability company (though the Football League continued to call them Royal Arsenal until 1896), they were not just the only League club south of Birmingham, but also London’s only professional club.

11   Because Arsenal were compelled to fulfil a League fixture away to Loughborough Town on 12 December 1896, they fielded a reserve side in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup at home to Leyton which had to be played on the same day. They suffered a club record 8–0 defeat at Loughborough, but what was the score in the FA Cup tie?

Home

Comforts

Despite having occupied Highbury – aka ‘The Home of Football’ – for 93 years, Arsenal can be said to have had a somewhat nomadic history since their formation in 1886. So this round is all about the various grounds they’ve called home, ranging from fields to fortresses to their current ultra-modern stadium. ‘You’re supposed to be at home’ is a familiar chant, but how at home are you answering questions about those venues to which the Gunners have welcomed visiting teams over the years?

  1   Starting with a basic but somewhat tricky one, how many home grounds do you think Arsenal have had throughout their history?

  2   Making their home ground a ‘fortress’ is an objective for most clubs, though it’s easier said than done. So throughout their history, how many times have Arsenal gone an entire League season unbeaten at home?

  3   Fact or Fiction: The first terrace at a football ground to be referred to as a ‘Kop’ was at Woolwich Arsenal’s Manor Ground.

  4   Semi-finals in the FA Cup are famously staged at neutral venues, but that’s not the case for other cup competitions. So over the years, how many semi-final matches have the Gunners played at their own home stadium (both Highbury and the Emirates)?

  5   Fact or Fiction: Woolwich Arsenal never played a match in Woolwich itself.

  6   What was the price of a season ticket in the main stand (‘Avenell Road grandstand’) in 1913, Arsenal’s inaugural season at their new Highbury home?

  7   Who scored Arsenal’s first ever goal at Highbury – and their last at the famous old stadium?

  8   Which club holds the unique distinction of being the last ever to beat Arsenal at Highbury, and the first to leave the Emirates with a win under their belts?

  9   Arsenal’s first eight Premier League matches at Emirates Stadium all finished in 1–1 draws or 3–0 wins for the Gunners. Who were the opponents when this sequence was broken on 16 December 2006, and what was the score?

10   Excluding Dennis Bergkamp’s testimonial match that got the Emirates era underway, against whom did Arsenal record their first competitive win at their new home?

11   What was the nationality of the man who scored Arsenal’s first-ever competitive goal at their new Ashburton Grove home?