Crest and shirt badge edit
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On the south bank of the River Thames near the Royal Arsenal munitions establishment, where Arsenal were formed, cannons have lined the Royal Dockyard since the early 16th century, defending London from sea invasion; the club's symbolism has since become synonymous with military equipment, specifically cannons, owing it to the club's military origin.[1] Arsenal's first club crest was published in 1905, in an article outlining the club's short history within the Book of Football, written by then Woolwich Arsenal vice-chairman Arthur Kennedy.[2] It features three cannons viewed from above, pointing northwards, placed on a shield with an accompanying ribbon and laurel leaves. In capital letters, the Latin motto "clamant nostra tela in regis querela" is written on the ribbon, meaning "Our weapons clash in the King’s quarrel".[2] It is universally acknowledged that the crest was based on the civic crest of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, which was adopted four years earlier in 1901, as it has many of the same features and only differs with the added laurel leaves and ribbon layout.[3] The crest in many publications was mistakingly said to have originated in the year 1888, over a decade before the Woolwich civic crest had been adopted. Additionally, Kennedy's article featuring the crest is likely the only mention of any such Arsenal crest according to The Arsenal History, considering there were numerous historical inaccuracies in the article, it is possible that it was never actually adopted as Woolwich Arsenal's offical club crest.[3]
By the 1920s, the club had moved to North London, dropped 'Woolwich' from the club's name, and played wartime football during World War I. After the war during the 1921–22 season, offical club letterheads featured a new crest, a single horizontally viewed cannon pointing westward; it was the first crest featuring a singular cannon, the design which exists in the current badge.[2] In the first match day programme of the following season, the cannon had switched direction and the nickname "The Gunners" was placed beside the design. Three years later, the cannon reverted to point westward and the design remained unchanged until Arsenal adopted a new crest in 1949.[2]
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In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set in blackletter typography, and above the coat of arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin motto, Victoria Concordia Crescit (VCC) – "victory comes from harmony" – coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer.[4][5] For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green. Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to copyright it.[6] Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise,[7] Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable.[8] The cannon once again faces east and the club's name is written in a sans-serif typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.[9] Until the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a monogram of the club's initials in red on a white background.[10]
The monogram theme was developed into an Art Deco-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout Highbury Stadium, including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors.[11] From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname "The Gunners", in the 1990s.[10]
In the 2011–12 season, Arsenal celebrated their 125th anniversary. The celebrations included a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season. The crest was all white, surrounded by 15 oak leaves to the right and 15 laurel leaves to the left. The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub. The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club. The laurel leaves also represent strength. To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto "Forward" at the bottom of the crest.[12]
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References edit
- ^ De Roché, Art (14 September 2022). "Arsenal's badge: The iconic cannon that hasn't always faced the same way". The Athletic. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "The Arsenal Crest". Arsenal F.C. 26 May 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ a b Andrews, Mark; Kelly, Andy (8 December 2014). "The First Arsenal Crest – The Origins". The Arsenal History. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
- ^ "The Crest". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 12 August 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ^ Roché, Art de. "Arsenal's badge: The story of the iconic cannon". The Athletic. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ "New crest - press release". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 2004-04-16. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
- ^ "Arsenal v. Reed in the Court of Appeal". Swan Turton. 4 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Arsenal go for a makeover". BBC Sport. 1 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 January 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ^ "Crestfallen" (PDF). Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
- ^ a b "The Arsenal shirt badge". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "The Art Deco crest". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 30 October 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
- ^ "125th anniversary crest". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 5 May 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2011.