The early years 1886-1920

The first steps 

In 1886, a group of the Woolwich Armaments factory workers from south London, formed Arsenal - or as the first name was: Dial Square. The Dial Square club played its first match at Plumstead Common. It wasn't long though until the name changed over to Royal Arsenal. In 1891, when the club joined the old Second Division and became professional, the name was changed yet again, now to Woolwich Arsenal. Eventually the first bit was dropped and the official name became Arsenal Football Club. It has been called "The Arsenal" as well, but that was never official,  but rather a popular níckname.

Going professional 

In 1893, Arsenal made it into the second division of the Football League where it played until the advancement to the first division which happened in 1904. The following nine years, Arsenal managed to stay in the first division with a very good year in 1906 (reached FA Cup semifinals) and a honourable 6th position in the League in 1909.
The second division years lasted until 1913 when the club was demoted back to the second division. In the same year, Arsenal recognized that their homegrounds near Plumstead in the south of London were rather difficult to reach and so the attendance at the matches was rather low. The club under Sir Henry Norris decided to move to the now famous Arsenal Stadium in Highbury in the north of London. Sir Henry realised early that Arsenal would fare better in the northern areas of London. The results came fast and Arsenal was only inches from getting back to the fist division in the following season and close in 1915 when they secured a 5th place.

The move to Highbury 

Sir Henry originally wanted to create a merger between Fulham and Arsenal but the plan failed and he needed a Plan B. The Plan B developed when they found a good ground near the theological college in Highbury, this was near the Gillespie Road Undergound station which belonged to the Piccadilly line. Transport and access to the new Highbury ground was very good, from any part in London. The Highbury ground was also in a residential neighbourhood so there was a breed of home supporters available. There were objections from Tottenham Hotspur, they were located a couple of miles away, but their objections fell on deaf ears, Arsenal arguing that there were enough support in this area for two footall clubs.

The moving was all done by 1915, the club changed its name and became simply "Arsenal". Nevertheless, Arsenal was still only a middle-of-the league, Second Division football team. The entry into the First Division didn't happen until 1919 when that was extended to include 22 football clubs. The extension of the First Division came as the Football League resumed operations again after the First World War. The getting back was cleverly orchestrated by Sir Henry who somehow managed to get Arsenal elected instead of Tottenham. This entry into the First Division was a second and very important turning point in the Arsenal FC  history. As the election into the First Division resulted in the neighbour club, Tottenham, dropping out, it created an everlasting grievance between the two teams.