Arsenal F.C. Academy

Infobox Football club
clubname = Arsenal Academy


fullname = Arsenal Football Club Academy
nickname = The Gunners
founded = 1954
ground = Arsenal FC Training Centre, Shenley
capacity = nil
mgrtitle = Head Coach
chairman = flagicon|England Peter Hill-Wood
manager = flagicon|England Steve Bould
league = FA Premier Academy League
season = 2006-07
position = FAPAL Group A, 1st
pattern_b1 = _arsenalhome
pattern_la1 = _arsenalhome
pattern_ra1 = _arsenalhome
leftarm1 = CC0000
body1 = CC0000
rightarm1 = CC0000
shorts1 = FFFFFF
socks1 = FFFFFF
pattern_b2 = _arsenalaway09
pattern_la2 = _arsenalaway09
pattern_ra2 = _arsenalaway09
leftarm2 =
body2 = F5D618
rightarm2 =
shorts2 = 101C35
socks2 = F5D618
pattern_b3 =
pattern_la3 = _borderonwhite
pattern_ra3 = _borderonwhite
leftarm3 = 651725
body3 = FFFFFF
rightarm3 = 651725
shorts3 = 651725
socks3 = FFFFFF

Arsenal Football Club Academy are the youth team of Arsenal Football Club. They currently play in the FA Premier Academy League, the highest level of youth football in England. The club enters Under-18 and Under-16 teams in the League, but the club operate the academy for boys from the age of nine upwards.

Some of the senior members of the U18 team also play for Arsenal Reserves, and the team are currently coached by former Arsenal defender Steve Bould, while the younger teams are coached by Roy Massey and Steve Gatting. Former Arsenal midfielder and Republic of Ireland international Liam Brady oversees the overall youth development setup at the club with his assistant David Court.

History

Arsenal Youth (1954-1998)

Arsenal have occasionally operated a youth team as far back as 1893-94, and there had been an established third team (known as Arsenal 'A') for young players from 1929 to 1969.

In 1954, Arsenal started their own formal youth team. It entered the South Eastern Counties League (re-named the South East Counties League the following season) and the associated South East Counties League Cup from 1954-55 to 1997-98 (excluding 1967-68 and 1968-69). Arsenal youth also played in the FA Youth Cup (from 1954-55 to present), the London Minor FA Challenge Cup from 1954-55 to 1955-56 and 1959-60 to 1966-67), and the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup (from 1955-56 to 1971-72 and 1974-75 to 1998-99).

During this time, Arsenal were one of the most successful youth teams in the country - winning seven South East Counties League titles, six South East Counties League Cups (including three "doubles") and four FA Youth Cups.

Arsenal Academy (1998-present)

The youth team became founder members of the FA Premier Youth League in 1997-98. The league was initially a single division, and Arsenal won the inaugural title. The following season this was renamed the Premier Academy League and split into an Under-19 and Under-17 section, with the new FA Academy system formally changing Arsenal's youth team to Academy status. Arsenal entered teams in both sections, winning the U17 title in 1999-00 and the U19 in 2001-02, as well as two more FA Youth Cups. Since 2004-05 the FA Premier Academy League has been a single section for Under-18s although an Under-16 section is played with no league table being recorded.

eason-by-season playing record

Honours

*South East Counties League:1955-56, 1964-65, 1971-72, 1990-91
*South East Counties League Cup:1959-60, 1960-61, 1961-62, 1963-64, 1970-71, 1979-80
*FA Youth Cup:1965-66, 1970-71, 1987-8, 1993-94, 1999-00, 2000-01
*Southern Junior Floodlit Cup:1962-63, 1965-66, 1983-84, 1990-91, 1997-98
*London Minor FA Cup:1966-67
*FA Premier Youth League:1997-98
*FA Premier Academy League:U17: 1999-00:U19: 2001-02

Footnotes

References

*cite web
url= http://homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.kelly/stats/stats.htm
title= Complete Honours List
accessdate=2006-12-03
work=Arsenal Pics
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20030408071449/homepage.ntlworld.com/andy.kelly/stats/stats.htm
archivedate=2003-04-08
author=Kelly, Andy
*cite book
author=Soar, Phil & Tyler, Martin
title=The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal
publisher=Hamlyn
year=2000
id=ISBN 0-600-60175-7
* Season by Season Record compiled from Arsenal handbooks

External links

* [http://www.arsenal.com/reserves-youth/arsenal-academy Arsenal FC Academy homepage] on Arsenal.com