Arsenal F.C. Reserves
| Full name | Arsenal Football Club Reserves |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Gunners |
| Founded | 1886 |
| Ground | Meadow Park |
| Capacity | 4,502 |
| Chairman | Sir Chips Keswick |
| League |
Professional Development League, (Division 2) |
Arsenal Reserves are the reserve team of Arsenal Football Club.
They play the majority of their home games at Meadow Park, the home of Boreham Wood FC. The team mainly consists of Under-23 players at the club, with the under 21 players featuring for the Arsenal Academy side. Senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, for instance when they are recovering from injury. Arsenal's head of youth development Andries Jonker and his assistant Jan Van Loon oversee the development of the squad in general.
Arsenal have had a reserve team since their early days based in Plumstead as Royal Arsenal F.C., with the reserve side initially set up in 1887. Initially playing friendlies and cup competitions, winning the 1889–90 Kent Junior Cup. In 1895–96 Woolwich Arsenal (as they had been renamed in 1891) reserves joined the Kent League, winning the title the next season but leaving in 1900 or some time soon after. They later joined the London League and won three titles during the 1900s.
From 1900–01 to 1902–03 the reserves played in the West Kent League, winning the title for every season that they played. Too strong for the local opposition, in 1903 the team moved to South Eastern League, playing there until 1914–15 when football was suspended due to the First World War. Concurrent to this period, the reserves were also entered in the London League First Division in seasons 1906–07, 1907–08, 1908–09, 1913–14 and 1914–15. The club dropped the "Woolwich" from their name in 1913, becoming plain "Arsenal".
...
Wikipedia