Arsenal Football Club’s visual identity centers on a single cannon, a motif that has appeared on the club’s crests since the late 19th century. The current crest, introduced in 2002, features a simplified, eastward-facing cannon on a shield, replacing a more ornate design that had been in use since 1949.
Design and History
The club’s first crest appeared in 1905, based on the Woolwich Borough coat of arms, featuring three cannons with lions’ heads and the Latin motto “CLAMANT NOSTRA TELA IN REGIS QUERELA” (“Our weapons clash in the King’s quarrel”). The cannons referenced the military influence in Woolwich, where the club was founded by workers from the Royal Arsenal armament factory.[1]
Following the club’s move to Highbury in 1913, the cannon motif was retained. A horizontal, westward-pointing single cannon appeared on club letterheads by the 1921/22 season. The first matchday programme of the 1922/23 season revealed a new crest featuring an eastward-pointing cannon, but by the 1925/26 season the club reverted to a westward-pointing design similar to the earlier version. The style of this narrower cannon has never been officially confirmed, though it closely resembles the cannons on the crest of the Royal Arsenal Gatehouse in Woolwich.[1]
In 1949, Arsenal unveiled a new crest featuring “Arsenal” in a gothic style typeface, a westward-facing cannon, the Borough of Islington’s coat of arms, ermine, and the Latin motto “Victoria Concordia Crescit” (“Victory grows out of harmony”). The motto originated from the club’s programme editor, who used the phrase in the final programme of the 1947/48 League Championship winning season. The crest remained largely unchanged for 53 years, though it was “cleaned up” at the start of the 2001/02 season for commercial reasons, with a solid yellow replacing different tones of gold.[1]
The current crest was introduced in 2002 after nine months of work by 20/20, a London-based design consultancy.[2] The new design retained the cannon but turned it to face east, as it had first done in 1922. The heraldry was removed, blue replaced yellow as the secondary colour, and the crest’s shape was altered to bulge outwards.[3] The club stated the decision to formulate a new crest was taken “to embrace the future and move forward,” with Emirates Stadium on the horizon.[1]
For the 2011/12 season, Arsenal’s shirts featured a special 125th anniversary crest combining the graphic of the first club crest with the then-current version. The design included 15 laurel leaves on the left, reflecting the sixpence pieces paid by the 15 men who established the club, and 15 oak leaves on the right, acknowledging the founders who met in the local Royal Oak pub. The word “Forward” appeared beneath the crest, with the anniversary dates 1886 and 2011 on either side.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The cannon on Arsenal’s crest is a direct reference to the club’s origins: it was formed by workers from the Royal Arsenal armament factory in Woolwich, which produced munitions and weapons.[4] Cannons have been a prominent feature of the crest since 1888, when the original design was based on the coat of arms of the Woolwich borough.[4] The nickname “The Gunners” derives from the same industrial heritage.[5]
The inspiration for the style of cannon used in the 2002 design is said to derive from the crest of the Royal Arsenal Gatehouse.[4]
Typography and Design
The 1949 crest featured “Arsenal” in a gothic style typeface, which was removed in the 2002 redesign along with the Latin motto and other heraldic elements.[1][3] The 2002 crest also changed the secondary colour from yellow to blue.[3]
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