Cesc Fàbregas – Captain of Arsenal F.C.
Francesc “Cesc” Fàbregas i Soler (born 4 May 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. He captains the English Premier League club Arsenal and plays for the Spanish national team.
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Personal information
Full name : Francesc Fàbregas i Soler
Date of birth : 4 May 1987 (1987-05-04) (age 22)
Place of birth : Vilassar de Mar, Spain
Height : 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position : Midfielder / Captain
Club information : Arsenal F.C.
Number : 4
Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of 16. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal’s starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club’s records, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position of his generation.
In international football, the Spaniard’s ntional career began when he represented the Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in 2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped Spain to become eventual winners in the latter.
Captaincy
In the opening league game of 2009–10 season, Fàbregas scored a brace and managed two assists in Arsenal’s 6–1 away win against Everton. Arsenal went on to secure qualification for the Champions League by beating Celtic over two legs, but their early momentum to the season was disrupted by consecutive league game losses to Manchester United and Manchester City. The team bounced back strongly after this setback, and with Fàbregas being prolific in scoring (9 goals in all competitions) and setting up his teammates (12 assists), it went unbeaten in the next 13 games.
Source: Cesc Fàbregas, Captain of Arsenal F.C., Arsenal Midfielder, English Premier League Football Club information at wikipedia.org
Manuel Almunia – Goalkeeper of Arsenal F.C.
Manuel Almunia Rivero (born 19 May 1977) is a Spanish professional footballer who currently plays as a goalkeeper and vice-captain for English Premier League club Arsenal.
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Personal information
Full name : Manuel Almunia Rivero
Date of birth : 19 May 1977 (1977-05-19) (age 32)
Place of birth : Pamplona, Spain
Height : 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[1]
Playing position : Goalkeeper
Club information : Arsenal F.C.
Number : 1
Early career
Born in Pamplona, Navarre, Almunia started his senior career with CA Osasuna’s reserve team in 1997, playing two seasons with the team in Segunda División B. He went on to spend two more seasons in the category, with FC Cartagena and Sabadell, joining the top flight in 2001–02, with Real Club Celta de Vigo.
However, shortly after joining Celta, Almunia was loaned out to Segunda División side SD Eibar, where he spent 2001–02 as first-choice goalkeeper. During the 2002-03 season, Celta loaned him out to first-division club Recreativo de Huelva, where he played understudy to José Antonio Luque and César, only making two league appearances. Almunia’s debut in the first division came on 17 November 2002, following a red card to the latter, in a 0–3 defeat at Deportivo Alavés.
He then returned to Celta, being loaned for the third and final time, now to Albacete Balompié on 1 November 2003. He made his club debut the following week, in a 1–0 loss at Málaga CF. Almunia achieved first-choice status, making a total of 24 league appearances until the end of the season, while helping Albacete finish 14th.
Arsenal
Almunia signed for Arsenal for an undisclosed fee on 14 July 2004. He was given the number one after Jens Lehmann left for Stuttgart at the beginning of the 2008-09 season. In 2008 Almunia signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal.
Source: Manuel Almunia, Arsenal F.C. Goalkeeper, English Premier League Football Club at wikipedia.org
Arsène Wenger – Arsenal’s Manager
Arsène Wenger, OBE (born 22 October 1949 in Strasbourg) is a French football manager who has managed English Premier League side Arsenal since 1996. He is the most successful manager in the history of Arsenal in terms of trophies and is also the club’s longest-serving manager. Wenger is the only non-British manager to win the Double in England, having done so in 1998 and 2002. In 2004, he became the only manager in FA Premier League history to go through the entire season without defeat. Wenger is widely regarded as one of the world’s best managers after the success he has enjoyed at AS Monaco and Arsenal. Wenger has a degree in Electrical Engineering and a master’s degree in Economics from Strasbourg University and is fluent in French, German, Spanish and English; he also speaks some Italian and Japanese.
Personal information
Date of birth : 22 October 1949 (1949-10-22) (age 60)
Place of birth : Strasbourg, France
Height : 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Playing position : Sweeper
Club information : Manager of Arsenal F.C.
Source: Arsene Wenger, Arsenal F.C. Manager, English Premier League Managers at wikipedia.org
Peter Hill-Wood : Arsenal F.C. Chairman
Peter Denis Hill-Wood (born 25 February 1936) is a British businessman and the current chairman of Arsenal Football Club.
Biography
Hill-Wood was born in Kensington, London. His father, three uncles and grandfather all played first-class cricket for Derbyshire CCC. He attended Eton College where he was a classmate of former Arsenal Director Sir Roger Gibbs. He then served in the Coldstream Guards. After leaving the Guards, Hill-Wood entered the banking industry, eventually rising to become a vice-chairman of Hambros Bank, having previously been in charge of its investment division.
Hill-Wood has since retired from his post at Hambros, and is currently a director of Cavenham Ltd and Hellenic and General Trust.
He married in 1971 and has three children Julian, Charles and Sarah, who is married to Timothy Dana, an American.
Arsenal chairmanship
He is the third generation of his family to serve as Chairman of Arsenal, following his father, Denis Hill-Wood (1962-1982), and his grandfather, Samuel Hill-Wood (1929-1936 & 1946-1949). Peter Hill-Wood succeeded his father after the latter’s death in 1982, although as chairman he is not in charge of any day-to-day business at the club; the club is generally run by acting managing director Ken Friar with manager Arsène Wenger responsible for football and first team affairs.
Hill-Wood was a colleague of Chips Keswick at Hambros and subsequently saw him recruited to the Arsenal Board to provide strong city contacts at a time when the club were financing their new stadium.
Hill-Wood disposed much of his family holdings in the club to former Vice Chairman David Dein in the 1980s and 1990s. As at 27 March 2007 he owned 500 shares in the club representing 0.80% (worth approximately £3.4m).
Source: Peter Hill-Wood, Arsenal F.C. Chairman, Arsenal Football Club at wikipedia.org
Arsenal Football Club
Arsenal Football Club (PLUS Markets: AFC) (pronounced /??rs?nl, ??rsn?l/) (often simply known as Arsenal or The Arsenal, or by their nickname The Gunners) are an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. They play in the Premier League and are one of the most successful clubs in English football, having won thirteen First Division and Premier League titles and ten FA Cups. They hold the record for the longest uninterrupted period in the English top flight and are the only Premier League side to have completed a season unbeaten.
Full name : Arsenal Football Club
Nickname(s) : The Gunners
Founded : 1886 as Dial Square
Ground : Emirates Stadium (Capacity: 60,355[1])
Owner : Arsenal Holdings plc
Chairman : Peter Hill-Wood
Manager : Arsène Wenger
League : Premier League
2008–09 Premier League, 4th
Arsenal were founded in 1886 and were the first Southern club to join the Football League, in 1893. They won their first major trophies in the 1930s, with five League Championship titles and two FA Cups. After a lean period in the post-war years they became the second club of the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup Double in 1970–71, and in the 1990s and 2000s recorded a series of successes – in this time Arsenal won a Cup Double, two further League and FA Cup Doubles, and became the first London club to reach the UEFA Champions League Final.
The club’s colours have traditionally been red and white, which have evolved through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team were initially founded in Woolwich, south-east London, and in 1913 they moved north across the city to Arsenal Stadium, Highbury. In 2006 they made a less drastic move to the Emirates Stadium in nearby Holloway.
Arsenal have a large fanbase, who hold a string of long-standing rivalries with several other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Tottenham Hotspur, with whom they regularly contest the North London derby. Arsenal are the third richest club in the world, valued at over $1.2 billion as of 2009,[2] and, thanks to their stature, have regularly featured in portrayals of football in British culture. Arsenal Ladies are the most successful English club in women’s football and are also affiliated with the club.
Source: English Premier League Club, Arsenal F.C. at wikipedia.org