Editing Arsenal F.C. (section)

==Crest==
{{Clear}}

{| class="center toccolours"
|+ '''Crests of Arsenal F.C. prior to current crest'''
|<gallery mode="packed" heights="120" style="line-height:100%">
File:Arsenal crest 1888.png|Royal Arsenal's first crest, adopted in 1888, two years after the formation of the club
File:Arsenal Crest 1930.svg|'Monogram' badge used in the [[1930 FA Cup Final]]
File:Arsenal Crest Art Deco.svg|'Art Deco Crest'
File:Arsenal Crest 1952.svg|Version of the 'Art Deco Crest' worn in the [[1952 FA Cup final]]
File:Arsenal Crest 1978-1989.svg|Cannon featured on shirt from 1960s to 1990s
File:Arsenal F.C. crest (1949–1990).png|VCC crest: used between 1949 and 2002
</gallery>
|}
{{multiple image
| title             = Alternative versions of the VCC crest
| total_width       = 280
| image_style       = border:1;
| caption_align     = center
| perrow            = 2/2
| image1            = Arsenal Crest 1990-1993.svg
| caption1          = {{circa|1990}}–1993
| alt1              = 1990–1993 Arsenal crest
| image2            = Arsenal Crest 1994-1995.svg
| caption2          = {{circa|1994}}–1995
| alt2              = 1996–2001 Arsenal crest
| image3            = Arsenal Crest 1996-2001.svg
| caption3          = {{circa|1996}}–2001
| image4            = Arsenal FC logo (2001-2002).svg
| caption4          = [[2001–02 Arsenal F.C. season|2001–02 season]]
| alt4              = 2001–2002 Arsenal crest
}}

Unveiled in 1888, Royal Arsenal's first [[crest (sports)|crest]] featured three [[cannon]]s viewed from above, pointing northwards, similar to the [[coat of arms]] of the [[Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich]] (nowadays transferred to the [[coat of arms of the Royal Borough of Greenwich]]). These can sometimes be mistaken for chimneys, but the presence of a carved lion's head and a [[cascabel (artillery)|cascabel]] on each are clear indicators that they are cannons.<ref name="crest">{{cite web |url=http://www.arsenal.com/history/the-crest |title=The Crest |publisher=Arsenal F.C |access-date=11 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080812085724/http://www.arsenal.com/history/the-crest |archive-date=12 August 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This was dropped after the move to Highbury in 1913, only to be reinstated in 1922, when the club adopted a crest featuring a single cannon, pointing eastwards, with the club's nickname, ''The Gunners'', inscribed alongside it; this crest only lasted until 1925, when the cannon was reversed to point westward and its barrel slimmed down.<ref name="crest" />

In 1949, the club unveiled a modernised crest featuring the same style of cannon below the club's name, set in [[blackletter]] typography, and above the coat of arms of the [[Metropolitan Borough of Islington]] and a scroll inscribed with the club's newly adopted Latin [[motto]], ''Victoria Concordia Crescit'' (VCC) – "victory comes from harmony" – coined by the club's programme editor Harry Homer.<ref name="crest"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Roché |first=Art de |title=Arsenal's badge: The story of the iconic cannon |work=The New York Times |url=https://theathletic.com/3589464/2022/09/14/arsenal-badge-cannon-history/ |access-date=20 September 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920172328/https://theathletic.com/3589464/2022/09/14/arsenal-badge-cannon-history/ |url-status=live}}</ref> For the first time, the crest was rendered in colour, which varied slightly over the crest's lifespan, finally becoming red, gold and green. Because of the numerous revisions of the crest, Arsenal were unable to [[copyright]] it.<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040416110605/http://www.arsenal.com/sportsappcontroller.jsp?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=theclubbadge4 |url=http://www.arsenal.com/sportsappcontroller.jsp?command=forwardOnly&nextPage=theclubbadge4 |title=New crest – press release |publisher=Arsenal F.C. |archive-date=16 April 2004 |access-date=7 December 2023}}</ref> Although the club had managed to register the crest as a trademark, and had [[Arsenal Football Club v Reed|fought (and eventually won) a long legal battle]] with a local street trader who sold "unofficial" Arsenal merchandise,<ref>{{cite web |title=''Arsenal v. Reed'' in the Court of Appeal |work=Swan Turton Solicitors |url=http://swanturton.com/arsenal-v-reed-in-the-court-of-appeal/ |url-status=live |publisher=Swan Turton |date=4 May 2003 |access-date=7 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707192831/http://swanturton.com/arsenal-v-reed-in-the-court-of-appeal/ |archive-date=7 July 2016}}</ref> Arsenal eventually sought a more comprehensive legal protection. Therefore, in 2002 they introduced a new crest featuring more modern curved lines and a simplified style, which was copyrightable.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arsenal go for a makeover |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/1795444.stm |url-status=live |publisher=BBC Sport |date=1 February 2004 |access-date=11 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112214109/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/1795444.stm |archive-date=12 January 2016}}</ref>
The cannon once again faces east, and the club's name is written in a [[sans-serif]] typeface above the cannon. Green was replaced by dark blue. The new crest was criticised by some supporters; the Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association claimed that the club had ignored much of Arsenal's history and tradition with such a radical modern design, and that fans had not been properly consulted on the issue.<ref>{{cite web
| title=Crestfallen
| url=http://www.aisa.org/pdfs/crest_leaflet.pdf
| publisher=Arsenal Independent Supporters' Association
| access-date=11 August 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061108191039/http://www.aisa.org/pdfs/crest_leaflet.pdf
| archive-date=8 November 2006
}}</ref>
Until the 1960s, a badge was worn on the playing shirt only for high-profile matches such as FA Cup finals, usually in the form of a [[monogram]] of the club's initials in red on a white background.<ref name="shirt badge">{{cite web
| url=http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-arsenal-shirt-badge
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030164816/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-arsenal-shirt-badge
| archive-date=30 October 2009
| title=The Arsenal shirt badge
| publisher=Arsenal F.C
| access-date=24 January 2010
}}</ref>

The monogram theme was developed into an [[Art Deco]]-style badge on which the letters A and C framed a football rather than the letter F, the whole set within a hexagonal border. This early example of a corporate logo, introduced as part of Herbert Chapman's rebranding of the club in the 1930s, was used not only on Cup Final shirts but as a design feature throughout [[Arsenal Stadium|Highbury Stadium]], including above the main entrance and inlaid in the floors.<ref name="artdeco">{{cite web
| url=http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-art-deco-crest
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030172841/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-art-deco-crest
| archive-date=30 October 2009
| title=The Art Deco crest
| publisher=Arsenal F.C
| access-date=24 January 2010
}}</ref>
From 1967, a white cannon was regularly worn on the shirts, until replaced by the club crest, sometimes with the addition of the nickname "The Gunners", in the 1990s.<ref name="shirt badge"/>

In the 2011–12 season, Arsenal celebrated their 125th anniversary. The celebrations included a modified version of the current crest worn on their jerseys for the season. The crest was all-white, surrounded by 15 [[oak]] leaves to the right and 15 [[Laurel wreath|laurel]] leaves to the left. The oak leaves represent the 15 founding members of the club who met at the Royal Oak pub. The 15 laurel leaves represent the design detail on the six pence pieces paid by the founding fathers to establish the club. The laurel leaves also represent strength. To complete the crest, 1886 and 2011 are shown on either sides of the motto "Forward" at the bottom of the crest.<ref name="125th anniversary crest">{{cite web |title=125th anniversary crest |url=http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/125-years-in-the-making-anniversary-crest |url-status=live |publisher=Arsenal F.C. |access-date=1 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110505061048/http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/125-years-in-the-making-anniversary-crest |archive-date=5 May 2011}}</ref>

Starting in the [[2021–22 Arsenal F.C. season|2021–22]] season, Adidas reintroduced the cannon-only crest on that season's away kit. It was the first time it had been seen on an Arsenal shirt since 1991. It would remain in use on the away kit in [[2022–23 Arsenal F.C. season|2022–23]] and in [[2023–24 Arsenal F.C. season|2023–24]] would be added to the third kit as well, before being used on all three kits in [[2024–25 Arsenal F.C. season|2024–25]] - marking the first time the crest would not be seen on an Arsenal kit since its introduction in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McNicholas |first1=James |title=Why Arsenal are replacing the club crest with the cannon on next season's kits |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5429949/2024/04/23/arsenal-cannon-crest-kit/ |access-date=1 October 2024}}</ref>