93 years At Highbury Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry Norris

The move to Highbury was down to Henry Norris who took over the then named Woolwich Arsenal in 1910. Crowds for the South London based club were low and income was even lower, but Norris saw promise in merging both Woolwich Arsenal and the club he was chairman of, Fulham. However, his plans were dashed when the Football League refused permission to the merger and stated that it was a conflict of interests to control both clubs, so he chose to concentrate his efforts on Woolwich Arsenal.

In 1912-13 Woolwich Arsenal were in desperate financial trouble and were relegated from the top flight for the first time in their history. Norris wanted a bigger fan base to increase revenue and saw that a move from the Woolwich area was needed. A plot of land in Highbury, North London interested Norris and he paid £20,000 for a 21 year leasehold.

Answer: Leicester Fosse

Leicester Fosse scored in the 20th minute through Benfield, but like so many times to come, Arsenal came from behind to win the game 2-1. Goals from Jobey on half time and Devine with twelve minutes left gave the Arsenal their first victory. 20,000 spectators were present and Highbury was alive. The Arsenal line up on this historic day was as follows:

Lievesley, Shaw, Fidler, Grant, Sands, McKinon, Greenaway, Hardinge, Jobey, Devine, Winship.

Answer: Newcastle United

The Arsenal won the final opening fixture 2-0 against Newcastle United. Goals from a Thierry Henry penalty and a Robin Van Persie effort.

When league football resumed after the First World War, Arsenal were a Division One side and in 1920 the ground hosted its first ever international fixture. In 1925 the club paid a further £64,000 to buy the site outright, and the restrictions that had been set in 1913 of not playing on Good Friday and Christmas Day were lifted.

Answer: Chelsea and West Ham United

The Arsenal lost 2-0 to Champions Chelsea on December 18th 2005 and then 3-2 to West Ham United on February 1st 2006. Arsenal however, beat Liverpool 2-1 drew 0-0 with Manchester United, Everton 2-0, Manchester City 1-0, Aston Villa 5-0 and Middlesbrough 7-0.

The West Stand was designed by architect Claude Waterlow Ferrier and was opened in December 1932. It was the most advanced grandstand ever seen in England and had seats for 4,000 in addition to standing capacity of 17,000. The two tier stand cost £50,000 to build. It was in the 1930s that the stadium changed its name to Arsenal Stadium, and in October 1936, the art deco style East Stand (which became Grade Two listed) was opened.

Answer: Villareal

Arsenal won the game(April 19th 2006) 1-0 thanks to a Kolo Toure goal. I was at the game, it was one of the most emotional moments of my life when I left Highbury for the last time with those wonderful lights beaming across the stunning green field of play. Arsenal won the semi final 1-0 on aggregate before losing in the final 2-1 to Barcelona.

Arsenal's first European tie at Highbury was played in 1963 and saw defeat at the hands of Danish side Staevnet (2-3). However, as the first leg had seen Arsenal win 7-1 in Denmark, a weaker side was selected.

Answer: Cardiff City

Arsenal won the game 2-1 thanks to goals from Robert Pires. Cardiff City had played Arsenal in the Gunners first ever FA Cup final in 1927. On that day the Welsh side won the cup 1-0 and became the first time the trophy left England.

The East Stand housed the offices, players facilites and the main entrance. It cost £130,000 and had seating for 8,000. It was also the scene of the famous Marble Halls and the bronze bust of Herbert Chapman, Arsenal's legendary manager who died in 1934 and remained until the move to the Emirates stadium.

Answer: Middlesbrough

Villa lost 5-0 due to goals from Adebayor, Diaby, Van Persie and Henry twice. In the 7-0 drubbing, Boro saw Senderos, Gilberto, Pires, Hleb and a Henry hat trick record the biggest win for the Gunners. Everton were beaten 2-0, Birmingham 1-0 and West Brom 3-1.

During the Second World War Arsenal Stadium was used as a first aid post. During the war incendiary bombs destroyed the North Bank roof.

Answer: Thierry Henry

Henry scored an amazing 137 goals at Highbury and was the only player to score over 100 League goals whilst doing so (114). Cliff Bastin a legend of the 1930s scored 103 times and Ian Wright nailed 97. Lishman was six short of 100 Highbury goals during his career. Amazingly despite Henry scoring far more than anyone else, Bastin held the record for the most FA Cup goals (14) and Ian Wright had the most League Cup goals (15).

In 1948 Highbury was used as one of the football venues during the London Olympic Games. In 1951 floodlights were added and in 1956 the North Bank roof was rebuilt. Undersoil heating followed in 1964 and extra seating was installed in the West Stand in 1969.

Answer: Wigan Athletic

Arsenal lined up with the following players:

Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Campbell, Cole, Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, Pires, Reyes and Henry. With Van Persie, Ljungberg and Bergkamp on as subs.

An attendence of 38, 359 witnessed an enthralling game which saw Robert Pires score after eight minutes to trigger a party atmosphere. Wigan did not come to just make up the numbers and equalised through Scharner two minutes later. Then on 33 minutes Wigan took the lead through a Thompson goal and the last game at Highbury was in danger of being lost. The second half, however, was the Thierry Henry show, as the mercurial Frenchman scored a hat trick, the last from the penalty spot and with the final whistle blown the end had arrived. Two hours of partying followed and many Arsenal fans took their last look at what was 'home' to so many. For me it was a day I shall never forget, the tears filled my eyes, I had been to practically every home game since the early 1980s and, on that day it was over; I would never see my team play at my 'home' ever again.

Answer: Ian Wright

This game was not just the final 'North Bank' game but one of the best I had ever witnessed. It was also the final match in an Arsenal shirt for the late David Rocastle. 'Rocky' played an inspiring role in a fantastic match which saw his friend Ian Wright pip Spurs player Gary Lineker to the top goalscorer award.

On that day I stood at a football ground for the last time. It's hoped now that the terrible disaster at Hillsbrough was the catalyst to the safety we now have at all top flight stadiums in Britain. It's just a shame that 96 people had to die for it.