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As the 2025/26 Premier League season begins, Arsenal are poised to achieve a milestone unmatched in English football history, their 100th consecutive season in the top tier. The run, which began with the club’s election to the old First Division in 1919, makes the Gunners the only side to maintain top-flight status for a full century without interruption.
Originally competing as Woolwich Arsenal, the club made their top-flight debut in the 1904/05 season and remained there for seven years before suffering their only relegation in 1913, the same year they relocated to Highbury.
After two years in Division Two and the suspension of football during World War I, Arsenal were controversially voted into the expanded First Division for the 1919/20 season. They have been ever-present since.
The achievement leaves all domestic rivals far behind. Arsenal broke Sunderland’s long-standing record of 57 straight seasons back in 1983/84 and have extended their dominance ever since.
Everton currently hold the second-longest active streak in England with 72 seasons, followed by Liverpool on 64 and Manchester United on 51. In contrast, Leicester City have endured 12 relegations during Arsenal’s century at the top, while six other clubs have gone down nine times apiece.
The Gunners’ century-long run also holds weight internationally. Inter Milan have been in Serie A for 116 years, while Celtic lead the global charts with 129 seasons in Scotland’s top division. Clubs such as Peñarol (122 years, Uruguay) and Flamengo (113, Brazil) boast similar feats, while Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Athletic Club have never been relegated from La Liga in its 96-year history.
Heading into Sunday’s opener against Manchester United, Arsenal have played 4,024 top-flight matches, securing 1,899 wins, 1,023 draws, and 1,102 losses. They have scored 6,859 goals, conceded 4,907, and collected 5,728 points, a 47% win rate over a century.
In those 100 seasons, Arsenal have claimed 13 league titles, winning at least one in seven separate decades. The club’s history features legendary managers such as Herbert Chapman, who transformed them in the 1930s, and Arsène Wenger, who led the iconic Invincibles of 2003/04 and lifted multiple FA Cups.
On the pitch, David O’Leary remains the club’s appearance leader with 558 games, followed by Tony Adams on 504. Thierry Henry tops the scoring charts with 175 Premier League goals and 228 in all competitions, cementing his place among Arsenal’s greats.
For Arsenal, this centenary is more than a statistic, it is a symbol of resilience and sustained excellence in a sport where permanence at the top is increasingly rare.