Arsenal Football Club is one of the most consistent football clubs in the English Premier League and indeed, in Europe as a whole. Since the North London club found its way into European football in 1963, the club has remained almost invisible as far as qualifying for continental football is concerned.
The consistency of the club in European football makes it so easy for one to think that the club has won the major trophies in the continent – UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa Cup.
Unfortunately for the Gunners, the club has won everything that is available for a Premier League Club to win except the UEFA Champions League and the Europa Cup, despite being the first London club to play in the finals of the two competitions.
Yes, before Chelsea, Arsenal’s rival in London, dreamt of winning the Champions League in 2012 and the Europa League in 2013 and 2019, Arsenal had played in the finals of the Champions League in 2006 but lost it to Barcelona (2 goals to one).
The Dominance of Arsenal in Europe Before Now
Long before the UEFA Europa League became one of the focal points in world football, Arsenal was already doing magic in Europe. The club is among the few clubs in the history of football that has won the defunct Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (1970) and the Cup Winners Cup in 1994.
Though these two competitions are no longer existing, they were very popular in their days and a pride to the few teams that had won it before it folded.
People, especially Arsenal fans, like to argue that Arsenal has won the Europa League because the club has two European trophies – Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and the Cup Winners Cup, in its trophies cabinet. This is so because there are speculations that the two defunct tournaments were merged to form the UEFA Europa League; a speculation UEFA has always tried to kick against.
So, if you are among the football fans who are still wondering whether Arsenal has won the UEFA Champions League or not, the answer is emphatic “no”. The North London club has not won the Champions League nor the modern days Europa Cup. Those are the two trophies that have turned the club into the wife of Chelsea.
