Why are Arsenal fans called Gooners, when the team is known as the Gunners?
SunSport answers the age old question about the North London club
IT'S the sort of question your kids might ask and you'd have no idea how to answer.
As it turns out, there are a number of theories as to why Arsenal fans have a different nickname to their team.
But let's go back to where it all started and how the Arsenal team got their name.
Why are Arsenal nicknamed the Gunners?
The name Arsenal, and hence the nickname 'Gunners', goes back to the club's original home, south of the Thames, in Woolwich.
The club was formed in 1886 as Woolwich Arsenal by workers from the Dial Square munitions factory.
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In 1913 they dropped 'Woolwich' from their name and moved to Highbury, but kept both the name 'Arsenal' and nickname 'The Gunners'.
Why are Arsenal fans called Gooners?
The most commonly held belief on this dates back to the days of hooliganism in the 1970s.
One of Arsenal's 'firms' was called the Goon Squad, a name which is said to have merged with the club nickname over time to form 'Gooners'.
However others say it is just a pronunciation alteration, like how Newcastle's modification of the word 'town' led to them being called the Toon Army.
