Nike have been official kit sponsors of Arsenal FC for over 15 years and have consistently looked for ways to celebrate the clubs achievements and give broader cultural context to football in the UK.

In the 2005/6 season the club confirmed that this would be their final year at the Highbury Football ground and so the brief was to celebrate the heritage of the club, whilst establishing a new chapter its history at a new state of the art stadium.

An Arsenal mission has always been about developing talent from within. This is exemplified by the playing staff over the years. So, the idea was formed to create a team line up that featured every 1st team Arsenal player and manager (493 to be exact) that had graced the Highbury turf between 1913 and 2006. No mean feat. The search began to determine all the players that had featured.With the help of the club historian, it was painstakingly put together using images ranging from original glass negatives to modern digital shots.

The final line up was teased in the Arsenal v Tottenham game as a gatefold within the match day programme. The gatefold was seen by over 50,000 supporters and generated a huge response. There were four players that we still did not have images for, so they called on Gooners to help, driving fans to an email response site spirit@Arsenal.co.uk to send any information. The final monument, 10ft by 50ft, now sits outside the new stadium with the line ‘The deeper the foundation, the stronger the fortress’, reinforcing the relationship between the club, fans and Nike.