Arsenal Philadelphia has its beginnings way back when English football could only be viewed in the US at the one pub (if you were lucky) in your city that would open early and show the matches via dodgy satellite feed. In Philadelphia, that pub was Dickens Inn in Headhouse Square, and every weekend a small cadre of American fans and British ex-pats would gather at “The Dickens” to watch their teams play.
With fans of every team gathered in one place, often with multiple matches being shown at once, Arsenal supporters started banding together, and the foundation of what would become Arsenal Philadelphia was laid.
As the number of Gooners meeting up at the Dickens grew over time, so did the desire to stay connected with each other, reach out to other Philly area Gooners, and introduce new people to the Arsenal family. In 2002 Mike Hiddi, George Sedgwick, Ali Nahvi, Mike Kavanaugh, and Nick Kosiek formally established Arsenal Philadelphia to do exactly that.
That same year, Dickens Inn became Dark Horse Pub, and while it remained Philly’s primary English football pub and Arsenal Philadelphia’s home for several more years, as the Premier League’s following grew more and more bars around the city began showing matches. Fado on Locust Street eventually became Philly’s go-to Premier League bar, so we made the move from Headhouse to Rittenhouse and remained there until 2012 when our numbers demanded that we establish a place of our own. The newly expanded Misconduct Tavern had the space and was directly across the Street from Fado, making it the perfect place for us to establish Philadelphia’s first single-team supporters pub.
Having our own pub was a turning point for Arsenal Philadelphia. Our membership continued to grow and in 2012 we were granted official status as a Supporters Club by Arsenal FC. More importantly, our community was not just increasing in numbers but strengthening our bonds as shared support became camaraderie which became enduring friendships. Despite establishing our own pub right in the middle of our “wilderness years”, our club continued to thrive as Philly Gooners came together to celebrate small victories, commiserate over defeats, and just enjoy each other’s company despite the frustrating results and lack of silverware. And we celebrated in massive numbers as we packed Misconduct to the walls for the 2014 FA Cup final that saw our trophy drought come to an end, and again the following season as well as three of the next six years.
As the support for Arsenal and interest in the Premier League in the United States has grown over the last ten years, so have our opportunities as a Supporters Club to put together amazing events for our members and help our community. Since 2021 we’ve taken hundreds of fans to Arsenal’s US summer tour stops, staged an all-out takeover of the NBC Premier League Fan Fest in Philly, taken a group of 30 Philly Gooners to see Arsenal play at Emirates Stadium and gotten tickets for hundreds of others, with members in attendance at practically every Arsenal home match for more than a decade.
By 2023 our numbers for matches exceeded the capacity of Misconduct’s Rittenhouse location frequently enough that we made the move to their larger JFK Boulevard location, which is our current home. Misconduct JFK has enough space to accommodate our entire group in one building and the opportunity to open The Gunnery, a room that we have transformed into a unique and immersive Arsenal pub unlike anything in the United States or most anywhere else outside of North London. In addition to moving to our larger venue, we’ve also opened official chapters in West Chester, Reading, and Lancaster PA to provide more opportunities for Gooners throughout Greater Philadelphia and Eastern PA to experience the excitement and passion of cheering on the Arsenal with your fellow fans. We invite you to join us for a match at any of our locations and see for yourself!
