It's lucky for Arsenal when the year ends in 6

FANS of a certain North London club like to remind everyone that it is lucky for them when the year ends in 1.

Of course, we should all be thankfully we are not successful for just one year every decade, but there does appear to be a year that is significant for Arsenal.

It all started right at the very beginning - 1886 - the year the club was formed, and it does seem that when the year ends in a 6, something significant happens.

1896 - just ten years after the club was formed, international honours came their way for the first time when defender Caesar Llewellyn-Jenkyns was capped by Wales. The year also saw Arsenal suffer their record league defeat, 0-8 at the hands of Loughbrough Town on 12 December.

1906 - saw the club reach the FA Cup semi final for the first time. Just two years after promotion to the top flight, Arsenal fought their way through to the last four, only to lose 2-0 to Newcastle United at Stoke.

1926 - saw the club finish runners-up in Division One, the highest position a London club had ever finished. It was Herbert Chapman's first season in charge and also the first season of the new offside law. Chapman's old club, Huddersfield Town, won the title that season, the second of their hat-trick of successes.

1936 - saw Arsenal win the FA Cup for the second time. A goal from Ted Drake, who had been injured for much of the season, was just enough to give them victory over second division Sheffield United, a sixth trophy in seven seasons for the club.

1956 - saw the death of manager Tom Whittaker. He was the last link to the great Herbert Chapman sides of the 1930's and it was no surprise that his death coincided with a decline in the clubs fortunes. From the league title success in 1953 until lifting the FAIRS Cup in 1970, the club won nothing.

1966 - was a great year for English football, of course, but it also saw Bertie Mee installed as Arsenal manager. Like Whittaker before him, he had been physiotherapist at the club before being given the job as manager, and he transformed their fortunes. He was the mastermind behind that FAIRS Cup success in 1970 and the Double that followed a year later - only the second time that particular feat had been achieved in the 20th Century. But Mee was unable to rebuild that side and ten years after he took over, he resigned.

1976 - saw Terry Neill become the new manager. Although he had played for the club back in 1960's, he had been manager of Spurs when he returned to Highbury in the summer of 1976. He was the youngest manager in the club's history and built possibly the greatest Arsenal side never to win the league. They did become the first side for over 100 years to reach 3 consecutive FA Cup finals, but won just one, in 1979 against Manchester United. His side also reached the final of the European Cup Winners Cup in 1980, losing on penalties to Valencia. The departures of Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton over the next two years saw the club struggle to maintain that success and Neill was sacked in 1983.

1986 - saw one of the most significant appointments in the club's history. Double-winner George Graham took over as manager that summer, after a successful spell at Millwall, and he would lead the club to six trophies in eight seasons. After lifting the League Cup in his first season - the first time the club had won that particular trophy - Graham's side became Champions for the first time since 1971, two years later. He went on to lead the club to a further title in 1991 - losing just one game in the process - an FA and League Cup double in 1993 - the first time this had ever been achieved - and a Cup Winners Cup success a year later. But with the team in decline and allegations over financial irregularities, Graham was sacked in 1995.

1996 - saw an ever bigger appointment for the club as Arsene Wenger arrived from Grampus Eight. No one had really heard him until then, but he soon made his mark, leading the club to the double in his first full season and changing everything. He brought success not seen at the club since the 1930's, with another Double in 2002, an FA Cup success in 2003 - the first time the club had ever retained the trophy - an unbeaten title in 2004 and another FA Cup win in 2005. With seven trophies in nine seasons, Wenger overtook Graham as the most successful manager in the club's history.

2006 - was the start of a new era for the club. 120 years after it was formed, Arsenal moved into a new stadium, just 500 yards from their old Highbury home. The year also saw the club reach it's first ever Champions League final, going down 2-1 to Barcelona having played the last 70 minutes with only ten men.

So I wonder what will happen in 2016? History tends to suggest it will something significant for the club. A successful new manager, a trophy success, or maybe something else? The good thing is we only have four years to wait...