Bragging rights: who are the most decorated football teams in London?

by London-TV in LondonTV - Latest

Football is one of the most deeply entrenched sports in the United Kingdom, boasting rivalries that span decades. London is no different, with clubs across the capital battling it out for bragging rights to be the area’s best club. With that in mind, here is a look at London’s three most decorated football teams.

Arsenal

The red side of North London, Arsenal can be considered to be the team with the richest history since being founded on 1 December 1886. The Gunners boast the most English top-flight trophies of the three entries on this list (13), as well as the most FA Cup wins to their name (14). Of these 13 league titles, though, only three of them have come in the Premier League era, the most recent of which was way back in 2003-04.

However, at the turn of the New Year, Arsenal are poised to end their 19-year drought, with football odds of 5/4 to get their hands on the coveted trophy in 2022-23. Mikel Arteta’s side went into 2023 sitting a whopping seven points clear of Manchester City in second, although with a lot of the season to go it is still all to play for. Like City, though, Arsenal are yet to taste European glory in their 136-year history, and boast the lowest total of two League Cups out of the three clubs on this list.

Chelsea

Chelsea, meanwhile, lead the way in terms of League Cup wins (8), and remain the only team from London to be triumphant in Europe. The Blues have won the Europa League and Champions League twice each, with their most recent glory coming in 2020-21 less than six months after German coach Thomas Tuchel took over. Their Champions League opponents that day were current Premier League champions City, who Chelsea, along with Manchester United, have dominated the league in recent years.

That’s because the West London club have won five of their six top-flight trophies since the birth of the Premier League in 1992-93, the most of any London club. That being said, the Blues do have an inferior number of FA Cup trophies (8) than their North London rivals since being founded on 10 March 1905. It is also worth noting that the majority of these accolades were won under the ownership of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, amounting to 21 total trophies before his departure in May 2022.

Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur are the oldest club on this list, having been founded on 5 September 1882, although their long history hasn’t equated to more trophies over the years. Like Arsenal, Spurs have never won in Europe, and they are the only team on this list to not hold a Premier League trophy in their cabinet. They came closest under Mauricio Pochettino in 2016-17, finishing second with 86 points, which was ultimately seven points off winners Chelsea. Their most recent league win came all the way back in the 1960-61 season.

In fact, Spurs’ last major trophy across all competitions was the 2007-08 League Cup, of which they boast the second-most on this list behind Chelsea (5 trophies), with four to their name. Like their West London counterparts, Spurs also boast 8 FA Cup wins, their earliest dating all the way back to the 1900-01 season, four years before Chelsea were even founded. 

As football becomes increasingly monetized, power and success are centred on the league’s biggest spenders. While Chelsea can compete, Spurs and Arsenal could struggle to keep up in future years, which is why the Gunners’ run for Premier League glory in 2022-23 couldn’t have come at a better time.