The actual construction of Emirates Stadium began in February 2004. The estimated construction cost was set around £300 million, but the actual construction work was completed with a total spending of £390 million. Until today, improvements and other additions made the total investments put into the Emirates Stadium £490 million.

When the stadium was first opened in July 2006, everyone was excited. It was one of the most beautiful and carefully designed stadiums in the world, filled with modern features and tons of supporting amenities. The stadium itself has a seating capacity of 60,361 plus 152 executive suites.

The naming of this stadium originated from a sponsorship deal. In 2004, Emirates Airline signed a 15-year sponsorship deal worth £100 million, hence the name Emirates Stadium. Emirates Airline’s logo also appears in Arsenal’s shirt starting the 2006-07 season.

Although the stadium is officially known as the Emirates Stadium, many Arsenal supporters and fans still refer to the stadium as Ashburton Grove or simply “The Grove”. This stadium is noted as the second largest football club stadium, losing only to Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

A lot of historical moments – including Ajax’s Klaas-Jan Huntelaar becoming the first player to score a goal at the stadium and Thierry Henry scoring the first ever Arsenal goal during the opening match – are what make this stadium special.

By the time the Premier League was formed in 1992, Giggs has already secured a firm position as a regular left winger for Manchester United. Until today, Giggs has played a total of 611 Premier League matches for Manchester United, scoring a staggering total of 110 goals in the process.

He is also the only Manchester United player who helped the team won all 11 Premier League trophies. Since Giggs stayed with Manchester United throughout his career, he also played in 11 successive UEFA Champions League seasons; to make it even better, Giggs is the only player in the world that scored in 11 successive seasons.

The list of accomplishments doesn’t stop there. In 2008, Ryan Giggs also helped Manchester United won the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup. The same year, Giggs acquired Honorary Master of Arts degree from Salford University for his contributions to football and charity work in developing countries.

In 2010, Giggs became the 22nd person to receive the Freedom of the City of Salford. He is only 2 matches away from matching David James’s record for most Premier League appearances as well, a record he will certainly break this season.

Steve Harper is the final defense of Newcastle United, an experienced goalkeeper capable of blocking attacks from even the toughest strikers in the league. Tim Krul is also playing as a goalkeeper for the team, ready to take Harper’s position whenever necessary.

Filling the defense line, we have top players including Sol Campbell, Jose Enrique, and Tamas Kadar. With Campbell experiences in playing against the toughest teams in the Premier League, it is only natural to expect Newcastle United’s defensive players to be rock solid and hard to break.

Helping team strikers construct their attacks are Newcastle United’s midfielders. Team captain Kevin Nolan will be leading from the midfield, with Dan Gosling, Alan Smith, and other top midfielders assisting him every step of the way. Nolan’s ability to spot opportunities – and create them – will certainly help Newcastle survive their first season back in the Premier League.

Of course, intuitive strikers such as Peter Løvenkrands, Shola Amoebi, Nile Ranger, and Phil Airey will be the ones scoring goals for the team. They are all very capable in breaking through defense lines and turning opportunities into goals for the team.

Will this squad be good enough to help Newcastle United survive their first come-back to the Premier League? Only time will tell.

Do you know that the professional football player who appeared in most Premier League matches is British? The player holding this particular record is David James, who played for top teams such as Liverpool and Manchester City during his time in the Premier League. David James appeared in a total of 573 Premier League appearances.

Ryan Giggs, currently still playing for Manchester United, is tailing James closely with a total of 571 Premier League appearances. Since Giggs is still playing in the Premier League, it is not impossible at all to see this Premier League legend claim the record for most Premier League appearances very soon.

Alan Shearer, on the other hand, is holding the record for most Premier League goals. He scored a total of 260 Premier League goals throughout his career. Andrew Cole, who scored 187 goals, is the second Premier League top scorer to date.

As for the most successful team in the history of Premier League, Manchester United is certainly the titleholder. Not only that Manchester United has never been thrown out of the top 3, the team also won a total of 11 Premier League trophies since the 1992-93 season.

In order to answer this question, let’s take a quick look at the history of Premier League. When the league was first formed in 1992-93 season, Manchester United won the season with Liverpool, Chelsea, and Arsenal finishing in 6th, 10th, and 11th places respectively.

Manchester United also won the next season (1993-94), this time with Arsenal tailing closely in 4th place while Liverpool and Chelsea finished 8th and 14th.

The 1994-95 season is rather unique. This is the only season – yes, I seriously mean the ONLY one season – during which none of the top four teams finished first. Manchester United was in 2nd place, Liverpool finished 4th, while Arsenal and Chelsea finished the season in 11th and 12th place.

Other than the 1994-95 season, either one of the top four teams won the league trophy. Manchester United is the only team that consistently finishes in the top 4 every single time, winning a total of 11 Premier League trophies.

Whether these top four teams really dominate the Premier League is entirely up to you to decide. Historical facts, however, do state that these four very strong teams are leading the Premier League.

It was Carling, a large beverages manufacturer, who was noted as the first company or brand to sponsor the British Premier League. The league’s name was changed to FA Carling Premiership as part of the sponsorship agreement. The sponsorship contract was sign for an 8-year period, starting from 1993 all the way to 2001.

In 2001, a global credit card and loan provider Barclaycard owned by Barclay Plc. in UK won the sponsorship deal with a staggering sponsorship amount. The name of the league was then changed to Barclaycard Premiership. Three years after, exactly in 2004, Barclaycard’s holding company Barclays took over the sponsorship deal.

After Barclays took over the sponsorship deal from Barclaycard, the name of the league was of course changed to Barclays Premiership. The sponsorship deal ended in 2007, with Barclays acquiring another sponsorship contract. This time, the official name of the league was changed to Barclays Premier League until today.

Aside from the major sponsorship deals we’ve just discussed, the Premier League also has a number of official suppliers and partners. Nike, for example, is currently holding an official-supplier contract since 2001. It is clear the future sponsors will be even more interested now that the league is noted as the most popular football league in the world.