Among the several workers who helped form the club, the men primarily responsible were David Danskin, Elijah Watkins and Fred Beardsley.

Home games were played on an area of Plumstead Common that is now bordered by Heavitree Road, Waverley Crescent and St John's Terrace.

", Bernard Joy gave the team line-up for first match as: Beardsley, Danskin, Porteous, Gregory, Bee, Wolfe, Smith, Moy, Whitehead, Morris, Duggan.

However, in 1953 Robert Thompson claimed that he played in the first game (along with Wells in place of Morris and Duggan) and scored the first goal.

From Thompson's account, it appears that the first game played as Royal Arsenal was against Millwall Rovers on 5 February 1887.