Nigel Winterburn: Title showdown in ’89 shows value of first goal

 
Stuart Davis30 April 2012

In recent years the title race has gone to the wire but the last occasion the main contenders battled it out at such a significant time was in 1989, when Michael Thomas secured the championship for Arsenal with a last-gasp strike in the final game of the season.

George Graham’s side went into the match at Anfield three points behind Liverpool and needing to win by two goals to be champions.

Nigel Winterburn provided the assist for Alan Smith to score Arsenal’s opener and he remembers how the goal threw the hosts, a pointer for whichever team strike first in tonight’s Manchester derby. The former left-back said: “A lot of people had written us off in the build-up but we just got on with things the way we would for any other game.

“We didn’t feel there was any pressure on us. In his half-time speech, George Graham was convinced Liverpool would panic if we scored. And that’s what happened. Our first goal came fairly early in the second half and they didn’t know whether to come at us or defend, so got caught somewhere in the middle.”

The game was originally scheduled for April 23 but was re‑arranged for May 26, after the FA Cup final, because of the Hillsborough disaster, making the showdown the final game of the 1988-89 season.

Arsenal had gone into the new year holding a 15-point advantage over their rivals but Graham’s side suffered a slump in form, allowing Liverpool to edge ahead and become the favourites to retain the First Division title and complete the Double.

Winterburn said: “As a group of players it was the first time we had been in this situation, to achieving a title. You’re so close to the finishing line and your hands are on the trophy but it’s as if it’s cemented to the floor. And that’s what made winning the title at Anfield such a significant achievement for us.”

“We should really have won the title two or three games before facing Liverpool but it came down to that one game and it changed almost from being a league game to becoming a cup-tie.

“We knew it was now or never and that there were no other chances.

“To have a season going to the last game, I don’t think you’ll ever see that again and that’s what made it so dramatic and so special.”

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