Classic Arsenal Matches - Part 1 - Arsenal 3 Liverpool 1 - 08/09/1984
WE'RE GONNA WIN THE LEAGUE!
BACK IN SEPTEMBER 1984, Liverpool were the best team on the planet. The previous season they had won the Division One title for a record equaling third year in a row, the League Cup for a record breaking fifth year in a row, and the European Cup for the fourth time against Roma on penalties in their own back yard.
In fact had it not been a for a shock defeat at home to Brighton in the FA Cup, this Liverpool side would have been the first ever to complete the quadruple.
Meanwhile over at Highbury, Arsenal had been very much in transition. Since the break up of the great cup side from the late 1970s, things had gone rapidly downhill. So much so that manager Terry Neill had been dismissed in December 1983 following a poor run of results which including a home defeat against Division Three side, Walsall.
Don Howe, Neill's assistant and coach of the double winning side from 1971, was put in caretaker charge. He initially steadied the ship but following the signing of striker Paul Mariner from Ipswich Town in February 1984, Arsenal finished the season strongly; just two defeats in the final 15 matches, and Howe was given the job on a permanent basis.
What had been surprising was the attacking style Howe adopted. Known for being a meticulous defensive coach for both Arsenal and England, now in the hot seat Howe suddenly threw caution to the wind. In these days of the strict 4-4-2, he began employing an ambitious 4-3-3 formation years before it became the norm. With Mariner as the focal point, Howe pushed Tony Woodcock and Charlie Nicholas alongside him in a three pronged attack that saw the team score 32 goals in those thrilling final 15 matches.
The summer of 1984 saw the arrival of Viv Anderson from Nottingham Forest to fill the problem right back birth and suddenly Arsenal looked to have a decent side again.
In goal was Pat Jennings, past his best perhaps but still a very good goalkeeper. With Anderson at right back and fellow England international Kenny Sansom at left back, Arsenal probably had the best pair of full backs in the league.
David O'Leary, one of the few players remaining from Neill's glory days, was partnered at centre back by Tommy Caton (RIP), who had joined the club from Manchester City during the turbulent days of December 1983. In the centre of midfield, the hard-working Brian Talbot was joined by academy graduates Paul Davis and Stewart Robson, leaving that potent front three of Mariner, Woodcock and Nicholas.
Of course the Gunners could not win the league, Liverpool had the monopoly on that, but after years of underachievement, anticipation was high among the Highbury faithful going into the 1984/85 season.
But then the action started. Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by newly promoted Chelsea on the opening day before a 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. The poor start was partly down to the suspension of Nicholas, who, after a difficult start to life in North London, had been superb in the run-in to the 1983/84 season. But a silly sending off against Leicester City in April saw him miss the opening two matches.
The Scot returned to the side for match three at Watford and showed exactly what the team had been missing with two goals in a 4-3 win. This was followed by a midweek 2-0 home win over newly promoted Newcastle United, a game which included Anderson's first goal for the club and a superb free kick from Talbot.
With eight points from their first four matches, Liverpool arrived at Highbury on this balmy September afternoon one point ahead of the Gunners. A win for either side would have taken them to the top of the table, a place Arsenal had not occupied in over 11 years, since February 1973.
The champions arrived without their injured talisman Ian Rush, who had scored over 40 goals the previous season, so new signing Paul Walsh replaced him up front in an otherwise full strength side.
Over 50,000 packed into Highbury to see if this new-look Arsenal side could finally get one over on the champions. The Gunners had not beaten Liverpool in any of their previous eight meetings, going back to March 1981, and Liverpool had won here on their previous two visits without so much as conceding a goal.
Attacking the North Bank in the first half, Liverpool, as expected started strongly. Only a magnificent flying save from Jennings denied Walsh an early breakthrough, while Jan Molby fired narrowly wide.
But slowly Arsenal began to get on top. Their first real opening fell to Mariner midway through the half, but he fired just over the top with goalkeeper Bruce Grobelaar caught off his line.
However it was the hosts who went in front with half time just seconds away. Woodcock was fouled 25 yards from goal just to the left of centre, a very similar position to where Talbot had scored with a free kick in midweek.
In these days before mass video analysis perhaps the Liverpool defence was not prepared for what was follow but it is doubful it would have made any difference anyway. Talbot's majestic curling set piece flew into the top corner of the net before Grobelaar could get anywhere near it.
The Arsenal fans on the Clock End, so starved of success in recent years, celebrated wildly, and that joy became unbridled soon after the restart.
Anderson, who's marauding runs down the right had added a new dimension to the Arsenal attack, drove a low cross to the near post where Davis laid the ball into the path of Woodcock to rifle a shot into the top corner of Grobelaar's net. 2-0.
Of course Liverpool were not happy. They never were. Grobelaar in particular was complaining about a possible handball by Davis, but with no VAR to save them the goal rightly stood.
Suddenly it was Arsenal looking like champions. Playing with a new found confidence they tore into the normally rock solid Liverpool defence and it was soon 3-0. Anderson was again involved as his cross from the right found the head of Talbot, who lived up to his nickname Noddy with a superb diving header from eight yards.
The margin of victory should have been greater as Mariner rounded Grobelaar but saw his goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Alan Hansen, before then heading narrowly over from the resulting Davis corner.
Liverpool did grab a late consolation when left back Alan Kennedy played a neat 1-2 with Walsh on the edge of the area before coolly slotting past Jennings for the 4th great goal of this absorbing encounter.
The final whistle was greeted with huge cheers from the Highbury fans who had finally seen their team reach for the top of the table for the first time in a generation. And the chants of 'We're going to win the league,' not heard around these parts for many a year, began to ring out around this famous old stadium. While Talbot rightly took most of the plaudits for his superb two goal haul, the game's outstanding performer had been the magnificent Anderson.
Rather than being the dawning of a new era for Arsenal however, this proved to be a false dawn. While Liverpool ended the season empty handed for the first time since 1981, it was not the Gunners who took the title from them but instead their neighbours Everton.
Howe's side briefly enjoyed their moment in the sun. Although they lost 2-1 at Ipswich in their next match, they won the next five to build up a four point lead at the top of the table. With 25 points and 25 goals from their opening 11 matches, the future looked bright. But the fall, when it arrived, was just as spectacular.
Arsenal picked up just 41 more points from their remaining 31 matches to finish in 7th place and they suffered cup humiliation at first Division Two side Oxford United in the League Cup and then at Fourth Division York City in the FA Cup. In fact it would not be until George Graham replaced Howe as manager in 1986 that Arsenal were finally able to topple Liverpool from the summit of English football.
So while the title decider in 1989 will remain the most famous meeting between these two great clubs, this meeting in September 1984 did at least gave Arsenal fans a brief glimpse of what the future would hold.
For me this game will always remain a very special memory. In fact I would say it is still one the best games I ever witnessed at Highbury. The big crowd, the atmosphere, beating Liverpool, the goals, finally being able to sing 'We are top of the league'.
Although this was my fourth season coming to Highbury, everything about this game felt new and exciting. I had turned 16 that summer, left school and started my first job in the City that August. I had money in my pocket, my first Sergio Tacchini tracksuit top and felt like I could take on the world.
From my place on the Clock End I had the perfect view of Talbot's free kick. I knew from the moment it left his foot it was in and we were already celebrating long before the ball hit the back of the net. If I could freeze one moment in history and bottle that feeling it would be this moment. Happy days indeed.
Coming up next time I look back at the life and career of one of the goalscorers in this match, Tony Woodcock.
BACK IN SEPTEMBER 1984, Liverpool were the best team on the planet. The previous season they had won the Division One title for a record equaling third year in a row, the League Cup for a record breaking fifth year in a row, and the European Cup for the fourth time against Roma on penalties in their own back yard.
Meanwhile over at Highbury, Arsenal had been very much in transition. Since the break up of the great cup side from the late 1970s, things had gone rapidly downhill. So much so that manager Terry Neill had been dismissed in December 1983 following a poor run of results which including a home defeat against Division Three side, Walsall.
Don Howe, Neill's assistant and coach of the double winning side from 1971, was put in caretaker charge. He initially steadied the ship but following the signing of striker Paul Mariner from Ipswich Town in February 1984, Arsenal finished the season strongly; just two defeats in the final 15 matches, and Howe was given the job on a permanent basis.
What had been surprising was the attacking style Howe adopted. Known for being a meticulous defensive coach for both Arsenal and England, now in the hot seat Howe suddenly threw caution to the wind. In these days of the strict 4-4-2, he began employing an ambitious 4-3-3 formation years before it became the norm. With Mariner as the focal point, Howe pushed Tony Woodcock and Charlie Nicholas alongside him in a three pronged attack that saw the team score 32 goals in those thrilling final 15 matches.
The summer of 1984 saw the arrival of Viv Anderson from Nottingham Forest to fill the problem right back birth and suddenly Arsenal looked to have a decent side again.
In goal was Pat Jennings, past his best perhaps but still a very good goalkeeper. With Anderson at right back and fellow England international Kenny Sansom at left back, Arsenal probably had the best pair of full backs in the league.
David O'Leary, one of the few players remaining from Neill's glory days, was partnered at centre back by Tommy Caton (RIP), who had joined the club from Manchester City during the turbulent days of December 1983. In the centre of midfield, the hard-working Brian Talbot was joined by academy graduates Paul Davis and Stewart Robson, leaving that potent front three of Mariner, Woodcock and Nicholas.
Of course the Gunners could not win the league, Liverpool had the monopoly on that, but after years of underachievement, anticipation was high among the Highbury faithful going into the 1984/85 season.
But then the action started. Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at home by newly promoted Chelsea on the opening day before a 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. The poor start was partly down to the suspension of Nicholas, who, after a difficult start to life in North London, had been superb in the run-in to the 1983/84 season. But a silly sending off against Leicester City in April saw him miss the opening two matches.
With eight points from their first four matches, Liverpool arrived at Highbury on this balmy September afternoon one point ahead of the Gunners. A win for either side would have taken them to the top of the table, a place Arsenal had not occupied in over 11 years, since February 1973.
The champions arrived without their injured talisman Ian Rush, who had scored over 40 goals the previous season, so new signing Paul Walsh replaced him up front in an otherwise full strength side.
Over 50,000 packed into Highbury to see if this new-look Arsenal side could finally get one over on the champions. The Gunners had not beaten Liverpool in any of their previous eight meetings, going back to March 1981, and Liverpool had won here on their previous two visits without so much as conceding a goal.
Attacking the North Bank in the first half, Liverpool, as expected started strongly. Only a magnificent flying save from Jennings denied Walsh an early breakthrough, while Jan Molby fired narrowly wide.
But slowly Arsenal began to get on top. Their first real opening fell to Mariner midway through the half, but he fired just over the top with goalkeeper Bruce Grobelaar caught off his line.
However it was the hosts who went in front with half time just seconds away. Woodcock was fouled 25 yards from goal just to the left of centre, a very similar position to where Talbot had scored with a free kick in midweek.
In these days before mass video analysis perhaps the Liverpool defence was not prepared for what was follow but it is doubful it would have made any difference anyway. Talbot's majestic curling set piece flew into the top corner of the net before Grobelaar could get anywhere near it.
The Arsenal fans on the Clock End, so starved of success in recent years, celebrated wildly, and that joy became unbridled soon after the restart.
Of course Liverpool were not happy. They never were. Grobelaar in particular was complaining about a possible handball by Davis, but with no VAR to save them the goal rightly stood.
Suddenly it was Arsenal looking like champions. Playing with a new found confidence they tore into the normally rock solid Liverpool defence and it was soon 3-0. Anderson was again involved as his cross from the right found the head of Talbot, who lived up to his nickname Noddy with a superb diving header from eight yards.
The margin of victory should have been greater as Mariner rounded Grobelaar but saw his goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Alan Hansen, before then heading narrowly over from the resulting Davis corner.
Liverpool did grab a late consolation when left back Alan Kennedy played a neat 1-2 with Walsh on the edge of the area before coolly slotting past Jennings for the 4th great goal of this absorbing encounter.
The final whistle was greeted with huge cheers from the Highbury fans who had finally seen their team reach for the top of the table for the first time in a generation. And the chants of 'We're going to win the league,' not heard around these parts for many a year, began to ring out around this famous old stadium. While Talbot rightly took most of the plaudits for his superb two goal haul, the game's outstanding performer had been the magnificent Anderson.
Howe's side briefly enjoyed their moment in the sun. Although they lost 2-1 at Ipswich in their next match, they won the next five to build up a four point lead at the top of the table. With 25 points and 25 goals from their opening 11 matches, the future looked bright. But the fall, when it arrived, was just as spectacular.
Arsenal picked up just 41 more points from their remaining 31 matches to finish in 7th place and they suffered cup humiliation at first Division Two side Oxford United in the League Cup and then at Fourth Division York City in the FA Cup. In fact it would not be until George Graham replaced Howe as manager in 1986 that Arsenal were finally able to topple Liverpool from the summit of English football.
So while the title decider in 1989 will remain the most famous meeting between these two great clubs, this meeting in September 1984 did at least gave Arsenal fans a brief glimpse of what the future would hold.
For me this game will always remain a very special memory. In fact I would say it is still one the best games I ever witnessed at Highbury. The big crowd, the atmosphere, beating Liverpool, the goals, finally being able to sing 'We are top of the league'.
Although this was my fourth season coming to Highbury, everything about this game felt new and exciting. I had turned 16 that summer, left school and started my first job in the City that August. I had money in my pocket, my first Sergio Tacchini tracksuit top and felt like I could take on the world.
From my place on the Clock End I had the perfect view of Talbot's free kick. I knew from the moment it left his foot it was in and we were already celebrating long before the ball hit the back of the net. If I could freeze one moment in history and bottle that feeling it would be this moment. Happy days indeed.
Coming up next time I look back at the life and career of one of the goalscorers in this match, Tony Woodcock.
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