Classic Arsenal Matches - Part 6 - Coventry City 1 Arsenal 2 29/09/1984

SENT TO COVENTRY

IT SEEMS HARD to believe now but back in the summer of 1984 Arsenal was considered as one of the favourites to win the league title. 

Despite years of underachievement there had been a revolution going on at Highbury. Under new manager Don Howe, Arsenal had enjoyed a great finish to the 1983/84 season, winning eight of their last 15 matches to move from the brink of the relegation zone to finish 6th.

Charlie Nicholas, after a slow start to his career in North London, had finally began to blossom into the player that had made him the hottest property in British football the previous summer.

And on top of that Howe had strengthened his squad with the signing of England international right back Viv Anderson.

Everything, on the surface at least, appeared to have fallen into place for the Gunners, leading many to believe this was to be their year.

After picking up only one point from their opening two matches, a draw at home to Chelsea and defeat at Nottingham Forest, Arsenal put together a run of four wins from five matches ahead of this trip to Highfield Road to sit second in the Division One table, level on points with early leaders Tottenham Hotspur.

Perennial strugglers Coventry City meanwhile included a Tottenham connection in their team, with former player Terry Gibson playing up front and future manager Martin Jol in midfield.

On a warm, autumnal afternoon Arsenal, as expected, dominated the match from the start. With Nicholas well shackled by the Coventry defence it was Tony Woodcock who looked the most likely in a first half where the Gunners could have been two or three ahead.

The second period was following a similar pattern but then totally against the run of play the Sky Blues broke out to take the lead.

The speedy Micky Gynn broke clear down the left and of course it had to be Gibson on the end of his cross, firing past Pat Jennings from 15 yards.

Having lost their previous away game at Ipswich Town two weeks earlier, it appeared as though once again Arsenal were going to flatter to deceive when just moments later Coventry were given a great opportunity to double their lead.

Nicholas, perhaps showing why he did not track back too often, was adjudged to have fouled Gibson in the penalty area and referee Allan Banks pointed to the spot. The normally reliable Terry Hibbett stepped up but that wiley old campaigner Jennings guessed correctly, diving low to his right to keep out his kick.

That gave Arsenal a lift and they bombarded the Coventry goal in a series of frantic attacks, but with just five minutes remaining they had been unable to find a way past goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic. However, the rampaging Kenny Sansom then broke clear down the left and his low cross was swept home by Woodcock at the near post to make it 1-1.

Relief all round and in the circumstances a draw would not have been a disaster for Howe's team but they were not about to settle for that.

The match was deep into stoppage time when Anderson's cross from the right found it's way through to Paul Mariner and he steered the ball past Ogrizovic to send the 4,000 traveling Arsenal fans behind the goal into ecstasy.

Many spilled onto the pitch in a celebration that carried on seconds later when the final whistle blew as they believed they had gone top.

But with Spurs also winning, beating Luton Town 4-2, it was not to be. In fact Arsenal had dropped to third on goal difference after Nottingham Forest sneaked above them by virtue of a 3-1 victory against Norwich City.

However, the Gunners did go top the following week after a narrow 1-0 win over eventual champions Everton, and by the middle of October they were four points clear and living up to their pre-season billing as title favourites.

But it did not last. How could it? This was mid 1980s Arsenal. Three inevitable defeats in a week at the end of October brought the Gunners crashing back down to earth and in the end they tailed off so badly they finished as low as 7th.

In fact it would not be until the arrival of George Graham in the summer of 1986 that Arsenal would rise again like a phoenix from the flames and by the end of the decade they would finally be league champions again.

For me this game at Coventry came at a time when watching Arsenal was fun. In the autumn of 1984 it seemed like the sun was always shining and on the pitch, temporarily at least, we looked the real deal. Fast, attacking football and scoring plenty of goals.

After Coventry scored and then got the penalty it looked like being one of those days, the sort of away day we had suffered far too frequently, which made the comeback all the more exciting. When Woodcock scored we all went mental behind the goal and I remember saying to my mate, if only we'd scored five minutes earlier we might have won this.

Then right at the death Mariner's goal went in and it was total carnage in the away end. Coventry was one of the only grounds to be all seated at the time so we were falling over the seats in celebration, bodies flying everywhere. It really is hard to beat a last minute winner away from home.

All this was relatively new to me. I'd only been going to away games outside London since the spring of 1983 and had never experienced anything like this before. For those few minutes at the end I honestly believed we'd win the league. In fact when Mariner's goal went in it felt like we had already won it.

The glow lasted a few weeks as we were top for a while but then mid 80s normality kicked in. After the next away game at Leicester City, which we won 4-1, we didn't win away again until April. I think that's why we celebrated moments like this so enthusiastically as deep down we knew it wouldn't last.

Coming up next I look back at the career of one our Arsenal's greatest players from the 1980s and one of my favourite ever players; Paul Davis. Now that is one not to missed.