Classic Arsenal Matches - Part 9 - Arsenal 1 Paris St Germain 0 European Cup Winners Cup Semi final second leg 12/04/1994

DON'T CRY, WRIGHTY

BY 1993 the thrilling Arsenal side which had won the league title so impressively in 1989 and 1991 had been replaced with a rather more stoic version. This had proved useful in the one off nature of cup competitions and despite finishing a lowly 10th in the league in the 1992/93 season scoring just 42 goals, George Graham's side had lifted both cups.

So a much anticipated return to European competition awaited.

While Graham's first sojourn across the Channel as Arsenal manager in 1991 had ended in a disappointing extra time defeat to Benfica in the second round of the European Cup, his second attempt would prove to be far more glorious.

So hurt was Graham by that Benfica experience, where Arsenal had paid the price for playing far too expansively in the second leg, that even before Arsenal had lifted the FA Cup in May 1993 he was already planning his next assault on European competition.

The 1993/94 Cup Winners Cup campaign had begun with a tricky trip to Denmark. After surviving an early penalty miss in the first leg in Odense, Arsenal then went behind to an own goal from Martin Keown. A shock defeat was averted however as goals from Ian Wright and Paul Merson sealed a 2-1 victory. 

That was not quite the end of the drama as in second leg at Highbury it took a goal from Kevin Campbell to finally send the Gunners through 3-2 on aggregate.

At that stage no one would have guessed that Arsenal could be capable of going all the way in a competition that included the likes of Real Madrid, Parma and Paris St. Germain. But the second round would change all that.

After a comfortable 3-0 first leg win at Highbury, with Wright scoring twice, a 7-0 victory in the second leg away in Standard Liege, a club record away victory in Europe and completed without the rested Wright, made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice.

The quarter final was when the competition really began to get interesting. In a line up that would not have looked out of place in the Champions League, the draw saw Real Madrid coming up against Paris St Germain, Benfica against Bayer Leverkusen, holders Parma playing Ajax, while Arsenal faced Torino. 

In a tough first leg in Italy, Arsenal battled out a goalless draw in the same stadium where England had lost the 1990 World Cup semi final, while in the second leg back in North London it took a late header from Tony Adams to send Graham's men through.

The semi final paired Arsenal with Paris St Germain. The first leg in the French capital on 29 March 1994 proved to be a classic encounter. Wright gave Arsenal a first half lead, heading home a set piece from Paul Davis, and during the break as the song 'Go West' by the Pet Shop Boys was played over the PA system, the Arsenal fans replaced the chorus with the words, '1-0 to the Arsenal'. 

It would become THE iconic Arsenal chant for the remainder of the decade and beyond.

In the second half David Ginola equalised and it finished 1-1, so when the teams reconvened at Highbury two weeks later the tie was still very much in the balance.

This was a great PSG side that included the likes of Vincent Guerin and George Weah alongside Ginola, so this would be far from straight forward for Arsenal.

In fact despite the away goal it was probably the visitors who would start as favourites.

Graham was all to aware that three years earlier Arsenal had gone out in the second leg at home after securing a 1-1 draw away in Benfica so he was relishing the opportunity to put that right.

Tuesday 12 April 1994 had been a very wet and windy day in North London but there was a red hot atmosphere inside the famous old stadium.

Arsenal were without Merson, withdrawn just before the kick off. The official line was that he was injured but as he later admitted in his book, 'How Not To Be A Professional Footballer', that he had cried off ill following a cocaine binge the previous weekend. So it led to an eleventh hour recall for Campbell. Arsenal was given some good news however when Weah was ruled out for the visitors.

After a very nervous start when only a last gasp tackle from Adams denied Rai, Arsenal were settled by an early goal. Lee Dixon swung in a cross from the right and Campbell caught out goalkeeper Bernard Lama with a clever near post header that squeezed in off the post.

The crowd of 34,002 went wild with a mixture of joy and relief but reality soon hit home. There were still 83 minutes remaining to keep this exciting French side at bay!

Against Benfica in 1991 Arsenal had also gone ahead earlier on but then became unsure whether to stick or bust.

This time the Gunners did what they had been doing best; sat back to protect the clean sheet. 1-0 to the Arsenal. Although it was a close run thing.

Laurent Fournier shot into the side netting while Ricardo then headed tamely wide from close range as PSG rallied.

But with half time approaching Arsenal's joy turned to despair. Wright, walking a suspension tightrope, lunged in late on Alain Roche and Danish referee Peter Mikkelsen produced a yellow card, Wright's second of the competition meaning he would miss the final.

The crowd tried to lift their star man but in a nod towards Paul Gascoigne at the 1990 World Cup semi final, the tears began to roll down Wright's cheeks as the reality of what had happened began to sink in.

The tension became almost unbearable in the second half as every PSG attack looked threatening. But this was vintage mid 1990s Arsenal and they defended as though their lives depended on it.

In the end they only gave the Parisians one clear chance at goal. A mistake from Ian Selley let in Ginola, but the French Footballer of the Year who would later return to Highbury several times with the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur, fired wide of David Seaman's left hand post.

The final whistle was greeted with scenes of great jubilation at Highbury as Arsenal had reached only their third European final and their first for 14 years.

The final in Copenhagen against Parma the following month would become another Graham defensive masterclass and another 1-0 success, although that would be his last hooray. Just nine months after that triumph Graham was gone.

On a personal level this was one of my most enjoyable nights at Highbury. I only managed to secure a ticket an hour before kick off so I felt privileged to be there to witness it in person.

The atmosphere was incredible and tension unbearable at times but the celebrations at the end were some of the best ever.

Yes we had not actually won the trophy at that stage but Arsenal and European finals have never gone hand in hand so you felt immediately this was something very special indeed.

Initially I felt the goal had come far too early. I did not think we could possibly hang on against them for that long, and the memory of Benfica was still fresh in the mind. But this was Graham's Arsenal at its best.

I was chuffed that it was Super Kevin Campbell who got the goal. He always seemed to be the scapegoat when things were not going well and lets not forget he was only thrown into the team on this occasion at very the last minute due to Merse's off-field problems.

Of course we were all upset when Wrighty got booked. He had done as much as anyone to get us to the final and it was gutting that he would miss it. In fact I did not think we could possibly win it without him, but with that defence we always had a chance. And so it proved.

It seems crazy to think that we have not won a European trophy since. We've come close a few times of course, losing finals in 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2019, which just goes to show what an achievement this was.

Coming up next time I look back at the career of a much vilified player who's goal it was that led to us qualifying for this European campaign in the first place; Andy Linighan. Look out for that coming soon.