Classic Arsenal Matches - Part 8 - Everton 1 Arsenal 3 - 14/01/1989
WE ALL AGREE MERSON IS BETTER THAN COTTEE
BACK IN THE summer of 1988 it was widely known that Arsenal manager George Graham was in the market for a striker to partner Alan Smith. In both the previous two seasons, Arsenal's title challenge had fallen apart due to a lack of goals, and while Smith had scored 16 times in 1987/88, only 11 had come in the league and no one else had come close to double figures.
For much of that summer Arsenal was linked with West Ham United striker Tony Cottee. The 23 year old had scored more than 100 goals over the previous five seasons for the Hammers and was the hottest property in English football.
Despite being favourites to sign him, Arsenal missed out at the last minute when Cottee instead chose Everton, who paid a new British record transfer fee of £2.2 million for his signature.
According to the press that decision had cost Arsenal any chance of winning the title before a ball had even been kicked.
Everton, champions in 1985 and 1987, were rebuilding and Cottee was seen as the perfect replacement for Gary Lineker, who had left the previous year.
Meanwhile Graham would be forced to throw in rookie Paul Merson as Smith's strike partner for the start of the 1988/89 season.
The 20 year old was considered to be a great prospect but he had started just 14 matches over the previous two seasons, scoring eight goals, so hardly came with the same pedigree as Cottee.
When Cottee proceeded to score a hat-trick for Everton on the opening day of the new season against Newcastle United it looked to justify his decision to move north.
But on the same day Smith scored a hat-trick for Arsenal at Wimbledon, with Merson also on target in a 5-1 Gunners victory.
The fixture list had kept the two sides apart until after the New Year and by then Everton's early season promise had faded while Arsenal's young side had gone from strength to strength.
In fact Graham's team arrived at a blustery Goodison Park sitting on top of the table with in-form Merson having scored eight times in the previous 11 matches.
Cottee, meanwhile, had only scored a further six goals since that opening day hat-trick as Everton had dropped into mid-table mediocrity, but it did not stop the press billing this match as a shoot-out between Cottee and Merson.
Arsenal had been knocked out the FA Cup in midweek, ironically against a Cottee-less West Ham, and were without captain Tony Adams, who withdrew on the morning of the game with an injury. Or maybe a hangover.
It led to a recall for Paul Davis, who had been out in the cold since his nine match ban had started in October, and he captained the side in Adams' absence.
Davis did not replace former Everton man Kevin Richardson in midfield as expected however. Instead it was Michael Thomas who dropped out, while Gus Caesar stepped in at the back for Adams, his first appearance of the season.
After a fairly nondescript first half which saw both sides cancel each other out, Arsenal broke out to take the lead within two minutes of the restart with a counter attacking goal of breathtaking quality.
Goalkeeper John Lukic threw the ball to David Rocastle who burst down the right before crossing for the late arriving Merson. Adjusting his stride slightly as the ball held up in the wind, Merson was able to hit a low, first time shot past Neville Southall from 12 yards.
The youngster ran towards the 4,000 jubilant Arsenal fans behind the goal with arms wide open as he jumped on the fence at the front of the stand in an iconic celebration.
With chants of 'Cottee, Cottee what's the score', and 'We all agree, Merson is better than Cottee', it was clear who had won this particular contest.
Arsenal were now in full flow and they doubled their advantage five minutes later. Again it was Rocastle with the assist as he skipped down the right wing before chipping a cross to the near post where Smith out-jumped Dave Watson to head home his 17th goal of the season.
The Gunners were now looking every inch like potential champions as twice Brian Marwood came close to making it three. First he fired over the top after cutting in from the left before testing Southall with a snap-shot following good work from Merson.
But it was 3-0 in the 74th minute and it was a man who was no stranger to the Goodison pitch who got it. Merson laid the back into midfield for Richardson, who played a lovely 1-2 with Smith, strode forward into the area, before smashing the ball past his old teammate Southall. Beautiful.
In a season where every goal would prove vital, Arsenal were disappointed to concede a controversial late Everton consolation.
A corner from the left was flicked on at the near post by Watson which led to an almighty scramble in the six yard box.
The presence of substitute Neil McDonald caused confusion to the Arsenal defence and although Lukic dived on the ball, referee Martin Bodenham had signaled that it had already crossed the line despite very little evidence to suggest it had.
Originally given to Watson, the goal was later awarded to McDonald, although these days with goal-line technology it is unlikely that it would have been given at all.
At the final whistle the Everton fans gave Arsenal a standing ovation for their superb second half counter-attacking masterclass, and the Goodison faithful were cheering the Gunners again at the end of the season when they pipped neighbours Liverpool to the title.
For me this was the game where I first became convinced we could win the league. Until then I felt we were not quite ready but this second half display was the stuff of champions.
We had not won the title for 18 years and in my eight seasons following the club we had never even come close. But this felt different. Liverpool were struggling for consistency and our young team finally looked like the real deal.
I remember the saga with Cottee the previous summer. I was gutted when he chose Everton as I felt he could be the missing link in our challenge. But Merson really stepped up that season, winning Young Player of the Year, and in the end Cottee did us a massive favour by choosing Everton.
The atmosphere in the away end that day was something special. Cottee was certainly made aware of our feelings and I wonder what the Everton fans thought about Richardson's performance? He was not always a regular in their side during his spell at Goodison Park but he was magnificent in this game. A point to prove perhaps.
Of course Arsenal put us through the mill a few times before finally winning the title in the final minute of the season.
But imagine if that ghost goal from Everton here had come back to haunt us? Having watched it back about 20 times it is clear that it never crossed the line so it was just as well Thomas stuck that one away at Anfield.
The ovation the Everton fans gave us at the end of this match lives long in the memory.
It was not often you saw that from opposition fans, especially in the 1980s, so it really was a nice touch. Everton fans have had a bad press over the years with accusations of racism but I have always found them a fair and decent bunch. This merely confirmed that.
Coming up next time I look back on the career of the player who emphatically won this particular battle of the strikers and is one my favourite ever Arsenal player: Paul Merson. Now that is one not to be missed.
BACK IN THE summer of 1988 it was widely known that Arsenal manager George Graham was in the market for a striker to partner Alan Smith. In both the previous two seasons, Arsenal's title challenge had fallen apart due to a lack of goals, and while Smith had scored 16 times in 1987/88, only 11 had come in the league and no one else had come close to double figures.
For much of that summer Arsenal was linked with West Ham United striker Tony Cottee. The 23 year old had scored more than 100 goals over the previous five seasons for the Hammers and was the hottest property in English football.
According to the press that decision had cost Arsenal any chance of winning the title before a ball had even been kicked.
Everton, champions in 1985 and 1987, were rebuilding and Cottee was seen as the perfect replacement for Gary Lineker, who had left the previous year.
Meanwhile Graham would be forced to throw in rookie Paul Merson as Smith's strike partner for the start of the 1988/89 season.
The 20 year old was considered to be a great prospect but he had started just 14 matches over the previous two seasons, scoring eight goals, so hardly came with the same pedigree as Cottee.
When Cottee proceeded to score a hat-trick for Everton on the opening day of the new season against Newcastle United it looked to justify his decision to move north.
But on the same day Smith scored a hat-trick for Arsenal at Wimbledon, with Merson also on target in a 5-1 Gunners victory.
The fixture list had kept the two sides apart until after the New Year and by then Everton's early season promise had faded while Arsenal's young side had gone from strength to strength.
In fact Graham's team arrived at a blustery Goodison Park sitting on top of the table with in-form Merson having scored eight times in the previous 11 matches.
Cottee, meanwhile, had only scored a further six goals since that opening day hat-trick as Everton had dropped into mid-table mediocrity, but it did not stop the press billing this match as a shoot-out between Cottee and Merson.
It led to a recall for Paul Davis, who had been out in the cold since his nine match ban had started in October, and he captained the side in Adams' absence.
Davis did not replace former Everton man Kevin Richardson in midfield as expected however. Instead it was Michael Thomas who dropped out, while Gus Caesar stepped in at the back for Adams, his first appearance of the season.
After a fairly nondescript first half which saw both sides cancel each other out, Arsenal broke out to take the lead within two minutes of the restart with a counter attacking goal of breathtaking quality.
Goalkeeper John Lukic threw the ball to David Rocastle who burst down the right before crossing for the late arriving Merson. Adjusting his stride slightly as the ball held up in the wind, Merson was able to hit a low, first time shot past Neville Southall from 12 yards.
The youngster ran towards the 4,000 jubilant Arsenal fans behind the goal with arms wide open as he jumped on the fence at the front of the stand in an iconic celebration.
With chants of 'Cottee, Cottee what's the score', and 'We all agree, Merson is better than Cottee', it was clear who had won this particular contest.
Arsenal were now in full flow and they doubled their advantage five minutes later. Again it was Rocastle with the assist as he skipped down the right wing before chipping a cross to the near post where Smith out-jumped Dave Watson to head home his 17th goal of the season.
The Gunners were now looking every inch like potential champions as twice Brian Marwood came close to making it three. First he fired over the top after cutting in from the left before testing Southall with a snap-shot following good work from Merson.
In a season where every goal would prove vital, Arsenal were disappointed to concede a controversial late Everton consolation.
A corner from the left was flicked on at the near post by Watson which led to an almighty scramble in the six yard box.
The presence of substitute Neil McDonald caused confusion to the Arsenal defence and although Lukic dived on the ball, referee Martin Bodenham had signaled that it had already crossed the line despite very little evidence to suggest it had.
Originally given to Watson, the goal was later awarded to McDonald, although these days with goal-line technology it is unlikely that it would have been given at all.
At the final whistle the Everton fans gave Arsenal a standing ovation for their superb second half counter-attacking masterclass, and the Goodison faithful were cheering the Gunners again at the end of the season when they pipped neighbours Liverpool to the title.
For me this was the game where I first became convinced we could win the league. Until then I felt we were not quite ready but this second half display was the stuff of champions.
We had not won the title for 18 years and in my eight seasons following the club we had never even come close. But this felt different. Liverpool were struggling for consistency and our young team finally looked like the real deal.
I remember the saga with Cottee the previous summer. I was gutted when he chose Everton as I felt he could be the missing link in our challenge. But Merson really stepped up that season, winning Young Player of the Year, and in the end Cottee did us a massive favour by choosing Everton.
The atmosphere in the away end that day was something special. Cottee was certainly made aware of our feelings and I wonder what the Everton fans thought about Richardson's performance? He was not always a regular in their side during his spell at Goodison Park but he was magnificent in this game. A point to prove perhaps.
But imagine if that ghost goal from Everton here had come back to haunt us? Having watched it back about 20 times it is clear that it never crossed the line so it was just as well Thomas stuck that one away at Anfield.
The ovation the Everton fans gave us at the end of this match lives long in the memory.
It was not often you saw that from opposition fans, especially in the 1980s, so it really was a nice touch. Everton fans have had a bad press over the years with accusations of racism but I have always found them a fair and decent bunch. This merely confirmed that.
Coming up next time I look back on the career of the player who emphatically won this particular battle of the strikers and is one my favourite ever Arsenal player: Paul Merson. Now that is one not to be missed.
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