Sunday have been the last day of the Premier League season, so we are looking back at some of the top flight’s most memorable finales.
In the final part of our series, MATT BARLOW takes us back 31 years to Anfield, where Arsenal sealed the title in the most dramatic finish of all...
Another Friday in May and George Graham takes a seat in his garden to reflect on his role in English football’s greatest final-day twist.
Nearly 31 years have passed but the legend of that night at Anfield is enhanced by all its retellings — books such as Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby and, most recently, the film 89 which just happens to be making its TV debut that day.
‘What time is it on?’ enquires Graham. He’s thinking of tuning in but only to satisfy his quest for a football fix during the lockdown. Certainly not to bask in the personal glory. Although he would be forgiven. Of the six major trophies he won in nine years at Highbury this was the sweetest.
‘Such a lot went into it,’ says Graham. ‘And to win it in such fashion. That one was probably the best. That and the Cup- Winners’ Cup in 1994.’
Arsenal’s epic victory at Liverpool, with the last-gasp title- winner by Michael Thomas to clinch their first championship for 18 years, was a personal triumph for the manager who built the team, flogged his players in training and forged his own style.
The raid on Anfield was planned with the help of Desmond Morris, a surprise tactical switch and a dose of Glaswegian kidology when few gave Arsenal a hope.
‘We had to win by two clear goals,’ says 75-year-old Graham to set the scene. ‘We were the underdogs and we’d had two bad results.’
Liverpool’s fixtures had been delayed by the Hillsborough tragedy which killed 96 of their fans in the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest. When Kenny Dalglish’s team returned, they beat Forest in the rearranged tie and won the Cup, beating Everton at Wembley.
Three days later, West Ham were thumped 5-1 as Liverpool moved three points clear at the top of the league with a slightly better goal difference than Arsenal — who had taken only one point from their previous two games and seemed to have lost the initiative.
The season would conclude on Friday, May 26 when the title challengers met and the game was to be shown live on TV.
‘We changed tactics, went to five at the back,’ says Graham. ‘To me it wasn’t five at the back, it was three, we pushed the full backs on, but the players weren’t into the idea at all. They all wanted to know why we were changing the system all of a sudden.
‘We had to stop Liverpool scoring and if they were on their game that was going to be hard. On one flank they had John Barnes, one of the best players in the UK. On the other was Ray Houghton, who I’d tried to buy for Arsenal before he went to Liverpool.
‘I thought we had to stop those two and so we pushed the full backs on and David O’Leary came in alongside Steve Bould and Tony Adams. The plan was to frustrate them and make them kick it long towards our three 6ft 4in centre halves.’
Graham also broke with routine when he decided to travel north on the morning of the match.
‘I’d been reading The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris,’ he says. ‘One of the central themes of the book was about territory and how animals act when they’re in and out of their own environment.
‘I didn’t want us to go up there too early and spend days surrounded by Liverpool fans telling us we were going to lose. I wanted us to think about going in and doing a job and getting out.’
The psychology didn’t end there. He hammered away with positive thoughts as players wondered how they could possibly topple the champions at Anfield when they had recently failed to beat either Derby or Wimbledon at Highbury.
‘I told the boys to get us to half-time at 0-0,’ says Graham. ‘Liverpool liked to win it in the first 20 minutes and I wanted to make sure they started slowly. Defensively we were one of the best. I told them if we could get to half-time at 0-0, they’d come out nervous and we would open up a bit more and score the first goal.
‘I said I thought we’d score a second and then they would have to throw men forward and we would score a third and win 3-0. I was bulls******g. The boys looked at me as if I was mad. I kept a straight face. It was almost acting.’
Graham had built his team to be strong in mind and body. He arrived from Millwall in 1986 and inherited a talented crop of youngsters such as Tony Adams, Paul Merson, Thomas and David Rocastle.
‘When I first went there it was about putting Arsenal back to where they should be, in the top four. We finished fourth in my first season and then we bought a few players from the lower leagues and we did a lot better.
‘They brought exactly what I wanted — passion. It’s one of my favourite words. I sometimes wonder if you could still do it now and I think you could. There are players in the lower divisions who would do better with better players around them.’
Graham had regional papers delivered to his desk and would scour the reports.
‘When the Stoke fans kept voting Lee Dixon as their best player I thought I’d go and look at him,’ he says. ‘When I was there I saw Steve Bould. We bought them both in 1988. We signed Nigel Winterburn from Wimbledon and Kevin Richardson from Watford.
‘We bought Alan Smith, who was a better player than anyone ever gave him credit for.’
Smith’s glancing header gave Arsenal the lead at Anfield and he released Thomas for the second as Brian Moore’s TV commentary stirred an audience of more than 18 million.
‘He’d missed a far easier one just before,’ says Graham. ‘I was thinking about what I’d say to the media — that we’d given it our best shot and we’d won but it wasn’t quite enough, and full credit to the players. Rather than, “Oh, Mickey’s through”. I was quite calm at the time.’
Liverpool supporters stayed to applaud Arsenal at the final whistle and Dalglish sent champagne into the visitors’ dressing room to spark a night of celebration for the north Londoners, as the triumphant manager planned his retreat.
‘I thought I would be inundated with phone calls and demands from the press,’ says Graham.
‘So I went back to London, picked up my son and the next morning we travelled to Scotland, met up with my brother and his son and we went off to play some golf.
‘We were at Western Gailes in the clubhouse having a cup of tea and a sandwich when this guy said to me, “Hey, you look just like the guy on the football match last night”. I think it was the first English league match ever televised live in Scotland.
‘I replied, “Aye, that’ll be George Graham, the manager of Arsenal, a lot of people tell me that”. But I didn’t let on.’