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COMMENTATOR: Well, the atmosphere here at Anfield tonight

goes without saying.

A one-nil win is no good to them.

They've got to win and they've got to win well.

[CROWD SINGING]

GEORGE GRAHAM: I always remembered going to Anfield.

You'd go up the day before the game on a Friday.

And you'd get into the hotel and everybody...

And all the people there working in the hotel

would say, "Excuse me, what are you doing up here?"

"This is Liverpool."

I thought, "How do we fight this aggression?"

And somebody recommended me The Naked Ape by Desmond Morris.

And it was about territory.

COMMENTATOR: It's 100 years since English football

produced an occasion such as this.

GRAHAM: "If you come into my territory, I'm gonna fight you.

"You shouldn't be here, get out. "

And that related to our situation at Anfield.

COMMENTATOR: The teams occupying first and second place

in the championship. Head to head. The last match of the season.

GRAHAM: I wanted to take the team up there as late as possible,

then play the game and get out of there as quickly as possible.

And this was what I thought would work.

I'm glad I did that. I'm glad I did it.

COMMENTATOR: So a night of chilling simplicity about it, really.

Arsenal must win by two goals to take the title.

Anything less and it stays on Merseyside in Liverpool.

PAUL MERSON: You know, the biggest game for Arsenal in the last 20 years.

We went up the day of the game.

You know, that's... That's a bit weird.

I think that George was like, "If we go up the day of the game,

"the players ain't got time to think and get nervous."

Don't fall, whatever you do.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

JOHN LUKIC: It's a good job I got there early,

because there was no seats on the bus.

Aramis. Bit of Aramis.

Everybody and his brother was on that bus going up to Anfield.

Drove that chippy up and we all back in.

There was a hundred directors on there, it was ridiculous.

There was people, didn't realise they were still alive.

No.

There was no tension on it,

it was just sort of like people reading newspapers

and, you know, the press did us an enormous favour, really,

by saying that we were written off.

I remember somebody saying, "Lets keep it below five if we can."

It was just a regular sort of trip away.

You know, other than the fact that we went on the day of the game

rather than the evening before.

They hadn't been beaten since January...

And then won the FA Cup, theyjust smashed it West Ham five...

I suppose... 'Cause I think with athletes, you're going to go

-and you're going to win it. -No, no, that's the thing.

Right, you think...

You think you can win, you think you can win the game

but realistically, you ain't gonna beat Liverpool

by two clear goals at Anfield.

[REFEREE BLOWING WHISTLE]

COMMENTATOR: lt's Arsenal then who will kick off.

We want a peaceful future.

Nwajiobi, Hill and Harford in the middle. And Harford!

And Arsenal have a whole lot of work to do now.

[MOBILE RlNGlNG]

Hello?

COMMENTATOR: Gets the ball back from Barnes.

And Watford have scored again!

It wasn't just that we hadn't won the League for 18 years,

I don't think we'd been involved in a title fight for 18 years.

COMMENTATOR: Oh, what a chance for Kennedy!

Terrible defending...

Arsenal never got anywhere near the title,

nowhere near it.

COMMENTATOR: And that's two-nil.

The highest position we ever had when l was going there as a kid was third,

in 1981, which was a freaky season

when the title was duked out between Ipswich and Aston Villa.

COMMENTATOR: On the right side. Onto that left foot.

A brilliant goal for Manchester United!

We're so erratic and so inconsistent, they really should be embarrassed

to go and pick their money up next Thursday.

And I've told them that.

COMMENTATOR: The outside of his foot. Oh, a fantastic goal!

PAUL DAVIS: We weren't going nowhere.

COMMENTATOR: Victory for Swansea City.

It was a tough time to be at a club like Arsenal

'cause we were expected to do things, we weren't producing,

so when George came,

he came in with a real strong attitude straight away.

COMMENTATOR: Bradford going in again.

And again and now George Graham.

A little one-two, a chance for Graham. Oh, a magnificent goal!

By Graham! What a superb goal by Graham.

NARRATOR: George Graham was a constant reminder of the last great side,

the double team of ’71.

COMMENTATOR: There it is. And that wonderful crowd of Arsenal's.

NARRATOR 2: Now, 15 years on, George is back at Highbury,

the latest in a succession of managers

hoping to emulate Herbert Chapman, the most famous boss of all.

HORNBY: I think in terms of expectations, it did not very much

because Arsenal had just appointed the manager of Millwall.

HORN BY: It wasn't what we were hoping for.

There was talk about Terry Venables and Johan Cruyff

and all sorts of people.

NARRATOR: Arsenal see the tough Scot

as the man to bring back the glory days.

TONY ADAMS: I don 't think it would ever happen now.

I don 't think that George would even be a candidate, you know?

George, Scottish, Millwall, you know, Second Division,

um, going to manage the Arsenal.

REPORTER: George, how does it feel standing here at Highbury

as the manager of Arsenal football club?

Very, very exciting, Nigel. Yeah, I'm very, very pleased.

COMMENTATOR: Graham at the far side, with his head!

There it is! George Graham.

DAVIES: You get this guy, who was an Arsenal legend,

but his nickname was Stroller and he always seemed a bit vain.

And how's he gonna be a manager? You know?

When I took the Millwall job three and a half years ago,

it was something I had a little dream about,

being the manager of Arsenal. And now that dream's come true.

I would like to welcome all the new trainees.

At this club, we've always had a great relationship

with the kids in the first team lads and I want that to continue.

The first day at training in the summer

when lwent there and introduced myself,

I said, "I'm the new manager, I'll give everybody six weeks

"to, you know, prove their worth and then I'll make decisions."

Okay, just relax a bit more, don't be stiff.

This time, same again.

Flex the legs a bit more, flexthelegs!

Well done, David. Well done.

Let's go. Outside and inside.

DAVIS: We had some senior players who weren't producing

and he just said to them, "Look,

"you're gonna have to produce or you're out of here."

And he very quickly got rid of some senior players.

When I got there, Charlie Nicholas was still there

and I played the first three games with Charlie.

And then he got dropped from the fourth against Portsmouth.

Kenny Sansom, obviously.

Graham Rix.

Tony Woodcock.

High earners that we thought,

"Oh, George is trying to cut the wage bill, you know,

"get us all on the cheap."

Um, but you did sense it was the beginning of a new era.

NIGEL WINTERBURN: He didn’t wanna deal with the superstars.

He didn’t wanna deal with the big characters.

It looked to me as if he wanted to bring in younger players,

didn't mind if they were from lower leagues.

High energy but very, very ambitious.

When you're standing like that, someone can actually come in here

and actually win the ball off you, so if you get your hands up

and be more resilient, more resilient.

Somebody's coming in there, you're knocking them back,

you're securing the ball, okay? Lets go. Come on.

GRAHAM: lknew there were sports papers in each town around England.

So I knew that it was a local journalist

who would have a whole page to himself every weekend,

mainly Saturdays, right?

And I knew that thatjournalist or reporter, would be well in

with the manager of the local club.

And he would get all the good stories.

So, every weekend, on a Monday morning,

my secretary would always bring in these pile of papers.

In the Midlands it was the Argus. The pink Argus.

The Sheffield was The Green ’Un

and | used tojust read that one page and throw the rest of it away.

It would enlighten me, the players that they really rated

and the manager rated.

It was desire as well as technical ability.

They were hungry and I could see them fitting into a top side,

the side that I wanted.

But it was the passion and the hunger really that I liked

as much as the technical side.

[INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS]

[ALL TALKING AT ONCE]

That was just a coincidence, Tone, wasn't it?

I'm joking. Yeah.

ADAMS: Remember that stretch, the crab thing you always...

-No. Don't remember that! -I won't show you.

No, lads, let's go, let's go. Let's just play.

The big difference for me was for you guys

and the guys that you replaced,

is they were pretty selfish individuals as well

and you were working-class,

honest guys that wanted to do

well for the team.

When I came to the club,

words that George said to me at the time was,

"You can't really defend." Which was fair enough 'cause...

-Who couldn't? -I couldn't.

When... The first training session he was like...

I think my first training session was a one-on-one with Kev Campbell.

-[ALL LAUGHING] -And I'm notjoking,

every day was a one-on-one, Kev Campbell.

"Bouldy, l'll teach you."

And he taught me.

But he actually thought it was Steve Boode

instead and not Steve Bould.

-Did he? -[ALL LAUGHING]

That's two I've got in now, sorry.

"Boode!"

You know, at Stoke we were used to 11 v 11.

Came to Arsenal and it was all individual unit work

and constant, every day, the same stuff,

we didn't change many sessions.

I mean, I think back, I say it many, many occasions,

would a modern player do what we did out on that pitch?

I don't think so.

With no ball on the pitch and George just moving around

and the amount of one-on-ones, and two-v-twos and three-v-twos

against we did. And I think that's what made us

so strong mentally, really,

and the combinations just came together.

I think we worked as a unit.

And I think the unit was bigger and better than the individuals.

-Who is it, me? -No, you, innit? It's you, innit?

GRAHAM: Everybody knows how important

the group that Manchester United finally became,

when Alex Ferguson was at the top for the next couple of decades.

But I had the same group probably a year, 18 month earlier.

I don't think anybody realised, apart from the people inside the club,

how good these young players were.

They were fantastic.

If you have home-grown players in the team,

it gives you something of real caring about the club.

And the lads that came in had that passion for the club.

They were winners, they demanded it off each other.

IAN WRIGHT: It's very, very inspiring.

Because I grew up on the estate with David Rocastle.

It was something that

everybody ended up supporting Arsenal.

You could see how good we were,

I thought we was was good

and we all complemented each other.

And then it was like a race, who'd be the first one in the first team.

Mike Thomas and Dave Rocastle, because they came from South London,

which is where I came from,

I kind of felt a little bit of a bond towards them,

because I knew their backgrounds.

To the point which is quite nice, though,

because they used to call me Pops.

I wanted to win everything

that I entered.

Whether it was a piggyback race or a donkey derby.

I certainly wasn't thinking about winning the league,

I'm just thinking about staying in the team and...

But George wasn't... George was that sort of character

that wouldn't let any of the players think otherwise,

that we're gonna beat everybody, we're gonna, you know, be a team.

We're gonna create something.

We're gonna challenge the best.

And that was drilled into you from day one.

Keep 'em up there. We're gonna start sharp at 10:15.

DIXON: Playing under George wasn't easy.

We'd get bit of a treat now and again.

But not that often. Our treat was winning.

Let's go.

Look straight ahead. Straight ahead. Come on, keep a grip of the ball!

Don't look at the ball, Lee.

-DIXON: He was a disciplinarian. -Do you know where the ball is?

I was scared of him. Absolutely petrified of him.

Anybody who's late will get one life, and after that it's a tenner.

You've got the choice. It's either a tenner or 10% of your wages.

Now, again, I'll give you, if it's done in that week,

I'll give you to the end of the week to pay.

If you don't pay by the following week I'll just tell Sheila

and she'll just take 10% out of your wages. Not a tenner, 10%.

MERSON: You had to work very hard.

If you didn't work hard, you were out of the team.

I remember in training, I give the ball away once

and Ijogged and he went, "Hurry up."

And I literally laughed, Ijust giggled and then I carried on.

I never played for about two months.

Didn't say a word, not a word. Didn't say this or that, pull me in.

Saturday, team goes up, not in the team.

A lot's said about George, but he loved togetherness as team,

he didn't care if you hated him.

But long as your team stuck together, he didn't really care.

[ALL CHANTING AND SINGING]

ADAMS: Yeah, we wanted to win

and sometimes more against Tottenham than the other clubs.

DIXON: I remember sitting in the dressing room before the game.

But I wasn't ready for what happened before we went out.

We were driven.

Minding me own business, putting my shin pads on.

We were passionate.

And I kind of looked up and two or three of the players

are looking at me across the dressing room.

We didn't wanna fail.

I was looking down at my kit

thinking I put my shorts on back-to-front or something,

'cause it was a bit of a weird look.

And we liked the feeling of winning

better than losing.

I just thought I'll ask what's going on. But I didn't have to ask them

because then, they literally all threatened me,

had me up against the wall before we went out,

saying, "It's a North London derby,

"you're a northerner, you don't really know what this is all about.

"And we just want you to know that you've got to play well today

"and if you don't, you'll be in trouble."

And that was basically... lwas like, "Um..."

I think we wanted success

and we'd do anything to get it.

Because it made us feel better.

That was my teammates, it wasn't even the opposition.

So, um, lwas pumped up to say the least

before we went out.

COMMENTATO R: Adams dispossessing Walsh firmly but fairly.

Great play by Adams, Winterburn is clear and Arsenal are into the lead!

Here 's Waddle.

[CROWD CHEERING]

Smith and now Man/vood.

And Smith!

AMY LAWRENCE: Any football fan will tell you that not a lot tops

going and winning a game away from home,

at your local rivals.

So when Arsenal came back from White Hart Lane

with a tidy three points, it went down extremely well.

But in that era,

every football fan knew that if you wanna win stuff,

there's only one team in your way.

Majestic, serial winners, magnificent.

All about Liverpool.

So you think Liverpool are gonna win?

Yeah. Well, who's gonna beat them?

[PEOPLE LAUGHING]

COMMENTATO R: Houghton. Space for Beardsley.

Three Liverpool players in the middle, if Beardsley needs them.

He doesn’t!

A supreme goal.

Two-nil.

Ray Houghton has set up the goal. It's in the corner!

And Liverpool have come late again.

WINTERBURN: Liverpool were the team to beat.

Everyone aspired, in my time, to beat Liverpool.

They were just so dominant, they were just so good.

Oh!

They were so good, it was unbelievable.

I mean, unbelievable.

COMMENTATOR: Trying to get McMahon through, Aldridge is on the far side!

DAVIES: And in '88,

they played the best football that anyone had ever seen.

COMMENTATOR: Straight through to McMahon.

DAVIES: NO one played football like that at that time.

And the ball was on the floor all the time, it was fast,

Barnes was fantastic,

he was Footballer of the Year, he scored 28 goals.

He was unstoppable.

COMMENTATOR: Barnes. MERSON: They were a phenomenal team,

absolutely phenomenal.

COMMENTATOR: And he's put it in! John Barnes for Liverpool.

Dominated football for a lot of years.

Won every trophy.

[ALL CHANTING AND SINGING]

This wasn 't just any team, this was Liverpool football club.

I mean to start off, at evens to win a league title

with 38 games to go just tells you how good you are.

COMMENTATOR: Smith again...

And it's another one!

Your home form takes care of itself,

but your away form is what wins you things

and I think we were pretty formidable away from home.

It was really enjoyable

when you'd go back into the lions' den, as it were,

someone else's home, and turn them over.

COMMENTATOR: Man/vood now. Will it be four?

ADAMS: And you'd go to your fans

and itjust felt, you know, so brilliant.

COMMENTATOR: Merson forArsenal. He finds it, can he clinch it?

Michael Thomas ensures victory and the leadership of the First Division

DIXON: Top of the league, make no mistake, I told everybody.

lwas like, "Oh, have you seen...

"What's happening in the league right now?"

They'd go, "Oh, yeah, you're top."

Every week in the marble halls, they used to pin up the league table.

Very old-fashioned but it was pinned up within the, uh,

in the circle, as it was,

and when we used to go there on a Tuesday,

you'd see us up on that wall.

And it was the first time I had ever seen, you know,

my club top of the league and it was surreal.

To do that, to be at that stage, halfway, you know,

you're going into the new year and if you are top, you're thinking,

here we go.

Now "maybe" suddenly comes into play, maybe it can be your year.

And in those days, if you weren't a Liverpool fan,

you didn't have very many of those maybe moments.

Because the reality was you expected Liverpool to more or less

always win the league.

And as a football fan around that time, you couldn't help thinking,

"Oh, if we get one chance." If you get one chance to see your team

win the league in your lifetime, like, that would do.

I remember thinking at one point, "Hey, we're gonna win this."

And I think that was probably, you know, to the day,

when we started going, having a wobble.

COMMENTATOR: Pearce, Chapman. Clough has caught Arsenal square.

And Forest get a goal that they do deserve.

Mortimer! Charlton have taken the lead.

With Graham in the dressing room, if we lost the game,

then literally, you'd put a towel over your suit

so when he come in, when the cups and the tea went everywhere,

it wouldn't go all over your suit.

George would lose his rag. He didn't like losing.

COMMENTATOR: Just six points for Arsenal from their last six games.

Are Liverpool coming good again, just at the right time?

There was more evidence to support that argument

at Coventry on Wednesday.

COMMENTA TOR 2: Oh, and a bad ball. In for Barnes,

and a goal for Liverpool!

Nicol. Oh, he's hit it perfectly.

Four-nil.

It's becoming something of a rout.

Liverpool’s superiority being confirmed.

Because we were inexperienced, when we started to lose a couple of games,

it was like, "Oh, what's going on?" You know, it was like all unravelling.

Everyone was looking round, going, "What happens now?"

COMMENTATOR: The pressure's really on, have they got what it takes

to withstand Liverpool’s relentless surge?

COMMENTATOR 2: A quick look round for Adams...

COMMENTATOR: The gap's down to two points. A month ago it was 19.

WINTERBURN: The desire of each player to win the game of football

was so, so strong.

So your standard drops,

it wouldn't be the manager that's gonna leave you out of the team,

one of your teammates is gonna let you know

that you need to pick your game up considerably.

And Tony was quite good at doing that 'cause he was so annoying.

'Cause he used to come and tap you on the backside

and just say, "Come on, I know you can do better."

"Yes, I know I can do better, I don't want you tapping me

"on the backside and letting me know that.

"That's for sure."

Listen, lwas the captain, you know? What George wanted,

I've got to tell the boys, it's just as simple as that.

You know, I'm his mouthpiece on what he said, when.

George was good for me and I'm sure I was good for George.

We was after the same end result.

That's what we was after. We was after winning things.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

Good evening. Ninety-three soccer fans died in today's FA Cup disaster,

Europe 's worst ever sporting tragedy.

Most of them were teenagers and children.

They were crushed to death

at the Liverpool-Nottingham Forest semi-final

held at Hillsborough in Sheffield.

Two hundred more were injured.

It was...

It's so difficult to describe.

It absolutely makes you feel numb.

I can still see it now.

I can see all those supporters, some of them being pulled up,

some of them being pushed over the top.

People ripping up the hoardings.

Stretchering people away.

That just can't happen at a game of football, but it did.

MERSON: Iwon Young Player of the Year that year,

probably the best award you could ever win as a youngster.

And I didn't want it.

I didn't want it.

You know, it's... You know, it...

It was... Football had gone out the window for me then.

You know, what had happened and, you know, Ijust...

I don't like talking about it now, if I'm being honest. I don't...

It's... It was so sad.

It's obviously devastating and... And I've got to admit...

We were only in a... We were in a bubble.

We were pretty much self-obsessed.

I was in those days. Obviously...

Things outside, it's hard to understand...

And for the life of me, I can only imagine

it must have been horrific.

I do remember it,

when the shock of what had happened came out,

thinking, "Well, that's it, season's over."

I had genuinely believed that it wouldn't carry on.

Well, why would you?

You know, 96 people have lost their lives, why would you

carry on playing football?

That was my initial thought, not as a footballer but as a person.

It was irrelevant, football, then, at that point.

Once that episode is brought to a conclusion

and football starts again...

That's what, you know, I love playing football.

And that's, you know, you've gotta get out

and get on and do the job that you're being paid to do as well.

It's a relief because you don't then have to deal with

what's really going on as a human being.

You kind Of go, "This is what I do."

So, football is an escape

for the players, you go back into doing what you do.

[REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE]

[ALL CHEERING]

COMMENTATOR: And the silence respectfully and immaculately observed

by the Highbury crowd.

So, it's back to live football and it's make or break.

Arsenal know that victory would place them six points clear

of their main rivals, Liverpool.

Thomas. Thomas in this for Arsenal.

Merson. Oh, that was great work.

But still a danger from Winterburn... Yes!

Nigel Winterburn gives Arsenal the lead.

Smith. What a great effort!

Oh, my word, what a goal!

Ball given away by Putney to Smith and now Rocastle to Thomas

who’s in support as well, Rocastle... finds Thomas. That's three.

Well... Ooh! Missed... A clear chance for Smith.

That's Smith 's second.

Arsenal on the rampage now with Rocastle here.

Yes! It's another. Five in the net.

Arsenal five, Non/vich City nil.

I'm not a great lover of the Emirates, if I'm being honest,

it's just another stadium.

I don't know, you gotta have memories. This had so many memories.

That's what made it special.

-Ah, wow. "Two tickets, together." -Oh, my God. It's exactly the same.

-I know. -Ticket office there.

-Sue behind there. -Dad getting my tickets.

-Herbert there still. -Our man.

I can't believe this. This is the first time

-|'ve been back... -It's nice, it's exactly the same.

Exactly, unbelievable. Shivers.

-Yeah, all the floors, just the same. -Oh!

-Little shiver. -Yeah.

That is quite a long walk, this, for us, isn't it?

-For your bad knee... -It's exercise, this.

This was the ultimate, wasn't it, any ground you ever went,

we never really got too many good hidings here, did we?

Well, last weekend of the season, I seriously thought we'd won.

We got Derby at home, we got Wimbledon at home.

We win both of them games, it's all over.

COMMENTATOR: And Rocastle again.

MERSON: The team talk before the Derby game was,

"Keep on having shots at Peter Shilton and he's finished. "

COMMENTATOR: Here's Richardson.

It was a reasonable chance...

MERSON: The saves we were making...

We were poor that day, I remember we were poor.

COMMENTATOR: Dean Saunders and his 21st goal of the season.

He 's got it.

This is one step towards winning the league,

it's a big occasion and like, we fell flat on our faces...

-Yeah. -...didn't we? We really did.

And then you're thinking, "Ooh, we gotta bounce back

"against Wimbledon."

COMMENTATOR: Adams.

Looks for Hayes in space.

But Joseph is the player who filled that space.

And then it's given away.

A great effort from Winterburn, what a goal!

Oh, what a goal!

One of the goals of the season.

When Nige put a screamer in from 30 yards,

with his right foot, wasn't it,

I mean, you're thinking this is our night,

I mean, Nige didn't score,

never mind about kick the ball with his right foot.

And then you're thinking, "Oh, we 've won. "

-Yeah. -And you remember who scored

the equaliser for them and then went off celebrating...

-And they all piled on top Of him. -Not the little winger?

Uh, Paul McGee?

COMMENTATOR: And the ball drops and in it comes from McGee.

Yes, the youngster scored.

-Yeah, the little winger. -Paul McGee, who I hadn't heard of

before. And I don't think I heard of after.

You know this is going out to places?

Hey, he's a good lad, Paul, but you know...

No, yeah, I remember, yeah.

COMMENTATOR: And that is the final whistle.

And it's met with huge disappointment around Highbury.

Then I'm thinking... Gone.

What did I think? [LAUGHS]

What did I think? I can't really...

I've got the words but can't say them.

Eh... Oh, very disappointing. Sounds very polite, "very disappointing".

Yeah, losing and drawing at home, games that you were expected to win.

Yeah, you know, lwas gutted. Absolutely. Absolutely. It was awful.

MERSON: Liverpool played West Ham after that.

Oh! And their goals were rolling in.

COMMENTATOR: Lots of Liverpool red jerseys waiting here.

Barnes. Has he run it too far?

No, Aldridge!

Lovely run by Houghton.

Yes! And Houghton is on Barnes in the middle,

he could finish off West Ham here.

He has.

That could've been a cricket score.

I mean I remember him just rolling them over, it was like,

"You gotta stop."

COMMENTATOR: And Rush might get some of the action. He has.

Still Barnes, the shot deflected and it's gone in, it's five!

And Arsenal will curse that goal, it's made their job even harder.

The league title will be decided on Friday week,

at Anfield.

Liverpool vs Arsenal will sort out the champions of 1989.

MERSON: I don ’t think they'd lost a game since January.

We'd just been beaten by a team that were in the bottom three, Derby.

Or around the bottom three.

And we couldn't beat Wimbledon at home.

You know, we'd let in four goals in them two home games.

Now we've gotta go to Anfield and win by two clear goals.

Seriously?

Honestly, I... NO.

GRAHAM: It seems fashionable, you know, jumping the bandwagon

to get into the Arsenal.

It's fashionable.

PERRY GROVE: I remember the Gaffa sat everybody down,

we were all in our training kit, whole squad was together

and he said, "Great result last night, lads.

"I really fancy us going to Anfield Friday."

Said, um, said, "Yeah, they're gonna think it's a big party."

GRAHAM: Well, keep thinking football all the time, Okay?

Think of football, you should all be proud of yourself.

GROVE: Said, "I'm gonna make a little tweak tactically,

"I'm gonna play three centre-halfs. "

So everybodyjust looked round at each other.

And sort of looked and thought, "Has he gone mad?

"He's normally tactically good but he's lost the plot. Why..."

And every player thought the same.

Why play three centre-halfs? We gotta score more goals,

like, two goals. So you normally should play an extra forward

or an extra midfield player.

Every day's training was back four, back four, back four, back four.

And then through this back three in. And we all thought, "Wow."

You know? That's... That's a move.

GRAHAM: You go up north, it's almost like a gold star.

You go to places up there. Now we've got to do the same...

I could see the murmurings. I think it was Tony Adams, he said,

"Boss, we're nearly top of the league,

"why do you change it?"

I said, "It's because we got to think bigger than that.

"We've got an opportunity to win it. "

'Cause I'm getting lots and hundreds of letters, telling us...

We're all doing chicken impressions, as if he's lost his mind completely,

like... [IMITATES CHICKEN] He's just gone round,

he's had a complete mental breakdown. The Gaffa's gone.

We said, "What chance have we got if he's lost his mind?"

GRAHAM: We worked at it as much as we possibly could,

and this was more or less how it worked out.

Tony Adams in the left of the back three,

David O'Leary with the experience in the middle Of it

and Steve Bould. And then Iwanted to push on Lee Dixon

and Nigel Winterburn.

John Barnes at the time was probably one of the best forwards,

not only in England, but in Europe.

He was sensational. So the reason he was sensational

were his great one-on-ones.

He loved getting the ball to his feet and then taking on a full-back.

So I wanted to decide to stop the supply to Barnes.

So I made sure that Dixon against Barnes

and Winterburn against Houghton, they were really, really tight,

so that the passing they would normally get

would be eliminated 'cause he'd have somebody right up his backside.

So, that was my idea.

And that means you still got to tackle, still got to close down,

you still got to challenge.

DIXON: I honestly thought, "That's it, we 've blown it,

"we’re not gonna beat Liverpool at Anfield. "

Especially with what has happened at Hillsborough.

Especially with how we've thrown the League away.

Especially with all the things that were mounting up against us.

Especially that we weren't experienced enough

and we'd thrown it away, everyone is gonna say,

"Yeah, this is Liverpool, and you're just a bunch of kids.

"And you did have it, and now you lost it.

"So, well done, you."

NEWSCASTER: Good morning, it's Friday, the 26th of May.

The headlines. Can Arsenal complete Mission Impossible tonight?

The Gunners travel to Liverpool, needing to win by two clear goals

to win the Championship for the first time in 18 years.

LAWRENCE: 26th May, 1989 was my last day of school

and myself and my friends were given a good send-off

to bunk of early to speed down to Highbury.

There was about 26 coaches all lined up outside the ground.

And fans all turned up full of tremendous excitement

and anticipation and off we headed up north.

So the coach journey was this fantastic mixture of excitement,

anxiety, fear, hope, all sort of jumbled up.

It was all going fine, until all Of a sudden the coaches turned onto the M6

and hit basically the worst traffic jam in the history Of humankind.

We weren't getting anywhere and it soon became apparent,

the hours wore on, coaches weren't moving,

we weren't going to make the kick-off.

There was just this building sort of crescendo of nervousness

and desperation. Just get there, for God's sake!

DAVIES: I couldn't get a ticket for the game.

It was a Friday, a bit unusual.

It was my brother's birthday.

He's a Tottenham fan.

Ah, great.

We watched it in Damien 's house, with his dad who was a big Arsenal fan.

And you gotta get some cans in, right? Gotta get some cans

from the ten o'clock shop, I can't remember what the cans were,

I suspect Stella.

Can't be sure. And cigarettes, obviously, 'cause you gotta smoke,

it's the '80s. Everyone's gotta smoke.

WRIGHT: l was down on the estate, actually.

I'd moved the television, a focal point,

and I had six cans of Fosters.

It was something where the whole estate was just looked down.

You can go outside and it’s like that film "28 Days".

You know, there's no one out there.

I cannot emphasize enough how proud and how happy people were

that we had somebody who came from the estate,

who's playing, you know, arguably one of the biggest games

in English football.

DAVE HUTCHINSON: l was conscious of the responsibility that I'd got

as the match official.

I desperately wanted it to go without any controversy.

And that meant I'd gotta be on top of my game.

Minutes leading up to kick-off, fantastic team talk from George,

it was just one of those... I think he freed your mind.

So we'll! keep it tight first half, keep it really, really tight.

Come in half-time, nil-nil.

He said, "Don't go out and start chasing the two goals back."

'Cause if Liverpool score first, you gotta get three and four goals

at Anfield, that ain't happening.

And then early on, in the second half,

play a bit freer,

uh, hopefully score a goal.

MERSON: "And then with 15 minutes to go, I'll change the shape.

"They'll start getting nervous and you'll win this game two-nil.

"You'll score late on."

Pretty straightforward stuff, really.

[THEME MUSIC PLAYING]

And the atmosphere here atAnfield tonight

goes without saying.

The fact the teams are still in the dressing room

requires an explanation.

The kick off has been delayed for ten minutes because coachloads

of Arsenal fans have been stranded for hours on the M6.

So the kick-off will be at 8:15.

But the fans are on their way.

The one thing I can tell you for sure, the Championship will be decided

once and for all tonight.

JEFF FOULSER: I can't remember who it was but we had a pundit booked

but they'd pulled out, and I knew Bobby Robson,

who was the England manager, who was going to be at the game.

And I cornered Bobby in the, as you come in through the...

the director's entrance at Anfield.

PRESENTER: Well, if you believe in happy endings,

then the script has already been written

and the Championship trophy will stay here at Anfield

for another year.

FOULSER: Isaid, "Look, Bob, we've got a real problem here,

we haven't got a pundit for the game.

And he went, "Oh, I just want to watch the game, Jeff."

I said, "Well, pleasejust watch it with us." And he said, "Uh..."

I said, "Please, just help me out."

And he was a lovely bloke and said, "Of course I will."

PRESENTER: Tell you what, Bobby, there's an absolutely

beautiful atmosphere building up here at the moment,

I'm just looking at the Kop over my left shoulder

and I think we're in for a very special night.

ROBSON: Yes, we are. It's poised beautifully, if I may say so,

because it gives Liverpool an even greater chance

in many respects, because they have to attack, have Arsenal

and they have to leave themselves, to some degree, wide open,

and they've gotta get two goals, one goal isn't enough.

[ALL SINGING]

GRAHAM: [said to the boys, "Listen, we musn’t go out thinking

"we've got to attack. "

'Cause the papers were full of it, Arsenal's got to win two-nil.

They've gotta go out there and have a go at Liverpool. Hello.

Hello, I don't think so.

[HORN BLOWING]

PRESENTER: It's a 100 years since English football produced

an occasion such as this, the teams occupying

first and second place in the Championship.

Head to head, the last match of the season.

The Anfield roar welcoming and intimidating

as we join our commentary team of David Pleat and Brian Moore.

COMMENTATOR: Good evening, everybody. Arsenal on the pitch

with bouquets of flowers.

MERSON: I remember going out, we got flowers and we went

and put them down for the poor people who passed away at Hillsborough.

And the Kop were very grateful.

I mean, you know, that was emotional.

ADAMS: It was a great idea and this was typical for me

of a great gesture from Arsenal, given the pain

that the Liverpool people had gone though.

DIXON: I remember the emotion of actually passing the flowers over.

The minute I let go of the flowers, it was like I had this flood Of...

"Right." My game face came on. Immediately as I handed them,

I just got this...

I sprinted back to my position before kick-off.

I was, like, full Of energy, ready to go.

COMMENTATOR: So a night of chilling simplicity

about it, really. Arsenal must win by two goals to take the title.

Anything less and it stays on Merseyside with Liverpool.

And Arsenal in their changed shirt of yellow get the game unden/vay,

attacking the goal to our right.

ALAN SMITH: lmean, there's always a great atmosphere at Anfield.

And it was doubly so that night. It was just charged.

And, you know, those first 20 minutes

it was 100 mile an hour.

COMMENTATOR: Just think, ten months of struggle in all conditions

since last August

and it's all on the last 90 minutes now.

[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]

-[REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE] -Free kick, Liverpool's way.

lt's Liverpool looking very positive.

As a goalkeeper, all you've gotta deal with

is what yourjob is.

COMMENTATOR: Drives... Drives it straight through the wall.

and Lukic was the wonder goal.

And I knew, above all else, that we couldn't concede.

Rush. A flick on from Aldridge and back again for Rush.

Fantastic power there by Rush.

Michael Thomas was rampaging around like a madman.

-Here's Barnes. -[REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE]

Brought down by Thomas.

And a free kick to Liverpool.

SMITH: I could certainly sense that

they were caught between two schools.

I mean, to think that you could go out and lose a match one-nil.

You know, it's not an easy psychological thing

for any footballer.

They weren't the Liverpool that we all expected.

I think they were nervous.

COMMENTATOR: Nicol giving away the corner a moment ago.

And misplaced clearance there by Whelan.

Is there a little bit of edginess in this early Liverpool play?

SMITH: And that helped us gain a bit of confidence

and have a bit more of the ball.

COMMENTA TOR 2: Arsenal started with no shortage of confidence,

they seem the more relaxed side.

SMITH: Although we didn’t really get too near Bruce Grobbelaar’s goal.

COMMENTATOR: There's the little flick on by Steve Bould.

Hansen struggling to get it away.

Michael Thomas firing over the Liverpool crossbar,

into that crowded Kop.

SMITH: The Bouldy header was the moment in the first half.

COMMENTATOR: lt's Merson on the far side they’re aiming for.

But it was Bould’s header here for Rocastle.

Bould tangling with Whelan.

Michael Thomas getting to the by-line,

this could be danger for Liverpool here.

And it's flicked just wide, the header by Bould.

Eluded Grobbelaar

and Arsenal within a whisker of getting the goal

they so desperately wanted early in this game.

GROVE: We'd settled in quite well, you know,

you think, no, actually, was no real panic, there was no real panic at all.

COMMENTATOR: Still nil-nil.

On a night when Arsenal need a victory by two goals.

GRAHAM: The funny thing about it is Liverpool never came at us.

SO you think, "What's happening here?"

COMMENTATOR: Oh, he almost got that in for Ray Houghton.

But Nicol's got a bit of space here now on the far side for Liverpool.

And made no use of it.

They didn't want to come forward, we didn't want to go forward.

So it was, you know, it was stalemate.

We set the stall out, boring, boring Arsenal.

Yeah, no, you're not gonna score in the first 45 minutes.

You know, um...

We were bloody good at that.

[REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE]

COMMENTATOR: It’s still everything to play for,

but we've come to an interval where it's Liverpool nil, Arsenal nil.

MERSON: George come in at half-time and he was like, "Brilliant.

"Brilliant. That's it. Outstanding." I'm thinking,

"We ain't touched the ball yet. We gotta win this game two-nil,

"what's brilliant about this?"

Gaffa says, "Brilliant, lads.

"That's what I wanted, I wanted you to keep a clean sheet,

"it's all going according to plan."

I said, "Okay, we'll try to grow into the game,

"right, and then we'll start going forward a bit more and a bit more,

"hopefully we'll get one.

"Then they're nervous, then we'll get another one."

Then we'll finish up three.

I actually thought we'd win three-nothing.

How a manager can stand there at half-time and tell you

what's gonna happen and make you believe it,

It's absolutely sensational.

COMMENTATOR: And welcome back to Anfield. In the next 45 minutes,

the Championship of the First Division of the Barclays Football League

will be decided. But Arsenal, you can be sure now, will be going,

searching even more diligently

for that crucial opening goal.

You can just imagine the tension if Arsenal do manage to snatch a goal.

Winterburn. A deep, deep cross, Bould was up there.

Grobbelaar missed that with his fist.

And Liverpool breathe a sigh of relief as that one went on the far side.

We're in it, if we don't concede.

COMMENTATOR: O'Leary putting it behind, on the roof over the Kop.

And George believed chances will come.

Whether you'll take them is another thing

but the chances will come.

COMMENTATO R: Rocastle.

Well, that time given against Whelan, for his feet too high

as he challenged David Rocastle.

Arsenal's free kick.

It wasn't a free kick I gave. It was an indirect free kick

and that's critical.

I believe it was an obstruction, as we called it in those days.

COMMENTATOR: Winterburn. And Richardson behind it.

It's a free kick we practised all the time,

try and whip it with some pace,

from the opposite side, the right-hand side,

aim at the far post, hopefully one of your attackers is gonna get

a touch on it, if not, Liverpool potentially can get an own goal.

COMMENTATOR 2: Arsenal, when they take free kicks,

you know it's been well worked.

Each man has a particular move to make

to try and get that perfect position to score from.

GRAHAM: I don't think there's any other team in the country

at that time worked more set pieces than we did.

SMITH: We did practice that free kick until we were blue in the face.

And it never worked in a match.

I just remember it coming in and mejust helping it on.

COMMENTATOR: Adams has made a darting little run in there.

And Smith! And Arsenal have scored!

Wow!

You know, and our section were going absolutely ballistic.

COMMENTATOR: Flicked across there on the far side,

it was touched in by Smith.

I think I said something to the Gaffa, you know.

"See that free kick? About time it worked."

COMMENTATOR: The Liverpool players are surrounding the referee.

I couldn't see any reason for it to be disallowed

but about seven or eight Liverpool players did.

There was a suggestion, was it offside,

you know, indirect free kick, it had gone straight in.

They've got this huddle surrounding them.

You know, and all the vocal boys,

Ronnie Whelan, Steve McMahon, all Of them, Alan Hansen,

getting in the ref's ear.

COMMENTATOR: Well, let's see here.

I looked at the Iinesman,

said "Leave me alone while I go and talk to him."

COMMENTATOR: Now, a crucial decision here.

WINTERBURN: Your emotions are all over the place,

because you've scored, you're on a high,

all of a sudden, you're like, "Oh, my God."

SMITH: David O'Leary was our sole spokesperson.

Senior man. "Go on at him, go on.

"Tell him it was a goal."

I kept saying to the referee and the Iinesman,

"Don't you get to talked out of it, that's a goal."

And I said, "Jeff, I've given a goal."

Some questions.

COMMENTATOR: On the word of the linesman so much will now depend.

I was only seconds but it seemed to be ages.

I was thinking, "Don't you change your mind."

What's going on? You were just waiting and waiting to say,

"Come on, make a decision."

[INAUDIBLE]

"Did I put my arm up for an indirect free kick?"

He said, "Yes, you did."

But you're thinking, "Nah, he's going to disallow it.

"Ninety percent chance he's going to disallow this for whatever reason."

I said, "Was there an offside?"

I knew I wasn't Offside.

"Was there a foul or any other reason why I shouldn't allow the goal?"

I was certainly sucking my breath in for a fair few seconds

waiting for the... Because...

We knew how it went after what George had said getting into the lead.

Getting that first goal was so, so important.

He said, "No, none at all."

So I turned, "It's a goal, lads."

-[REFREE BLOWING WHISTLE] -COMMENTATOR: The goal's been given.

And what a game we have now.

So Liverpool themselves have quite a task now.

LUKIC: At that moment, the whole thing turned on its head

because you've now got half a chance Of winning it,

so you know now, above all else,

you can't concede.

So, my concentration levels,

as soon as Alan scored, had gone though the roof.

COMMENTATOR: Liverpool needing a goal to restore their confidence now.

WINTERBURN: You've got that massive high,

but then all of a sudden you've gotta...

You've gotta recompose yourself again because...

one's not enough, you've got to get another one.

COMMENTATOR: And suddenly, this League Championship is on a knife edge.

One more goal and Arsenal will win it.

Playing under enormous pressure now.

On to Alan Smith.

Merson. Richardson.

A chance here, Thomas!

And Grobbelaar was able to grab it.

WINTERBURN: It was the best chance of the game.

COMMENTATOR: And what a golden opportunity that was.

He's gone through, he's pretty much around the penalty spot.

Maybe a little bit further back.

It's just... It's a scuffler, isn't it?

Hits it straight along the ground.

Oh, no! Oh. That chance,

I don't know.

When the ball came to me and I entered the box,

and I turned, Ijust thought I... I had no time, I had two players,

you know, right beside me, so I tried to toe-punt it in.

I remember thinking, "Yeah, typical Mickey, look at him,

"takes ages to get there and da-da-da"...

and thinking our chance had gone.

COMMENTATO R: Very difficult ground to play at.

They've really played with tremendous passion and drive.

I mean, in my footballing career in them early days,

or any day, really, you didn't get too many chances

Of winning two-nil at Anfield. Very, very rare.

WINTERBURN: Defeat for us was winning one-nil.

One-nil at Anfield, so what?

We're still not gonna be champions.

-[BLOWS WHISTLE] -COMMENTATOR: Quarter of an hour left.

WINTERBURN: And I suppose you are dreaming, if I'm honest,

that you're gonna get another chance.

COMMENTATOR: Looking for this second crucial goal now.

What a noise we’re hearing around Anfield now.

HUTCHINSON: l was very aware of the pressures that were building.

The players' tackles were getting a little bit more fierce.

COMMENTATOR: The action is really furious out there now.

But as a referee, part of myjob is to read the temperature of the game.

COMMENTATOR: Michael Thomas might be in trouble.

Something he said to the referee.

To Aldridge. And suddenly, Houghton’s through!

Oh! Just over the top.

All right, David, where 's your money now?

l'd flip a coin, Brian. It's as close as that.

I think in a way, if Arsenal are to lose the Championship

having had such a lead at one time,

it's somewhat poetic justice that they have got a result

on the last day, even though they’re not to win it.

ADAMS: We were running out of time.

I could sense that.

And decided to run around like a lunatic.

I don't know, I think I lost my head a little bit.

You think you can win the game on your own a little bit.

You know, you try too hard.

COMMENTATOR: Seconds tick away.

What they wouldn't give for another goal.

Looking across to the bench, ah, you know, "Ten minutes."

And there was obviously a bit of injury time after that.

COMMENTATOR: There's tension in the young eyes and old

as we have a little over six minutes left.

If it stays this way, Liverpool will be champions for the 19th time.

GRAHAM: l was a bit down, ’cause I was thinking what do you say

to the fans and the press?

COMMENTATOR: Treatment for Kevin Richardson.

The referee will have to add on time.

You know, they've just lost one-nil, we've done our best, how...

You know, lwas really, I felt really low.

There are the signals, get fon/vard, get fon/vard.

The time really has come now for Arsenal to take whatever risks

must be taken.

[CROWD CHANTING AND SINGING]

Well, there 's John Barnes saying, "Come on! "

as he shouts to his teammate John Aldridge over there.

Lets just keep it going for a few seconds more.

One minute to go. McMahon has got the word from the Kop, obviously.

DIXON: I actually asked the referee, I said, "How long to go?"

And hejust went, "It's done, it's over."

COMMENTATOR: The faces of the players are something to behold at the moment.

Just a few seconds away now for Kenny Dalglish.

And that's when Barnesy got the ball

and went dribbling Off.

COMMENTATOR: And now well into time added on.

Barnes is making an advance.

WINTERBURN: I'm thinking, as everybody else is thinking,

why is John Barnes not going to the corner flag

and flicking it up and booting it out of the stand?

Well, everyone would do that, wouldn't they?

COMMENTATOR: Bould waiting in the far side.

He could've done anything, he couldn've literally flicked it up

and booted it 30 miles into the stand.

And everybody just jogged back.

WINTERBURN: Liverpool football club have been brought up

and built up on playing and passing and scoring goals.

Of course he's not gonna go to the corner flag.

He's gonna go and try and score.

COMMENTATOR: Adams is after his man.

But Barnes won 't be denied. Yes he will,

by Richardson, a moment ago down and injured.

LUKIC: I was absolutely mentally shattered at that time

and I just thought to myself,

it's not going out the box, here.

SMITH: So, I’ve got into position thinking,

"Look, he's gonna fire one up here. "

Must be seconds left, must be seconds left.

This is our last chance, surely.

DIXON: Then it all goes into slow motion for me.

I remember John getting the ball and he sort of looked at me

and lwas running up the pitch, 'cause I know it's over,

so Ijust kick it.

I remember him shouting "DickO" and pulling his arm back.

LUKIC: And bowled it out to Dicko.

I don't think he wanted it but he got it, 'cause I didn't want it.

I didn't want it, I literally didn't want it.

I was like, "No, don't do that."

What are you doing?

Dicko? Why are you throwing it out to Dicko?

COMMENTATOR: Arsenal come streaming fon/vard now,

in surely what will be their last attack.

So the ball's come across, I take the touch

and I've looked up and Smudge is like coming towards me.

I'm like, "What are you doing? Run the other way."

SMITH: So I'm going up onto that channel,

which you just do automatically.

When Lee's on the ball, I know exactly where I should be.

Showing for it.

Lee knows where I'm gonna be.

I only had that one ball, so I just thought

for once, don't shank it into the...off the pitch.

Try and find your man.

COMMENTATOR: Good ball by Dixon, finding Smith.

Smudge has done what Smudge did best

and taken a velvet touch.

And I thought as it's coming to me, I've got to turn first time here.

And all I see is a gaping space and I've gotta go for a run.

In a fraction of a second, I see Mickey

and I just poke it that way.

COMMENTATOR: For Thomas.

So when the ball came to me, I'm thinking, "Right on goal here."

Steve Nicol's gonna be the last person coming towards me,

all I've gotta do is put it over Steve Nicol's head and I'm in.

WINTERBURN: Our man is outside.

And I'm watching him. And I'm watching him.

And it hits the defender.

And it comes back in his path.

COMMENTATOR: Thomas charging through the midfield. Thomas!

LUKIC: He's now through on goal

and you say to yourself, well,

the one man you want in that position,

at that stage in the game is Michael Thomas.

I'm looking straight down the pitch.

I'm in the centre of it looking straight down.

And I'm going, "You put that ball in there, Mickey Thomas."

I just saw players converging on him, thinking, well,

he's gonna get tackled right now.

But Mickey being Mickey never did anything in a hurry.

He could sleep on a clothesline.

He was so laid back.

[HEART BEATING]

SMITH: He wanted Grobbelaar to make his move

so it was a kind of cat and mouse situation.

It's like a poker game, I'm there...

waiting for him, waiting, and it seemed for ages that, you know,

before he had made a move.

And just as he showed his hand, I knew what I was going to do.

And just clips it over.

And it's just going on and on and on, forever it seems.

And I'm just thinking, "Get over that line."

COMMENTATOR: Good ball by Dixon, finding Smith.

But Thomas charging through the midfield!

Thomas! It's up for grabs now!

Thomas, right at the end.

An unbelievable climax to the league season.

I'm just thinking... Ecstasy, really, it'sjust...

incredible. I've done what I wanted to do.

That's that feeling, I've done it.

WINTERBURN: The way he flicked it, I'm Off.

He hasn't even got it in the net.

Woof, straight across the goal, I'm already celebrating.

What an idiot I would have looked if it hit the post.

But soon as he flicked it, I've gone. I know what's happening.

What a finish.

COMMENTATOR: Suddenly, it was Michael Thomas blasting through,

the bounce fell his way.

He flicked it wide of Grobbelaar.

And we have the most dramatic finish in the history

maybe in the history of the football league.

DIXON: As it hit back of the net, I remember just bursting out crying.

It sounds melodramatic, but that's what...

There was a flood of emotion, "It's gone in, it's actually gone in."

And I know what that means.

And also I could still hear the referee going, "It's over. It's done."

ADAMS: That probably was the only time in my career

I’ve been knocked off me feet.

You know, it's a weird sensation, the legs gone

and I'm down on my knees, you know, it'sjust...

You know, and that must've been a build-up of the occasion

and the enormity of what's happened.

You know, 'cause, um...

that don't normally happen.

I don't think I've ever been knocked off me feet since.

COMMENTATOR: They played nearly two minutes of injury time.

George Graham would love to get out there and play himself

and so would Kenny Dalglish.

It's absolute bedlam, absolute bedlam, but again,

we don't know how long is left.

So the ref, "Come on, everyone back to the halfway line,

"back in, back in your half."

HUTCHINSON: I'm sure we had about 1 1 Arsenal players

who suggested that it was time to go home.

But, um, that passes you by, you know.

I knew when I was gonna blow the whistle.

And you're thinking, "God, he's got to blow his whistle."

But then they get a chance to attack.

COMMENTATOR: But wait a moment, Whelan turning it in.

The ball goes up in the air and it's coming down towards Mickey,

in the box, surrounded by Liverpool players.

And you're expecting him to launch it,

like, swivel it and volley it into next Tuesday.

I remember shouting, "Kick it!"

You know, he's like, he rolls it back,

as cool as a cucumber.

Really annoyed me at the time, 'cause I was thinking he could cost us

but he knew exactly what he was doing,

he did with the goal, took his time, rolled it back.

COMMENTATOR: lt's agony for the fans.

As Liverpool now...

For so long, they seemed in command.

[REFEREE BLOWS WHISTLE]

At the final whistle,

Arsenal are the champions!

A momentous occasion, this, forArsenal.

Coming here, requiring a two goal lead.

And snatched it in the most dramatic fashion

in the last minute of the game.

DIXON: It's astonishing how George reacts when the whistle goes,

trying to calm people down.

He's like that, said, "All right, calm down."

I think he was trying to...

I don't think he knew what to do, to be fair.

I'm stupid.

I didn't know what to think, Ijust... I honestly couldn't believe it.

[ALL CHANTING]

WINTERBURN: lt's fantasy stuff, isn’t it?

Still is when I think about it now.

Did that really happen?

You know, if you were to tell people about that,

they'd probably say, "You're absolutely crackers, you're nuts."

That just doesn't happen.

SMITH: It's not going to get better than this.

It cannot possibly get any better than this.

How can we trump this moment?

Well, out here on the centre of the pitch,

Tony Adams is lined up on my right, with a huge grin on his face.

Arsenal has done what many people think was an impossible task.

And Tony Adams is about to be the proudest footballer in Britain,

I would think, if not in Europe.

ADAMS: For me, it's the best night and I happened to be there.

Ijust... I'm really grateful that I was there on the day to,

to lift the trophy up after 18 years of,

Of hurt.

COMMENTATOR: Tony, well done.

I mean, everybody said it was impossible here tonight.

But you kept going until the 91st minute.

We just gave it a go, we just gave it our best shot.

And it worked out for us on the night, you know? You can only do your best

and we tried hard and done our best.

DIXON: It's a beautiful, beautiful trophy as well,

it's absolutely stunning.

I vaguely remember holding it up and then from then onwards...

DAVIES: Pandemonium. It's the only word to describe it.

Pandemonium, just all over each other.

Thomas swears he took my virginity in that moment.

Cigarette down the back of the sofa.

Damien's dad trying to stop the sofa burning, which was a big fear

in the '705 and the '805, a smouldering flame.

LAWRENCE: It's just a beautiful, poetic moment.

It's very unusual when you're experiencing something

in the present, that's happening to you now.

And you know that it's going to be something that you will cherish

for the rest of your life.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

No exclusives. No exclusives!

[ALL SINGING]

[CONTINUES SINGING]

WRIGHT: David’s going to be a champion,

he's gonna be, like, a winner.

You know.

So, um...

So when the whistle went,

I just, I just burst into tears.

I can't... I'm doing it now.

I burst into tears because I realised

that, um...

When he used to stop me on the bridge

and he said, "You can achieve anything that you want..."

[SOBBING]

[EXHALES]

[ALL TALKING AT ONCE]

WRIGHT: You'll just have to excuse me because

when it comes to David and these kind of moments,

the enormity of the love

that we had in the time we shared,

to see him in his moment of triumph

after inspiring me to,

to stop smoking weed, to stop messing around, to...

to stop doing those stupid things and focus on winning in life

and to see him,

when they blew the whistle and, you know,

Arsenal done it.

It was, it was, for me, Ifelt like I'd done it. I felt like I'd done it.

[CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKING]

GROVE: I can remember having some beers on the bus.

I think the coach didn't get over

25, 30 mile an hour.

A flotilla Of Arsenal fans were coming back,

and all the scarves and everybody being out the window.

Next thing, we're drinking

so, yeah, it took us a long time to get down the M6,

which was brilliant.

MERSON: On the way back you're trying to search,

where are we gonna go, where are we gonna go?

We're not gonna get back till three in the morning.

You know, in them days,

clubs shut at 2:00 in the morning,

they didn't shut at like 6:00 and 7:00 like they do now.

So we were lucky enough to get to a place called Winners.

GROVE: We thought, "There'll be 10-20 Arsenal fans, it'll be pretty cool."

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

We can go in there, we'll have the club to ourselves, brilliant.

What are you talking about? We just had a phone call.

"The team's coach is coming down, they're about an hour behind you."

We got there and it was like The Beatles, it was incredible.

And then all of a sudden, they started coming in one by one,

Paul Merson, Alan Smith...

-Bould. -...Rocky Bould, yeah.

Rocky, I remember Alan Smith, he's going, "Rocky!"

[ALL CLAPPING]

North London was alive, you know, celebrating.

It was a magical night,

you know, it was a fairy tale type of night.

Players wanted to play pool and we challenged them to the odd game.

And we thought it would be fun if we played for clothes.

I was in a restaurant the other day

and a chap came up to me and he said, "I was in Winners that night

"and you gave me your tie. Still got it."

Here we go, what a man.

Did he sign it?

-He didn't sign it but he spat on it. -I was gonna say...

That could be actual... That could be beer or something.

-Could be beer or food. -Smudge's spit, yeah.

So we come out together, me and Mickey Thomas...

What time is that?

About 6:30, it was daylight, it's about 6:30 in the morning.

we walked round the corner, the first shop we saw was a newsagents,

the papers were piled outside in their bundles.

He went and picked the bundles up, I helped him.

And we sat there on the floor,

reading the newspapers.

The first editions of the papers

and we were splayed all over them, obviously.

It was just amazing.

[CROWD CHEERING]

[ALL CHANTING]

ALL: Champions! Champions!

WINTERBU RN: I supposed for me, I didn’t realise

what we 'd actually achieved maybe until we did the open-top bus.

And then you start to realise that...

you are the League Champions.

That means summat pretty special.

MERSON: This is the last game.

You gotta go to the best team in the country

and win by two clear goals to win the league.

It couldn't happen again.

Ever. It's impossible.

GRAHAM: l was in a state of shock, honestly, I couldn't believe it,

I could not believe it.

Isn't it lovely to have moments in your life where you think,

"Oh, nothing can beat that. Nothing."

DIXON: I'd never actually had a feeling like that before in my life.

And I’ve never had it since.

It was the best night of my life, professionally.

Having to win by two goals

and score in virtually the last kick of the game.

It will never happen again.

It was a family,

We had families Of our own, but this was a real tight-knit family,

group of people,

the players we played with.

And to this day, I don't think it will ever change.

Yeah, it's a magical moment, a magical moment in my career

that I'm really grateful that I shared it with some great pals

and some great winners.

Great stuff.

DERMOT O'LEARY: It's by far and away the most important sporting event

as a supporter and spectator of my life.

I was so elated and excited.

And then it wasjust, all I wanted to do was

go to Highbury, so I could celebrate with people.

It's that great communal moment you have in football.

For me, it's easily the best finish I've ever seen

in a football match, ever.

It sounds melodramatic, but that night actually taught me something.

It taught me that things are achievable,

even when people tell you that they're unimaginable and idiotic.

It's not, you can do things that are never supposed to happen.

HENRY: Last game of the season,

you need two goals away from home.

And Arsenal did it.

I don't care what people are saying, that's the best ending ever

of any league I've ever seen. Period.

[CROWD CHEERING]