All language subtitles for 89-2017

Edited at https://subtitletools.com

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]