Nigel Winterburn revisits memories of Arsenal’s dramatic 1989 title success
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In the third part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes: Fanzone, former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn described his memories of one of the most famous nights in the club’s history.
Needing to beat Liverpool by two goals at Anfield in the last game of the 1988-89 season, Michael Thomas scored a dramatic winner in a 2-0 victory to bring the title back to north London.
George Graham had belief we could win title
I remember Liverpool playing their penultimate game of the 1998-99 season on a Tuesday night against West Ham. I remember listening to that game on the radio and turning it off on 90 minutes after it went 5-1 hoping there wouldn’t be another goal.
I had the realisation that not only did we have to go there and win, but we had to do so by two clear goals. If they’d have scored another in that game against West Ham, I think the title would have been as good as theirs. There aren’t many sides who’ll go to Anfield and win by three, are there?
George Graham was so strong in his beliefs about how we were going to approach that Liverpool game, what we were going to do, and how positive he wanted the team to be. He had no doubt that we would score, and then he said that once we got one, questions would be asked of Liverpool.
🗓 #OnThisDay in 1989…
No more words needed. pic.twitter.com/Ai62RwIR9j
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) May 26, 2020
It felt as if Liverpool panicked on that night. I’ve spoken to a couple of their players who featured that night and they’ve said they felt that it was more a case of them almost trying to protect a lead, despite them being behind in the game. For me, it felt like they didn’t really know what they were supposed to do because even at 1-0 down, they were still champions.
It was an unbelievable experience to be a part of. The way everything unfolded, how the game was put back to the end of the season and the results that came in the build-up. We took the flowers out at Anfield before kick-off and then got down to business. It was a case of pulling off something most people didn’t think we could do. We should have probably won the league two or three games before that night, but we lost to Derby and then drew with Wimbledon.
Maybe we just panicked. Maybe we froze a little bit, but we’d had a great season up to that point. But above everything else, we had great belief in what we were trying to achieve. George Graham assembled a very, very hungry team, and his game plan on that night worked to perfection.
Half-time we go in at 0-0, but George was completely calm. The one thing he stressed in the build-up to the game was that we can’t concede a goal. If we’d have conceded, we’d have been under severe pressure. So after 45 minutes we still had our clean sheet so George was telling us to do more of the same. It wasn’t a case of if, but when we scored the first, let’s see how they react.
Obviously we scored shortly after half-time, and from that moment my belief was that they panicked. A few of their players are adamant they just weren’t playing their usual game, and maybe when you look back after all these years, it’s clear the pressure had gone from us, and was very much on them. They were the ones who had to defend. It wasn’t a case of there being pressure on us needing a goal to win the league, it was the pressure on them to not concede a second, and that’s what’s made them panic. It was there for them, they had one hand on the trophy. The title was theirs, no one expected us to do what we did.
On this day 1989, Arsenal beat Liverpool at Anfield on the final day of the season to win the league title.
We had to win by 2 goals… and in the 91st minute Michael Thomas scored to win it.
Madness. pic.twitter.com/hEJc32oSr1
— AFTV (@AFTVMedia) May 26, 2020
A lot of people tell us we left it late, but I always say the same thing. If you’re going to win at Anfield and you need to win by two goals, you’re better off getting the second as late in the game as possible – that way you’re giving them no time to go up the other end and score one themselves!
I can still picture it all now. I’ve watched it back from time to time and it wasn’t the best game, but the standard has improved so much over the years. It didn’t matter, because the drama tells the story.
Even to this day I still have to remind myself that yes, it did actually happen. I do tours sometimes at the Emirates, and there’s that picture of Mickey Thomas scoring to make it 2-0, I still look at that picture every time I pass it and remind myself I was a part of it. It was such a dramatic finish, it was incredible, it was absolutely sensational. We’re still discussing it to this day, and I suspect in 100 years when I’m no longer around it’ll still be getting talked about.
I have no idea what time we left the stadium, what time we left Liverpool… I don’t even remember anything from the following week! My recollection of what happened after that game are not clear in the slightest, so that might tell you everything you need to know on that front! I can remember the game so clearly, but the aftermath? Not at all.
