1988–89 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal finished the season as champions of the First Division, their first championship in 18 years. It was also the first time in eight years that the title had been won by a club outside the city of Liverpool, with the last seven seasons having seen Liverpool win the title five times and Everton twice.^[1]

However, Arsenal failed to improve on their attempts during the previous season in League Cup and FA Cup where they reached the final and sixth round respectively, exiting both competitions in the third round - to West Ham United and Liverpool.

Arsenal's highest scoring league win was the 5–0 success over Norwich City at the beginning of May, a margin of victory which proved to be vitally important come the end of the season.

Season Summary

The season began with a 5–1 away win over FA Cup holders Wimbledon, in which striker Alan Smith scored a hat-trick. The next game was disappointing, as the Gunners went down 3–2 at home to newly promoted Aston Villa. Then came a 3–2 win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. By 22 October, Smith had reached the 10-goal mark in the First Division in a 2–1 home win over QPR which saw the Gunners occupy fourth place in the league, with the unlikely trio of Norwich City, Millwall and Coventry City ahead of them, though they had the upper hand over the Liverpool and Manchester United sides who were seen as their key title rivals for the season.^[2] By Christmas, Arsenal were second in the league, two points behind leaders Norwich City and with a game in hand. Millwall and Coventry City remained in close contention, with Liverpool and Manchester United starting to slip out of contention.^[3] The year ended with a 3–0 win at Aston Villa and Arsenal were now top of the league on goal difference.^[4] Arsenal maintained their lead with a 2–0 home win over Tottenham in the first game of 1989, which was followed by a 3–1 win over Everton at Goodison Park. On 11 March, Arsenal lost 3–1 at home to Nottingham Forest, but still led the league with Norwich City second and Millwall third. Liverpool were in fourth place and 13 points adrift of Arsenal but had three games in hand.^[5]

Just before the transfer deadline in late March, manager George Graham made an offer to Celtic for striker Frank McAvennie, but the player opted to end his 18-month stay north of the border to return to West Ham United instead.^[6]

By the final game of the season on 26 May 1989, Liverpool had overtaken Arsenal to establish a three-point lead and ironically the two sides would face each other for the title decider at Anfield. A draw would be enough to keep the league title in Liverpool for the second season running. Arsenal had to win by a margin of at least two goals to seal the title, and their hopes were raised with an early lead thanks to a goal from Alan Smith, his 22nd league goal of the season.^[7] With only a minute remaining, midfielder Michael Thomas scored to make it 2–0 to Arsenal and clinch the title for them on goal difference.^[8]

First team squad

Name	Position(s)	Since	Signed from	Transfer fee
Goalkeepers
John Lukic	GK	1983	Leeds United	£50,000
Alan Miller	GK	1984	Apprentice	N/A
Defenders
Tony Adams	CB	1980	Apprentice	N/A
Steve Bould	CB	1988	Stoke City	£390,000
Lee Dixon	RB	1988	Stoke City	£375,000
Nigel Winterburn	LB	1987	Wimbledon	£350,000
David O'Leary	CB	1973	Apprentice	N/A
Midfielders
Paul Davis	MF	1977	Apprentice	N/A
Perry Groves	MF	1986	Colchester United	£50,000
Martin Hayes	MF	1982	Apprentice	N/A
David Hillier	MF	1984	Apprentice	N/A
Brian Marwood	MF	1988	Sheffield Wednesday	£800,000
Paul Merson	MF	1984	Apprentice	N/A
Kevin Richardson	MF	1987	Watford	£200,000
David Rocastle	MF	1982	Apprentice	N/A
Michael Thomas	MF	1982	Apprentice	N/A
Forwards
Kevin Campbell	ST	1985	Apprentice	N/A
Alan Smith	ST	1987	Leicester City	Unknown
Niall Quinn	ST	1983	Manortown United	Apprentice

Transfers

Summary

Arsenal's only signing of the summer was Steve Bould from Stoke City for £390,000. Steve Williams was sold to Luton Town for £300,000, Graham Rix went to Caen on a free transfer. Other transfers saw Rhys Wilmot leave the club he joined as a trainee in 1977 after failing to usurp John Lukic as first choice, and Andy Marriott left to join Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in a deal worth £50,000.

Out

Position	Player	Transferred to	Fee	Date
GK	Wilmot, Rhys ! Rhys Wilmot	Plymouth Argyle	£100,000	000000001989-02-23-000023 February 1989
GK	Marriott, Andy ! Andy Marriott	Nottingham Forest	£50,000	000000001989-06-20-000020 June 1989

Squad statistics

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		First Division		FA Cup		League Cup
No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
	GK		John Lukic	45	0	38+0	0	2+0	0	5+0	0
	DF		Tony Adams	43	4	36+0	4	2+0	0	5+0	0
	DF		Steve Bould	36	2	26+4	2	1+0	0	5+0	0
	DF		Gus Caesar	2	0	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Lee Dixon	39	1	31+2	1	1+0	0	5+0	0
	DF		David O'Leary	28	0	26+0	0	2+0	0	0+0	0
	DF		Nigel Winterburn	45	4	38+0	3	2+0	0	5+0	1
	MF		Paul Davis	16	1	11+1	1	0+2	0	2+0	0
	MF		Martin Hayes	21	1	3+14	1	0+0	0	0+4	0
	MF		Brian Marwood	38	10	31+0	9	2+0	0	5+0	1
	MF		Paul Merson	43	14	29+8	10	2+0	2	4+0	2
	MF		Kevin Richardson	41	1	32+2	1	2+0	0	3+2	0
	MF		David Rocastle	45	7	38+0	6	2+0	0	5+0	1
	MF		Michael Thomas	44	7	33+4	7	2+0	0	5+0	0
	FW		Perry Groves	25	4	6+15	4	0+2	0	1+1	0
	FW		Niall Quinn	3	1	2+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0
	FW		Alan Smith	43	25	36+0	23	2+0	0	5+0	2

Source:

Top scorers

Place	Position	Name	First Division	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW	Alan Smith	23	0	2	25
2	FW	Paul Merson	10	2	2	14
3	MF	Brian Marwood	9	0	1	10
4	MF	Michael Thomas	7	0	0	7
4	MF	David Rocastle	6	0	1	7
6	DF	Tony Adams	4	0	0	4
	FW	Perry Groves	4	0	0	4
	DF	Nigel Winterburn	3	0	1	4
9	DF	Steve Bould	2	0	0	2
10	MF	Paul Davis	1	0	0	1
	DF	Lee Dixon	1	0	0	1
	MF	Martin Hayes	1	0	0	1
	FW	Niall Quinn	1	0	0	1
	MF	Kevin Richardson	1	0	0	1
TOTALS			73	2	7	82

Competitions

Pre-season & Friendlies

23 July 1988 1	Yeovil Town	0 – 5	Arsenal	Yeovil
			Davis Marwood Hayes Richardson Merson	Stadium: Huish Park

2 August 1988 2	Örebro	1 – 1	Arsenal	Örebro
			Smith

4 August 1988 3	Anundsjö	1 – 3	Arsenal	Bredbyn
			Rocastle O'Leary

9 August 1988 4	Enköpings	0 – 6	Arsenal	Enköping
			Merson Rocastle Groves

13 August 1988 Wembley Int. Tournament	Arsenal	4 – 0	Tottenham Hotspur	London
	Marwood Merson Smith			Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 30,104

14 August 1988 Wembley Int. Tournament	Arsenal	3 – 0	Bayern Munich	London
	Smith Dixon			Stadium: Wembley Attendance: 27,364

16 August 1988 5	Birmingham City	0 – 4	Arsenal	Birmingham
			Marwood Merson Smith	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 2,422

19 August 1988 6	Leicester City	1 – 4	Arsenal	Leicester
			Thomas Adams Smith Own goal

13 December 1988 7	Shrewsbury Town	1 – 2	Arsenal	Shrewsbury
			Davis Ampadu

25 January 1989 8	Somerset Cricket Club	0 – 1	Arsenal	Bermuda
			Hayes

27 January 1989 9	Bermuda National XI	2 – 4	Arsenal	Bermuda
			Richardson Smith Winterburn

14 February 1989 10	Arsenal	2 – 0	France	London
	Smith Hayes			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 21,785

Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy

Main article: Mercantile Credit Centenary Trophy

31 August 1988 Quarter-Final	Queens Park Rangers	0 – 2	Arsenal	London
			Adams Marwood	Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 10,019

20 September 1988 Semi-Final	Arsenal	2 – 1	Liverpool	London
	Marwood Groves			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 29,135

9 October 1988 Final	Arsenal	2 – 1	Manchester United	Birmingham
	Davis Thomas			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 22,182

Football League First Division

Main article: 1988–89 Football League

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	22	10	6	73	36	+37	76	10	6	3	35	19	+16	12	4	3	38	17	+21

Source: statto.com

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	A	H	H	H	H	A	A	H	H	H	A	H	H	A
Result	W	L	W	D	L	W	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	W	D	L	W	D	L	D	W	D	W	W	W	W	L	D	W
Position	1	8	6	5	7	6	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	1

Source: Competitive matches
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Matches

27 August 1988 1	Wimbledon	1 – 5	Arsenal	London
			Smith Merson Marwood	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 15,710

3 September 1988 2	Arsenal	2 – 3	Aston Villa	London
	Marwood Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,414

10 September 1988 3	Tottenham Hotspur	2 – 3	Arsenal	London
			Winterburn Marwood Smith	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 32,621

17 September 1988 4	Arsenal	2 – 2	Southampton	London
	Marwood (pen.) Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 31,384

24 September 1988 5	Sheffield Wednesday	2 – 1	Arsenal	Sheffield
			Smith	Stadium: Hillsborough Attendance: 17,830

1 October 1988 6	West Ham United	1 – 4	Arsenal	London
			Smith Thomas Rocastle	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 27,658

22 October 1988 7	Arsenal	2 – 1	Queens Park Rangers	London
	Adams Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 33,202

25 October 1988 8	Luton Town	1 – 1	Arsenal	Luton
			Smith	Stadium: Kenilworth Road Attendance: 10,548

29 October 1988 9	Arsenal	2 – 0	Coventry City	London
	Thomas Adams			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 31,273

6 November 1988 10	Nottingham Forest	1 – 4	Arsenal	Nottingham
			Smith Bould Adams Marwood	Stadium: City Ground Attendance: 19,038

12 November 1988 11	Newcastle United	0 – 1	Arsenal	Newcastle
			Bould	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 24,003

19 November 1988 12	Arsenal	3 – 0	Middlesbrough	London
	Merson Rocastle			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 32,294

26 November 1988 13	Derby County	2 – 1	Arsenal	Derby
			Thomas	Stadium: Baseball Ground Attendance: 21,209

4 December 1988 14	Arsenal	1 – 1	Liverpool	London
	Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 31,863

10 December 1988 15	Norwich City	0 – 0	Arsenal	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 23,069

17 December 1988 16	Arsenal	2 – 1	Manchester United	London
	Thomas Merson			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,422

26 December 1988 17	Charlton Athletic	2 – 3	Arsenal	London
			(pen.) Marwood Merson	Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 18,439

31 December 1988 18	Aston Villa	0 – 3	Arsenal	Birmingham
			Smith Rocastle Groves	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 32,486

2 January 1989 19	Arsenal	2 – 0	Tottenham Hotspur	London
	Merson Thomas			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 45,129

14 January 1989 20	Everton	1 – 3	Arsenal	Liverpool
			Merson Smith Richardson	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 34,825

21 January 1989 21	Arsenal	1 – 1	Sheffield Wednesday	London
	Merson			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 33,490

4 February 1989 22	Arsenal	2 – 1	West Ham United	London
	Smith Groves			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 40,139

18 February 1989 23	Millwall	1 – 2	Arsenal	London
			Marwood Smith	Stadium: The Den Attendance: 21,854

30 January 2013 24	Queens Park Rangers	0 – 0	Arsenal	London
				Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 20,543

21 February 1989 25	Coventry City	1 – 0	Arsenal	Coventry
				Stadium: Highfield Road Attendance: 21,390

25 February 1989 26	Arsenal	2 – 0	Luton Town	London
	Groves Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 31,012

28 February 1989 27	Arsenal	0 – 0	Millwall	London
				Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,524

11 March 1989 28	Arsenal	1 – 3	Nottingham Forest	London
	Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 39,639

21 March 1989 29	Arsenal	2 – 2	Charlton Athletic	London
	Rocastle Davis			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 30,259

25 March 1989 30	Southampton	1 – 3	Arsenal	Southampton
			Groves Rocastle Merson	Stadium: The Dell Attendance: 19,202

2 April 1989 31	Manchester United	1 – 1	Arsenal	Manchester
			Adams	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 37,977

8 April 1989 32	Arsenal	2 – 0	Everton	London
	Dixon Quinn			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 37,608

15 April 1989 33	Arsenal	1 – 0	Newcastle United	London
	Marwood			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,023

1 May 1989 34	Arsenal	5 – 0	Norwich City	London
	Smith Winterburn Thomas Rocastle			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 28,449

6 May 1989 35	Middlesbrough	0 – 1	Arsenal	Middlesbrough
			Hayes	Stadium: Ayresome Park Attendance: 21,803

13 May 1989 36	Arsenal	1 – 2	Derby County	London
	Smith			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 41,008

17 May 1989 37	Arsenal	2 – 2	Wimbledon	London
	Winterburn Merson			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 39,132

26 May 1989 38	Liverpool	0 – 2	Arsenal	Liverpool
20:05 BST		Report	Smith 52' Thomas 90+1'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 41,783 Referee: David Hutchinson (Oxfordshire)

FA Cup

Main article: 1988-89 FA Cup

8 January 1989 Third round	West Ham United	2 – 2	Arsenal	London
			Merson	Stadium: Upton Park Attendance: 22,017

11 January 1989 Third round (replay)	Arsenal	0 – 1	West Ham United	London
				Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 44,124

Football League Cup

Main article: 1988–89 Football League Cup

28 September 1988 Second round (1st Leg)	Hull City	1 – 2	Arsenal	Kingston-upon-Hull
			Winterburn Marwood	Stadium: Boothferry Park Attendance: 11,450

12 October 1988 Second round (2nd Leg)	Arsenal	3 – 0 (5 – 1 agg.)	Hull City	London
	Smith Merson			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 17,885

2 November 1988 Third round	Liverpool	1 – 1	Arsenal	Liverpool
			Rocastle	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 31,951

9 November 1988 Third round (replay)	Arsenal	0 – 0	Liverpool	London
				Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 54,029

23 November 1988 Third round (2nd replay)	Arsenal	1 – 2	Liverpool	Birmingham
	Merson			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 21,708

References

External links

ArseWeb: Anfield 89
Arsenal 1988-89 on statto.com

Arsenal Football Club

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1988–89 in English football

« 1987–88

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FA competitions

Football League

Lower leagues

Related to national team

Bobby Robson
Rous Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup (qualification – UEFA Group 2)

Club seasons

First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Charlton Athletic Coventry City Derby County Everton Liverpool Luton Town Manchester United Middlesbrough Millwall Newcastle United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers Sheffield Wednesday Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wimbledon

Second Division	Barnsley Birmingham City Blackburn Rovers Bournemouth Bradford City Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Hull City Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Manchester City Oldham Athletic Oxford United Plymouth Argyle Portsmouth Shrewsbury Town Sunderland Swindon Town Stoke City Walsall Watford West Bromwich Albion

Third Division	Aldershot Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Brentford Bristol City Bristol Rovers Bury Cardiff City Chester City Chesterfield Fulham Gillingham Huddersfield Town Mansfield Town Northampton Town Port Vale Preston North End Notts County Reading Sheffield United Southend United Swansea City Wigan Athletic Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fourth Division	Burnley Cambridge United Carlisle United Colchester United Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Exeter City Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool United Hereford United Leyton Orient Lincoln City Peterborough United Rochdale Rotherham United Scarborough Scunthorpe United Stockport County Torquay United Tranmere Rovers Wrexham York City

Others	Newport County

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Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	22	10	6	73	36	+37	76	10	6	3	35	19	+16	12	4	3	38	17	+21

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	22	10	6	73	36	+37	76	10	6	3	35	19	+16	12	4	3	38	17	+21