Historic Games: Liverpool Arsenal ‘08

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For all intents and purposes, 2008 was the year that English football ruled Europe, with all four English sides making the Champions League quarter-finals, three reaching the semis and an all-English final for the first time in history. But while Manchester United and Chelsea ultimately played out the finale (just one of numerous European Cup finals featured in our personalised football books collection) the first and most entertaining clash amongst the quartet was between Arsenal and Liverpool in the last eight.


The Road to the Quarters

Between them, the Reds and the Gunners had contested the previous three Champions League finals, with Liverpool’s historic victory in Istanbul, followed two years later by Milan exacting retribution, sandwiching Arsenal’s late loss to Barcelona in 2006. In 2008, after progressing from the group stage, which included such noteworthy wins as an 8-0 demolition of Besiktas at Anfield and a 7-0 drubbing of Slavia Prague at the Emirates, the two sides toppled both powerhouses from Milan in the last 16, Liverpool swiftly disposing of Serie A champions Inter, and Arsenal narrowly edging out reigning European champions A.C. Milan after two last-gasp goals in the San Siro, a memorable result brilliantly covered in our personalised Arsenal book.


The First Leg

Thus, the stage was set for a much-anticipated quarter-final showdown, the first ever meeting between the two sides in European competition. In the first leg in North London, the home side, having topped the Premier League table for much of the season, somewhat predictably struck first; Emmanuel Adebayor, enjoying a breakthrough campaign despite the huge pressure of filling the boots of the recently-departed Thierry Henry, leapt highest and headed his side in front from a corner. Advantage Arsenal.

Or, so they thought. Within minutes, Liverpool were level; Steven Gerrard’s dynamic run-and-cross met by the outstretched leg of Dirk Kuyt. For the rest of the night, Arsenal turned the screw, but couldn’t find a way past Pepe Reina and the Liverpool back line, a recurrent issue that had plagued the Gunners since in-form striker Eduardo’s infamous leg break at Birmingham just weeks earlier, an incident that had both physically and mentally curtailed their once-promising title hopes.


The Second Leg (Anfield)

Interestingly, the two sides would meet three times in a six day period, with a Premier League encounter falling in the middle of the two-part quarter-final. It, like the first game, ended 1-1. And so it was perhaps no surprise that said scoreline was exactly where the two teams found themselves half an hour into the second leg at Anfield.

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Daily Mirror feature, “Kop Kings of Europe”

After Abou Diaby, channelling former captain Patrick Vieira, glided into the box and drilled the ball past Reina to give Arsenal the lead, Sami Hyypia pulled away from his marker and sent a bullet header in off the post to draw Liverpool level. And there it would remain until mid-way through the second half, and one of the most scintillating thirty-minute periods in recent memory.

In the 69th minute, Fernando Torres, Liverpool’s player of the season, got on the end of a Peter Crouch flick-on and turned Philippe Senderos inside out, before smashing the ball into the top corner of Manuel Almunia’s net. A fantastic goal, indicative of the Spaniard’s season, which would eventually end with him scoring the winner for his country in the final of Euro 2008.

Arsenal needed a response, and fast. On came Theo Walcott, England’s spiritual successor to Liverpool legend Michael Owen. Ten minutes later, the nineteen-year-old would provide the highlight of his fledgling career to date. Walcott picked the ball up well inside his own half and ran almost the entire length of the pitch, riding challenges along the way, before squaring for Adebayor to tap home Arsenal’s equaliser and crucial second away goal, just five minutes from time.


“Kop Kings of Europe”

But, as our personalised Liverpool book clearly illustrates, it’s never over at Anfield until it’s over, especially on a European night. Yet again, Arsenal failed to protect their advantage, and less than a minute after the restart Liverpool had a penalty, the result of Kolo Toure clumsily halting Ryan Babel’s jinking run. Captain Steven Gerrard, like so many times before, stepped up at the crucial moment to make Arsenal pay.

As the Gunners desperately pushed forward, their European hopes fading rapidly, Babel broke free on the counter attack, evaded the attempted professional foul from Cesc Fabregas, and slotted past Almunia to send Liverpool to the semis. 5-3 on aggregate, and 4-2 on an exhilarating night where, as the Mirror reported, “English football was the winner”.

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frequently asked questions

Newspaper Books

What are newspaper books?

Each of our Newspaper Books are created with copies of authentic newspapers from specific dates or categories. Each book allows you to choose from various cover colours and designs, and to make it truly special by personalising it with a name and dedication, printed right in the book.

With Newspaper Date books you choose a specific date, for example a birthdate, and we'll create a book containing the front page for the specified date for every subsequent year since. For example, a date of July 13th, 1978, would contain the front page for July 13th for each year forward.

Our History books offer a glimpse into the past, bringing together headlines and articles relating to some of history's most fascinating or iconic events. Choose from Military History, British Royal History, and World Events; each book revisits key events, all through the eyes of the reporters who were there.

If Sports History is more your interest, you can revisit key matches, events, tournaments and races from decades past. Select your favourite team from Football, Hockey, Rugby, and more, and relive every glorious moment through the magic of print.

And, Pop Culture fans won't be left out - get an all access pass and revisit events in Music, Film, & TV. Relive the history of Classic Rock, Star Wars, Taylor Swift, and more, all through newspaper headlines.

Note that each of our Newspaper Books contain true copies of real newspaper content. We don't edit, change, or censor what was originally included in each paper. This means that each book will reflect the true history as it was printed, good or bad.

Personalising Newspaper Books
How does personalisation work?

As you create your Newspaper book, you'll be prompted to personalise it in a few different ways.

First, you'll be able to choose from a selection of cover colours, as well as a cover design. Simply click the options available, and you'll see the image update to match your selection, helping you to choose your favourite.

In addition to the look of your cover, you're also able to add the recipient's name, which will be printed right on the front cover. You can see how this looks in the example images on our website, it appears right next to the words "Presented To"

And finally, a special dedication is printed right inside the book. You can opt to use or add to our pre-written sentiment, or write your very own from scratch.



Does it have to be personalised?

At this time, there isn't any way to create one of our newspaper books without a First Name. It's a request we've shared with our product team, but at the moment don't know when this option might be available.

Please note that anything that is entered into the recipient's name box will print exactly as it's entered. This means that writing 'no personalisation' for example, will result in your book printing with that showing on the cover.

If you prefer not to use a first name, we suggest using a phrase related to your chosen book. For example for writing "A big fan", or using nickname or relationship, such as "My Partner", or simply "You" or "Me"

Gifting
Can I send a gift directly to the recipient

Yes indeed! Both our Newspaper Books and Our Original Newspapers make incredible gifts for the special people in your life.

While placing your order you'll have the option to add a special gift box, which your item will be carefully placed inside prior to packaging and shipping.


For our Newspaper Books, you can also include a special dedication which will be printed directly in the book you've created - free of charge.


During checkout, you'll be able to enter in the recipient's shipping address, separately from your billing one. And, we never include any pricing or invoices within the parcels themselves, so the recipient won't see those details at all.


Note that at this time we're unable to include any gift notes or separate gift messages within the orders.

Placing an Order

Add content here...What happens when I place an order?

Once your order has been placed, the details are immediately sent to our workshops for processing.

If you've ordered an Original Newspaper, our team of Archivists in our warehouse located in Western Scotland will carefully pick, examine, prepare, and package your order.


If you've ordered a Newspaper Book, details for your customised book will be sent directly to our Printhouse located in the United Kingdom, where an automated printing process will print, trim, bind, and cure you book before it is carefully packaging it for shipping.

Note that as our orders are processed very soon after they're received, we are not able to make any changes or amendments, or cancel any orders.

Returns, Cancellation, and Edit Policies

Due to the automated nature of our order processing, we're unable to make changes or amendments to an order once it's been completed, nor are we able to cancel orders once after they've been placed.

For information about our Returns Policy, please visit this link >> HERE