Paul Merson: On This Day – 26 May, 1989 – Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal

The final day of the 1988-89 season will be remembered as one of the most thrilling finales to an English top-flight campaign in history.

Going into the final match of the season, second-placed Arsenal needed a victory by two or more goals at league leaders and defending champions Liverpool, in front of an expectant Anfield crowd.

Paul Merson, who started the match for the Gunners as part of George Graham’s midfield, tells Historic Newspapers his memories of the iconic evening, which changed English football forever.

“When you look back at that game in 1989, it was a miracle. To go to Anfield and win 2-0 against a Liverpool team that were almost unbeatable at home was absolutely surreal. 

“You have to remember that we’d effectively blown our chances of winning the league by drawing 2-2 to Wimbledon at home the week before. We did a lap of honour in front of our fans at Highbury and basically accepted that we hadn’t won it. 

“We went up to Anfield on the day of the game, which we didn’t usually do – we’d normally go up the night before. The pressure was off us and everything felt very relaxed – I don’t think many of the squad thought we were going to win by two clear goals, it was more to make sure we put on a show and not get embarrassed. 

“We got to the hotel on the day and George Graham told us we’d play with three at the back. We’d never done that before and it’s a formation that you need to work on properly – it’s not easy to play. 

“We then got to Anfield and the Kop was absolutely buzzing – everything was electric at 1.30pm in the afternoon, so you can imagine how it felt in the moments before kick-off. 

“We were in the changing room and George told us to keep it tight and not concede, because if they score, we’d need to get at least three. He explained that if we keep a clean sheet that we would have a big chance of winning the game because they’d begin to get nervous. 

“The plan came off to a tee, it was just amazing. The dressing room afterwards was surprisingly quiet – Liverpool knocked on the door and gave us their champagne and we were drinking from plastic cups. One of my team-mates, I can’t remember which, said, ‘suck it in, because it will never get better than this’, and that really stuck with me. 

“When you look back on the game, it really was football’s JFK moment – everyone of a certain age can remember where they were that night. It was one of the games that changed football forever. At that time, games weren’t televised to the extent they are now and many supporters had stopped going to games because of all the violence, but millions of people tuned into this match in particular and the love for football as a sport really came back.” 

Step back into football’s greatest moments with our Newspaper Books collection, featuring the triumphs, rivalries and unforgettable headlines that shaped clubs and the career of Paul Merson. 

📕 The Football History of Arsenal
📕 The Football History of Middlesbrough
📖 The Football History of Aston Villa
📘 The Football History of Portsmouth