By Tony Attwood
Three anniversaries for 6 May, all within my time of going to see Arsenal. Perhaps I should call it my Arsenal Day.
6 May 1991
Arsenal 3 Manchester United 1. Arsenal had won the league before kick off – we stood in a totally packed bar just off the Seven Sisters Road, watching Liverpool get beaten, meaning we had won the league with just one defeat, and thus received a guard of honour from Manchester United coming onto the pitch.
Throughout the whole match I recall supporters singing but one (rather rude) song in reference to the two-point deduction levied by the league earlier in the season for the bit of pushing and shoving in the game at Old Trafford. The song had just one line in it relating to where the Football League could place their two points.
If ever there was a case of making up the rules to suit your prejudice that was it.
We sang it over and over through the entire game as Alan Smith gained the first hat trick by any Arsenal player in the season.
6 May 1998
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0, and we didn’t mind, again because Arsenal celebrated as champions in Game 37 of the 2nd Double season having won the league the game before. In fact Arsenal had just won 12 games in a row to win the title and to get to the FA Cup final.
So yes we were thumped by Liverpool and lost the next game away to Aston Villa, but then went on to win the FA Cup beating Newcastle United 2-0.
6 May 2018
Arsenal 5 Burnley 0. Arsene Wenger’s last home match as manager. After the game he was given a very positive send-off by the crowd as he toured the ground. It was all very much in contrast to the regular “Wenger out” placards that had been waved during the season.
Prior to the game, with the support of members of AISA and readers of the Untold Arsenal blog some friends and I negotiated with the club to have a banner put up in the Emirates Stadium. It took a lot of doing, but we got there, and Match of the Day honoured Mr Wenger in part by focussing on that banner as Mr Wenger emerged onto the pitch. We were rather proud.
He was the most successful Arsenal manager of all time with three league titles and seven FA Cups. Not only the record number of FA Cups for Arsenal, but a record for anyone in the history of English football. He also took the club to its second and third double, three being the all-time record, shared with Manchester United.
I didn’t go to the Liverpool away game, but I did make both the 1991 league victory and the 2018 game, and they will remain my 6 May memories for the rest of my life.
Here’s the game
