5 greatest moments in Arsenal's history

#3 1988/89 – Winning the League title right at the death

An 18-year wait came to an end in the final game of the season at Anfield

“It’s up for grabs now...!”

For 18 years, Arsenal fans had not won a league title. And then on that memorable night at Anfield, commentator Brian Moore’s words in stoppage time of the final game of the season brought to an end a league title drought in a virtual final against the most dominant team of the ‘80s.

Liverpool had won five league titles in the ‘80s and seven in the ten years before that fateful day. They were chasing a unique double that season and the final game saw the Gunners travelling to Anfield to take on Kenny Dalglish’s side with the odds very much against the London side.

Here is how things stood before the final game of the season:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	37	22	10	5	65	26	39	76
2	Arsenal	37	21	10	6	71	36	35	73

To clinch the title, even a 1-0 loss would have sufficed for Liverpool. Arsenal, however, needed to win by a margin of at least two goals to take the trophy home. To make it even more challenging for the Gunners, history was against them. They had not won at Anfield in 15 years while the Reds had not lost by two goals or more at home in three years!

Although the first half saw no goals, Arsenal drew first blood through the league’s top scorer Alan Smith in the second period. With both sides now having one hand on the trophy, the game came down to a tense final minutes and that was when George Graham’s side found their miracle.

A long ball in stoppage time saw Smith flick it on for Michael Thomas who charged through the midfield and defence to slot the ball home past Bruce Grobbelaar. The away fans lost their minds. The Liverpool players sank to their knees. The Kop looked on in agony. Dalglish stood still on the touchline in utter disbelief at what he had just witnessed.

At the final whistle, the table looked like this:

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	38	22	10	6	73	36	37	76
2	Liverpool	38	22	10	6	65	28	37	76

With the exact same record (W-D-L, Points and Goal Difference), Arsenal took home their ninth league title because they had scored more goals!