As Arsenal prepare to take on Port Vale in the Carabao Cup third round, fans making their way up to Vale Park will be hoping history can repeat itself. Twenty-seven years ago Arsenal supporters - including this writer - made the same journey at the start of a cup run that would end in celebrations at Wembley. But FA Cup joy in the Wembley sunshine seemed a million miles away for Arsenal fans in January 1998.
Seven times Arsene Wenger led Arsenal to FA Cup glory. But his first was far from straightforward. In all, Arsenal played nine matches on their way to lifting the 1998 FA Cup, a run that involved three replays, two penalty shootouts, and narrow victories over second tier teams. The third round tie against Port Vale would be a microcosm of Arsenal's road to Wembley.
The mood surrounding Arsenal was far from positive as Port Vale came to Highbury. The fine early season form felt a distant memory, with the team sitting sixth in the Premier League, and missing the influence of skipper Tony Adams who had not played since a 3-1 defeat at home to Blackburn on December 13.
After the Blackburn match, Ian Wright rowed with Arsenal fans on Avenell Road whilst leaning out of the dressing room window. When the floodlights failed at Selhurst Park shortly into the second half of a dreary match against Wimbledon, some Arsenal fans may have been angry (guilty), but in hindsight it was a blessing in disguise.
Despite the uncertainty, Arsenal were understandably expected to brush off Division One (second tier) strugglers Port Vale. Without a win since November 8, the team managed by John Rudge had lost six on the bounce before arriving in north London, rapidly dropping into a relegation battle. Losing key players in Jon McCarthy and Steve Guppy during 1997 was expected, but hard to cope with.
However, a combination of resilient defending from Port Vale - boosted by the return of influential Neil Aspin - and lacklustre football from Arsenal resulted in stalemate and discontent. "There was to be no escape from the storm for Arsenal's players," Russell Thomas noted in the Guardian. "After enduring howling wind and driving rain, they left the pitch at Highbury to a barrage of booing, their frailties exposed by those proven Cup fighters of Port Vale."
"You're never happy when people are unhappy," Wenger said, as he responded to the reaction from the stands. Facing criticism for letting Paul Merson and John Hartson depart, the lack of depth in Arsenal's squad was now being questioned. A Coca-Cola Cup quarter final win at West Ham three days later brought respite, yet could Arsenal do it in Stoke on a cold Wednesday night during the FA Cup replay?
The 1990s had seen Arsenal lose to lower league opponents in the FA Cup against Wrexham, Bolton, Millwall and Sheffield United, so Arsenal fans were taking nothing for granted. The possibility of a giant-killing led to Sky Sports showing the match live, with Arsenal desperate to avoid the same fate as north London rivals Tottenham in 1988.
"This one could go all the way; don't rule out the lottery of a penalty shootout," Richard Alan predicted in the Observer's Football's TV Dinners section. As the match progressed, his words became wiser by the minute. Both teams huffed and puffed, but neither could land the knockout blow.
Although Lee Dixon and Ian Wright returned to Arsenal's team, an injury to Emmanuel Petit stretched resources further, with young midfielder Stephen Hughes taking the place of the Frenchman. Arsenal did test keeper Paul Musselwhite in the early exchanges, through a Dennis Bergkamp free kick and a Ray Parlour shot that almost squeezed in. But Port Vale gradually grew into the match.
Striker Tony Naylor squandered a great opportunity, unable to curve his attempt past David Seaman from just ten yards out, and this miss looked crucial as Marc Overmars broke away a few minutes later. Slotting past Musselwhite, Overmars struck the post and watched in agony as the ball rolled along the goal line and drifted out for a goal kick.
Arsenal survived another scare shortly before the break. After fine work from Wayne Corden, his cross fell to Gareth Ainsworth on the edge of the six yard box. Yet Port Vale's record signing was unable to keep his shot down. "You won't get a better chance than that to put your side ahead in an FA Cup tie against a team from a higher league," Andy Gray stated on Sky.
Ainsworth would miss a half chance shortly before the hour, before Arsenal started to turn the screw. Wright wrongly had a goal ruled out for offside - no need for any lines on screens for this one - and later he would blaze over when through on goal. With ten minutes to go, two fine saves from Musselwhite thwarted Wright and Steve Bould, as the match moved towards extra-time.
It would be a bad night for Wright. Limping off in the 84th minute with a hamstring injury, Arsenal's striker would not start a match again until May. Taking his place that night was the 18-year-old Nicolas Anelka, a player who had showed signs of his talent during his first full season in English football. Arsenal's immediate future had arrived.
The deadlock in the tie would finally be broken by a typical piece of Bergkamp brilliance. Ten minutes into extra-time, the Dutchman collected a pass from substitute Gilles Grimandi, shifted the ball to the right, and created enough space to curl a beautiful effort past Musselwhite. It was becoming Bergkamp's trademark goal, as Sunderland, Leicester and Barnsley fans could confirm.
But Port Vale refused to go quietly. After Martin Foyle combined well with Ainsworth, Corden arrived at the back post to sweep home past a helpless Seaman with nine minutes remaining. With no further goals, a penalty shootout would be required to see who would make the trip to Middlesbrough in the fourth round.
It started badly for the visitors, when former Stoke City player Dixon saw his poor penalty kept out by Musselwhite. Andy Porter, Parlour, Ainsworth and Bergkamp all scored, before Ian Bogie - hero in the FA Cup win against Everton in 1996 - was denied by Seaman. When Luis Boa Morte, Mark Snijders, and Hughes were successful, Allen Tankard stepped forward to keep Vale alive.
Sadly Tankard's attempt cleared the bar, as anyone associated with Arsenal let out a huge sigh of relief. "The red faced ghosts of past embarrassments in the FA Cup gathered to haunt Arsenal at Vale Park last night until David Seaman turned exorcist in a penalty shoot out that the Premiership team should have avoided," David Lacey wrote in the Guardian. Unconvincingly, Arsenal were through.
Despite the disappointment, Port Vale managed to win their next league match. A last day win at Huddersfield kept the club in Division One - Stoke City did not avoid the drop - but Rudge would be sacked in January 1999, as the club eventually survived ahead of Bury on goals scored. But the 99/00 season would finally see the club relegated.
You may have got strange looks if you had left the away end at Vale Park that night suggesting that Arsenal would go on to do the double that season. In fact I thought some of my mates were mad enough to take odds of 70/1 on Arsenal achieving this before the fifth round replay away at Crystal Palace in February.
Bit by bit the pieces fell into place. Petit and Patrick Vieira formed an almost impenetrable shield in front of the already rock solid base; Bergkamp's guile and the pace of Overmars and Anelka terrified opposition defences. Even unlikely heroes like Alex Manninger and Christopher Wreh emerged.
But one man in particular illustrated the revolution under Wenger. Come the end of the season, Ray Parlour's progression from unfulfilled talent to key component was complete. Man of the match at Vale Park and at Wembley four months later, Parlour's performances mirrored the fortunes of the team. Glenn Hoddle may not have appreciated his talents, yet Arsenal fans knew his true worth.
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