This is an edited version of my original article that appeared in issue 283 of The Gooner.
Arsenal played their first match at the new White Hart Lane during Project Restart, losing 2-1 to a late Toby Alderweireld header, continuing a poor run of league form at the home of their rivals. Without a league win in N17 since 2014 – Tomas Rosicky’s screamer separating the teams – at least Arsenal fans have the consolation of winning three trophies in that period.
You can’t beat the feeling of winning at the home of your rivals. Therefore, you can understand just how high Arsenal fans must have felt in 1987. In the space of ten months during this memorable year, Arsenal left White Hart Lane with four 2-1 wins, each demonstrating the newfound spirit sweeping through the club.
To put it mildly, Arsenal were an inconsistent team under Terry Neill and then Don Howe in the first half of the decade. The 1983/84 Milk Cup was a prime example of this. A thrilling win at Tottenham left fans delirious; defeat against Walsall in the next round left them scratching their heads in bemusement.
George Graham’s arrival in 1986 changed everything. His authority and tactical nous, combined with the flourishing youth system that provided the likes of Tony Adams, David Rocastle and Michael Thomas, led to Arsenal winning their first trophy in eight years. Arsenal were back, and the balance of power in North London started shifting to N5.
On the other hand, Tottenham, at one point chasing three trophies in the 86/87 campaign, ended potless and the manager who had overseen this was out on his ear shortly after Arsenal’s fourth win at their ground in October 1987.
The first win came right at the start of the year. Top of the table and full of confidence, here was an Arsenal side barely recognisable from the Neill/Howe era. Shown live on BBC One on Sunday January 4, the 100th North London league derby, played in swirling rain, would see Arsenal stretch their unbeaten run to 19 matches in all competitions.
Arsenal tore into their startled opponents, Tony Adams putting them ahead after six minutes, with Paul Davis doubling the lead via a free kick just before half-time. The Arsenal faithful, packed into the away end were singing in the rain as the headline in Daily Mirror stated.
Mitchell Thomas did halve the deficit just before the break, yet Arsenal deservedly ran out winners, and although the title dream would eventually fade away, there was an opportunity to end the trophy drought via the Littlewoods Cup. The semi-final draw pitted Arsenal against Tottenham in a buttock-clenching three-match soap opera that has rightly woven its way into the DNA of the club.
Things were not looking good for Arsenal when Clive Allen’s goal saw Tottenham leave Highbury with a 1-0 win. And their chances appeared slim when the same man scored at White Hart Lane on Sunday March 1 to double Tottenham’s aggregate advantage. But then something happened that some might refer to as a little bit Spursy.
Announcing ticket plans for the final and playing “Spurs are on their way to Wembley” over the PA system at half-time was like poking a hornets' nest. The players, hearing this in the dressing room, exchanged knowing glances. Graham’s team-talk had been written for him.
The season review in George Graham: The Wonder Years described this moment superbly: “Tactless and arrogant it may have been, but in reality, if the half-wits on the staff at White Hart Lane had deliberately gone out of their way to motivate the Arsenal players, they couldn’t possibly have done more.”
Spurred on by the early crowing of the cockerel, Arsenal’s players were reinvigorated, and although they rode their luck slightly, second half goals from Viv Anderson and Niall Quinn sent the match into extra-time. With no further goals, a replay would be required, and although Graham lost the toss to decide the venue, Arsenal’s two wins at White Hart Lane suggested that it was a good toss to lose.
Allen put Tottenham ahead once more in the replay, yet this Arsenal team simply refused to go away. Despite losing Charlie Nicholas to an injury, his replacement Ian Allinson sneaked in an equaliser, and the force was with Arsenal. Wednesday March 4 was about to become a night to remember for Arsenal fans.
With a chilling inevitability, a last-minute goal from Rocastle gave Arsenal the lead for the first time in the tie, and a place in the Wembley final. The party in the away section at White Hart Lane went on and on.
Steve Curry mentioned Arsenal’s “refusal to accept they were beaten” during the saga, adding that “George Graham’s team of tenderfoots came of age last night as they reached Wembley with a comeback of staggering dimensions.”
The wins over Tottenham and the comeback against Liverpool in the final, inspired a new Arsenal fanzine called One-nil down, two-one up, and as the 1987/88 season commenced, hopes were high of more Arsenal success. After a stuttering start, Graham’s team clicked into gear. Unfortunately for Tottenham, they could do little to slow the progress of the juggernaut.
Another live television match on a Sunday, another 2-1 win for Arsenal at White Hart Lane. October 18 may not have had the drama of the previous three wins, but another come-from-behind win left Tottenham seething, especially when a late Gary Mabbutt strike was ruled out for offside.
Arsenal had won five league matches in a row before the derby, yet a Nico Claesen’s goal after just 42 seconds saw the team concede for the first time in over 11 hours. Undeterred, Rocastle equalised shortly after, before Michael Thomas struck a winner after 14 minutes to end Tottenham’s run of 13 consecutive home wins.
A few weeks later, David Pleat left Tottenham due to allegations related to his private life, and the fortunes of the two clubs continued to travel in different directions. His time at Tottenham may have had a silver-lining had his team won that Littlewoods Cup semi-final; but he couldn’t see off those pesky kids.
For Arsenal fans, 1987 and those wins at Tottenham confirmed that the club now had a manager and a set of players who knew what it was like to play for The Arsenal. The never say die attitude, the honour of playing for the club, and the start of something big under Graham.
It’s been an inconsistent start to the 2020/21 season for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. But a win over a Tottenham team flying under Jose Mourinho would provide a boost to everyone associated with the club. Winning at Tottenham is never easy, though, even if in 1987 Arsenal developed an addiction to visiting the home of their not so dear neighbours and leaving victorious.
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