sport news Arsenal's Alan Sunderland on scoring the winner in the 1979 FA Cup final

After a warm greeting at the ferry terminal of Gozo, Alan Sunderland is speeding along the country roads when the conversation takes an unexpected turn.

'Would you like to see where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie once filmed?' he asks, taking a sharp right turn. 'I nearly applied to become an extra in their film By The Sea.'

Sure enough, we are now clambering down the rocks to a secluded inlet that is a haven for snorkellers and was, in 2015, the shooting location for Hollywood's most famous names.

Over the next hour, we cover the breadth of this small island and Sunderland is a well-versed tour guide. A short ferry ride over from Malta, Gozo is a breathtaking spot and has attracted investment from Gary Neville and Sir Billy Connolly. 'I once pulled over to offer Billy a lift,' Sunderland smiles.

It is only eight miles long and four miles wide, and Sunderland knows all the short cuts and historic hotspots. There are 46 churches in Gozo. 'Sometimes I wish I wasn't an atheist,' Sunderland quips.

'To your right there, I used to play tennis. We called it the Century tournament, it was doubles and the pair's combined age had to add up to 100.'

The drive continues, and we search high and low for a restaurant open at lunchtime in the winter. 'That bar,' he smiles. 'Cheapest on the island. Double vodka for two euros. And those trees: prickly pears, the best fruit on the island.'

This, it must be said, is not what Sportsmail expected when we arranged to meet Sunderland to mark 40 years since the iconic 'Five-Minute FA Cup final' in 1979, when Sunderland scored the winning goal in the 89th minute against Manchester United.

Arsenal had been two up at half-time through Brian Talbot and Frank Stapleton goals.

'Then everything collapsed,' Sunderland says.

'Gordon McQueen scored in the 86th minute and Sammy Mcllroy in the 88th. All of a sudden they became favourites. I remember Arsenal fans with their heads in their hands and United fans delirious.'

And then, straight from the restart, Graham Rix flighted over a cross and the hapless Gary Bailey came out, clutched thin air, and Sunderland slid the ball in at the far post. The man with the biggest perm in football had won the FA Cup in the most dramatic of circumstances.

'I would not swap that moment for finishing fourth and playing a few European games the next season,' he says. 

'Neither Arsenal nor United will win the League this season, so they must go for the FA Cup. It's a big trophy.

'After I scored, I sprained my ankle so I hopped along for the lap of honour. We went to a hotel near Marble Arch. We had comedy from Mike and Bernie Winters. It was a great and late night.'

In contrast, United player Lou Macari was in bed and asleep by 10pm, and Mcllroy, who had equalised, said: 'It was like I thought I'd won the pools only to realise I hadn't put the coupon in.'

Sunderland says: 'My childhood dream was to score the winning goal in the FA Cup final. I'd done it a thousand times in the garden. Sir Bobby Charlton was my childhood hero. I had his picture on my bedroom wall.

'Aged 18, my second game for Wolves was at home against United. I played as an anchor man that day so I was up against

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