Alan Smith climbs out of his chair and heads towards the bookshelf. He returns holding the Official History of Arsenal and dips into a crucial chapter of the club’s recent past.
‘That ’91 season seems to be forgotten,’ says defender Nigel Winterburn. ‘No one ever really mentions it, which is very weird.’
This week a documentary detailing another slice of Arsenal folklore hits the big screen. Arsene Wenger: Invincible orbits around the 2003-04 campaign, when Arsenal went the whole league season unbeaten, a feat unmatched since, and one that narrowly eluded the club 13 years earlier.
Sportsmail looks back at Arsenal's 1990-91 campaign that saw them nearly by Invincibles
In 1990-91, under George Graham, Arsenal ended with a First Division report card that read: 38 matches, two points docked, one league title, one 21-man brawl, one captain behind bars… and just one defeat.
‘We could have been the Invincibles,’ Smith reflects. Instead, only memories remain for that bunch, who relished a scrap and enjoyed a drink.
Those nights out helped propel Arsenal towards a second title in three years. The bottle also left Tony Adams at Her Majesty’s pleasure. By the end, Arsenal had been battered, boozed and still emerged victorious.
‘Just a ridiculous season,’ Winterburn says.
Graham had learned his lesson from their 1989 triumph, when Arsenal failed to strengthen and soon surrendered their crown.
In 1990, he signed David Seaman, Andy Linighan and Anders Limpar, who arrived from Italy with quick feet, shaved legs and size-six boots. ‘They were a blur,’ says Smith, who roomed with Limpar. ‘One time, I shaved everything,’ the Swede recalls. ‘Alan couldn’t believe it!’
But Limpar’s first encounter with Graham’s squad had been rather more forgettable. ‘We were on pre-season in Gothenburg,’ he says. ‘The players were sitting there, they didn’t have a f****** clue who I was.’
George Graham masterminded a campaign which saw the Gunners lost just once in the league
They soon learned. ‘We were a very good team and he turned us into a great team,’ recalls midfielder Perry Groves, who was jostling with Limpar for a spot on the left flank. ‘He played a one-two and bent it with the outside of his left foot into the opposite top corner. I thought, “That’s me on the bench for the season”. I was Anders’ stuntman, really.’
Limpar was one of the few foreign imports in the old First Division. Fortunately his team-mates helped soothe the culture shock — three invited him over for dinner during his first week.
As for Graham? ‘I was vulnerable, insecure... and he just f****** slagged me off like you wouldn’t believe,’ Limpar says. The Swede regrets suggesting life at Arsenal was like ‘playing under a dictator’; he insists he was misquoted when he compared Graham to Saddam Hussein. His more considered verdict 30 years on?
‘So cruel. He f***** me up.’ Limpar’s distaste for defensive work did not sit well with a drill sergeant whose sides were built on discipline and organisation. ‘We trained hard and had a system to play from. But every half-time we never spoke about what we should do,’ Limpar insists. ‘He just slagged us off and then the referee blew his whistle.’
Scottish manager Graham was known for his tough stance on his players and took no prisoners
No one, not even Michael Thomas — the hero of the dramatic ’89 title win — escaped the manager’s wrath. ‘George tried to make him do press-ups,’ Winterburn recalls. ‘Mickey wouldn’t do them so he was just lying on the floor in a press-up position and George was sitting on him.’
Adams’ weekly meetings with the manager were about the only chance for players to have their say. ‘Tony would go in about why the lads weren’t happy,’ Winterburn jokes. ‘And come out with a new five-year deal!’
Graham’s players developed a ferocious team spirit. The Tuesday Club was the most notorious of their, er, team-bonding exercises; other nights the squad would gather after training and head to TGI Fridays.
‘Everybody went but then it wasn’t really frowned upon when people started to disperse,’ Winterburn says. ‘You had players staying out until 5am, 6am but some left pretty early.’
Nigel Winterburn (left) was one of the Arsenal players that went out drinking until 5am or 6am
Graham knew those nights out could be a vital tool. ‘He’d turn a blind eye to some indiscretions,’ Smith says. ‘He liked that the lads were socialising and close-knit because that would carry through on to the pitch.’ Never more so than at Old Trafford in October 1990.
Arsenal had begun the season well — winning five and drawing three of their eight league games — when a simmering rivalry with Manchester United boiled over. Limpar put Arsenal in front before Denis Irwin flew into the winger with a reckless tackle. Winterburn responded in kind. Cue chaos.
‘I’m a pussycat,’ the defender jokes. ‘I light the touch paper and try to get to the back — I couldn’t get away quick enough!’
Irwin and Brian McClair booted the defender as he lay on the floor. ‘McClair kicked him in the back, like a f****** thug,’ Limpar recalls. ‘I didn’t know what to do, I’m not a fighter. I just walloped McClair.’
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