Uncle Mike
Established Member
It just occurred to me that the oncoming 2013-14 season marks 25 years since an iconic Arsenal season, the 1988-89 League title.
Is the club officially doing anything to celebrate this?
The thought occurred to me: With the growth of the game, with players from all over the world now available, how would that classic Arsenal team, essentially limited to the British Isles as most English teams were then, compare to this one?
Goalkeeper: John Lukic was good, certainly better than Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone. But he suffers in comparison to his predecessor, Pat Jennings, and his successor, David Seaman. Those guys were gods of the game, whereas Lukic was comparatively ordinary. I wouldn't mind have a Lukic in his prime behind Wojciech Szczesny, but he wouldn't be ahead. Edge: 2014.
Right Back: Bacary Sagna has been a good soldier for Arsenal for years, but he's never been better than Lee Dixon was from 1988 up to around 2000 or so. Edge: 1989.
Centreback: Steve Bould was tough and gutsy, but I don't think he was as talented as Laurent Koscielny. Perhaps whatever Bould has said to Kos this past season has helped, but that doesn't make him better than Kos. Edge: 2014.
Centreback: Per Mertesacker was a better pickup than most of you give him credit for, but he's not Tony Adams. Edge: 1989.
Left Back: Kieran Gibbs is coming along very nicely. Soon, he may be as good as Nigel Winterburn. But not yet. Edge: 1989.
Right Wing: David Rocastle didn't have Theo Walcott's speed or power. But he scored some neat goals, he was one of the best passers in Arsenal history, and he was a better dribbler than most players are today. This is close, but I'm going to say... Edge: 1989.
Midfield: Paul Davis was a fair player, and would be a bit of an upgrade over, say, Abou Diaby or Denilson. But he wasn't the kind of field general that Mikel Arteta is. Edge: 2014.
Midfield: Kevin Richardson was all right, later helping Aston Villa finish 2nd and win a League Cup. But I wouldn't take him over Aaron Ramsey. Nor would I take Perry Groves or Brian Marwood over either Arteta or Ramsey: Very good reserves, but wouldn't make it as starters on a Top 4 side today. Edge: 2014.
Left Wing: Michael Thomas scored what is still (so far) the most famous goal in Arsenal history. He was a good, not great player; more Bobby Thomson and Chris Chambliss than Carlton Fisk or Kirk Gibson (to use baseball analogies). Santi Cazorla of Asturias, Spain over Michael Thomas of Lambeth, London is a major example of how the allowance of foreign players has improved the English league. Although I would love to see Santi Caz score a goal anywhere near as important and then do a somersault. Edge: 2014.
Forward: Paul Merson was everything that English fans of the pre-Arsène Wenger era liked: High-scoring, high-passion, high-living. He and Wenger were never meant to co-exist. There's a little bit of Merse in Olivier Giroud, the joie de vivre. But while Ollie's off-pitch life is an improvement, it's way too soon to say that he's the better player. Edge: 1989.
Forward: Lukas Podolski has his moments, but he's also been a bit frustrating. Hopefully, he'll have shaken off his first-season-in-England jitters. But Alan Smith, because he came in between Arsenal icons Liam Brady and Ian Wright, has been almost forgotten in how good he was. He dominated the League in both 1988-89 and 1990-91. How many Arsenal players, before or since, have had 2 such dominant seasons? Edge: 1989.
So that's 1989 with 6 edges, 2014 with 5. Which tells me that, were the 1989 team in the League now, they'd do all right.
The question arises: If George Graham had the kind of resources (including transfer rules) available to him that Wenger has, who would he have brought in? Might Anders Limpar have been purchased sooner? Might he have picked someone off the bench at Milan or Ajax? Would Dennis Bergkamp have been spared his rough patch at Inter?
Hopefully, the fixture list for 2013-14 will have Arsenal's home match against Liverpool late in the season (trying "1989 + 25 = 2013" wouldn't work), and a proper commemoration can be held. And maybe, with 1989 also marking the 25th Anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, the current Arsenal players can do what the 1989 team did that night, whose 24th anniversary is this Sunday, come onto the pitch with bouquets and hand the flowers to random fans at Anfield.
Is the club officially doing anything to celebrate this?
The thought occurred to me: With the growth of the game, with players from all over the world now available, how would that classic Arsenal team, essentially limited to the British Isles as most English teams were then, compare to this one?
Goalkeeper: John Lukic was good, certainly better than Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone. But he suffers in comparison to his predecessor, Pat Jennings, and his successor, David Seaman. Those guys were gods of the game, whereas Lukic was comparatively ordinary. I wouldn't mind have a Lukic in his prime behind Wojciech Szczesny, but he wouldn't be ahead. Edge: 2014.
Right Back: Bacary Sagna has been a good soldier for Arsenal for years, but he's never been better than Lee Dixon was from 1988 up to around 2000 or so. Edge: 1989.
Centreback: Steve Bould was tough and gutsy, but I don't think he was as talented as Laurent Koscielny. Perhaps whatever Bould has said to Kos this past season has helped, but that doesn't make him better than Kos. Edge: 2014.
Centreback: Per Mertesacker was a better pickup than most of you give him credit for, but he's not Tony Adams. Edge: 1989.
Left Back: Kieran Gibbs is coming along very nicely. Soon, he may be as good as Nigel Winterburn. But not yet. Edge: 1989.
Right Wing: David Rocastle didn't have Theo Walcott's speed or power. But he scored some neat goals, he was one of the best passers in Arsenal history, and he was a better dribbler than most players are today. This is close, but I'm going to say... Edge: 1989.
Midfield: Paul Davis was a fair player, and would be a bit of an upgrade over, say, Abou Diaby or Denilson. But he wasn't the kind of field general that Mikel Arteta is. Edge: 2014.
Midfield: Kevin Richardson was all right, later helping Aston Villa finish 2nd and win a League Cup. But I wouldn't take him over Aaron Ramsey. Nor would I take Perry Groves or Brian Marwood over either Arteta or Ramsey: Very good reserves, but wouldn't make it as starters on a Top 4 side today. Edge: 2014.
Left Wing: Michael Thomas scored what is still (so far) the most famous goal in Arsenal history. He was a good, not great player; more Bobby Thomson and Chris Chambliss than Carlton Fisk or Kirk Gibson (to use baseball analogies). Santi Cazorla of Asturias, Spain over Michael Thomas of Lambeth, London is a major example of how the allowance of foreign players has improved the English league. Although I would love to see Santi Caz score a goal anywhere near as important and then do a somersault. Edge: 2014.
Forward: Paul Merson was everything that English fans of the pre-Arsène Wenger era liked: High-scoring, high-passion, high-living. He and Wenger were never meant to co-exist. There's a little bit of Merse in Olivier Giroud, the joie de vivre. But while Ollie's off-pitch life is an improvement, it's way too soon to say that he's the better player. Edge: 1989.
Forward: Lukas Podolski has his moments, but he's also been a bit frustrating. Hopefully, he'll have shaken off his first-season-in-England jitters. But Alan Smith, because he came in between Arsenal icons Liam Brady and Ian Wright, has been almost forgotten in how good he was. He dominated the League in both 1988-89 and 1990-91. How many Arsenal players, before or since, have had 2 such dominant seasons? Edge: 1989.
So that's 1989 with 6 edges, 2014 with 5. Which tells me that, were the 1989 team in the League now, they'd do all right.
The question arises: If George Graham had the kind of resources (including transfer rules) available to him that Wenger has, who would he have brought in? Might Anders Limpar have been purchased sooner? Might he have picked someone off the bench at Milan or Ajax? Would Dennis Bergkamp have been spared his rough patch at Inter?
Hopefully, the fixture list for 2013-14 will have Arsenal's home match against Liverpool late in the season (trying "1989 + 25 = 2013" wouldn't work), and a proper commemoration can be held. And maybe, with 1989 also marking the 25th Anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, the current Arsenal players can do what the 1989 team did that night, whose 24th anniversary is this Sunday, come onto the pitch with bouquets and hand the flowers to random fans at Anfield.
