Arsene Wenger's first North London derby came early in his Arsenal career; it was only his sixth match in charge. The manager fielded a strong starting line up against an in-form Tottenham side who had won six of their last seven games, although John Lukic - on his second stay at the club - had to be drafted in to replace the injured David Seaman.
Wenger’s first five
league games had brought two wins, two draws and a defeat - giving little clue
of the swashbuckling football soon to be served up to Arsenal fans on a regular
basis. While he was yet to really impose his style on this team, here, at a
raucous and rain-swept Highbury, was the evidence that Wenger had the players
with the ability to play his way.
Arsenal went 1-0 up thanks to Ian Wright’s first half penalty, after Dennis Bergkamp was clumsily fouled by Clive Wilson. An unmarked Wright could have made it two, but uncharacteristically put a shot narrowly wide, after a great run and cross from Lee Dixon.
In the second half,
things got spicy. Minutes after Patrick Vieira and Chris Armstrong were booked
for a scuffle, Armstrong launched himself two-footed at Vieira. What would
today be a clear red - for the intent alone - was not even a foul, according to
referee David Elleray. Moments later, a scruffy Andy Sinton shot found
its way into the net via the post and Lukic.
The game ebbed and
flowed with chances either end - the best falling to Wright, who again was off
target with a couple of left-footed efforts. With a couple of minutes to go, a
quick throw into the area found Dennis Bergkamp - who was having a wonderful
match - and he beautifully flicked the ball up into the air for the oncoming
Tony Adams. The captain hadn’t found the back of the net for a year, but loved to score against Spurs, and he unleashed a technically perfect left-foot volley
into the far corner.
Just weeks before,
in the aftermath of Euro 96, Adams had publicly admitted he was an alcoholic.
He was now in the very early stages of feeling the twin benefits of Wenger’s
philosophy and cleaner living. In his autobiography he described how he scored
“on one of
the ventures upfield I now felt I had been given license to attempt, not only
by Arsene Wenger but also because I was feeling adventurous as a person and
player.” Certainly Bould and Adams’ regular forays forward had been a feature
of the match.
Victory was sealed
in the dying seconds of the match with another special goal. Ian Wright looked
to be seeing out the match with the ball near the corner flag, but dropped his
shoulder and made a fool out of the hapless Clive Wilson before crossing
towards Bergkamp at the far post. The Dutchman's first touch was sublime, and
with his second touch he drove the ball across Ian Walker and into the back of
the net - to the delight of the North Bank. It was one of those Bergkamp goals
where you could sense what he wanted to do with the ball a microsecond before
he made it a perfect reality.