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Swedish international Anders Limpar moved to Highbury from Italian side
Cremonese for £1m in August 1990, having represented his country in that
summer's World Cup in Italy. He quickly settled into life at Highbury
and played an important role in the Gunners winning their 10th Football
League Championship in his first season. In September, Limpar played a
starring role in a crushing 4-1 win over Chelsea at Highbury; the Swede
scoring his first Gunners goal. A month later though, Arsenal faced
Manchester United at Old Trafford in a match that was to become
infamous. Limpar struck the only goal in the 40th minute, his effort
from an acute angle deceived United keeper Les Sealey and crept over the
line, but much more was to follow. In the second half a mass brawl
involving all but one of the 22 players broke out. Arsenal fined four of
their men, including Limpar, and the FA decided to dock the Gunners two
points, and United one.
This setback, coupled with Tony Adams'
imprisonment for drink-driving, seemed to bond Arsenal closer though,
and they were to lose just once in the league all season, clinching the
title when Nottingham Forest defeated Liverpool 2-1 in an early
kick-off. A carnival atmosphere took hold at Highbury as the Gunners
prepared for their fixture later that afternoon against none other than
Manchester United, and the Arsenal players did not disappoint the 42,
229 packed inside the stadium, sweeping United aside 3-1 with a
hat-trick from Alan Smith. The final league game saw the Gunners romp to
a 6-1 victory against Coventry City, Anders grabbing a hat-trick to put
the seal on a memorable first season in English football. His overall
contribution was a hugely impressive 11 goals in 34 league games, with
two more in the FA Cup.
The following campaign was, however,
disappointing by comparison. Highlights included a 6-1 win against FK
Austria in the European Cup and a 7-1 rout of Sheffield Wednesday in the
league; Limpar scoring once in the former, twice in the latter. The
Swede also scored one of the goals of the season, a stunning 40 yard
chip over a stranded Mike Hooper in a 4-0 win thrashing of Liverpool.
The Gunners only finished fourth in the league though, and suffered an
embarrassing FA Cup Third Round defeat at the hands of bottom of the
Fourth Division Wrexham. The Premiership was born in the summer of 1992,
although Arsenal didn't set its first season alight, finishing a highly
disappointing 10th in the table, with Limpar managing only 2 league
goals in 23 outings (11 of which were as a sub). When the Swede was
selected for neither the FA Cup or League Cup finals - Arsenal won both
to become the first team to win both domestic cup competitions in the
same season, beating Sheffield Wednesday in each - the writing was
clearly on the wall. He played just 10 games in the league in 1993-94
before a £1.6m move to Everton in March 1994, a handsome profit for the
Gunners on a player who had served them well. (Mark Jones)
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