
ARSENAL host Liverpool in a mouth-watering clash at the Emirates over this Easter weekend.
While last year’s FA Cup winners and Premier League champions might not be happy with their distinctly underwhelming campaign this time around, a clash between these two giants of the English game is always one to be savoured.
It’s no surprise that this Premier League fixture has produced more goals than any other — 166 since 1993.
However, as many of us know, football was invented long before 1993 and the backstory of this game is also the history of the domestic game.
Past clashes are woven into the fabric of our national sport. From the 1950 FA Cup Final, which the Gunners won 2-0 with a brace from Reg Lewis, to the 1971 showpiece final, sealed by Charlie George’s glorious long-range effort, the sides have produced clashes that live long in the memory.
And don’t forget the 1987 Littlewoods Cup Final, when a hungry young Arsenal side ruined Ian Rush’s record by winning 2-1 on a gloriously sunny April afternoon under the old twin towers.
The comeback victory, which ended the legendary Rush’s record of his club never losing a game when he got on the scoresheet, was also a launching pad for George Graham’s talented young tyros to lift the old Division One title two years later.
If you think Sergio Aguero’s last-gasp Etihad winner against QPR to clinch the Premier League title for Manchester City in May 2012 was dramatic, then you really need to recall Mickey Thomas’s incredible late goal to win the title on May 26 1989.
For there will never be a more dramatic finale to a season. Why? Because the difference between City’s win and Anfield ’89 was that Liverpool and Arsenal were both gunning for the title, whereas Queens Park Rangers were battling relegation.
Then there was Arsenal’s dramatic 4-2 victory over Liverpool at a raucous Highbury on Good Friday 2004 — surely one of the most dramatic 90 minutes that grand old ground ever hosted.
Arsene Wenger’s soon-to-be Invincibles came into the game on the back of their most difficult week of the season. Having lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Villa Park the week before, they then suffered the crushing blow of London rivals Chelsea knocking them out of the Champions League.
Incredibly, away from N5, some people were openly questioning Wenger’s side. While they may have been 2-1 down at half time against Liverpool 17 years ago this weekend, the loyal Highbury crowd backed their heroes to the hilt (imagine what the Arsenal Twittersphere would have been like if it has existed back then?).
Stung by a heated discussion during the interval from some of the big players and big characters in the side including Thierry Henry, the imperious Gunners blew away Gerard Houlier’s spirited Liverpool team in the second half to win 4-2 — including a memorable treble from the Arsenal striker, on a never-to-be-forgotten afternoon at Highbury.
For balance, of course, it has to be mentioned the Reds from Merseyside hold the upper hand in the head-to-head meetings. How could it not be so when Liverpool have lifted the title a phenomenal 19 times? Liverpool are also renowned for their success in Europe, winning the Champions League/European Cup six times.
With all that history, no wonder this weekend’s clash promises to be one to savour.
Especially when you consider Arsenal are vying to beat Liverpool in consecutive home league games for the first time since April 2015 after winning 2-1 against the last July
Not to mention the fact that Liverpool have earned a meagre two wins in their previous 20 Premier League away games against Arsenal (D9, L9) as they seek to emulate their rare victories, 2-0 in August 2011 and 4-3 in August 2016.
PS If, like me, you love sports photography, This Sporting Life is a must-buy. It’s a photobook of the work of pioneering sports photographer Gerry Cranham, being put together by Mark Leech and Doug Cheeseman. The book will showcase Gerry’s incredible archive of iconic sporting images, including many from the 1960s and ’70s. If you love sport, or photography, or just have a fondness for imagery from these eras, this book is for you.
I’ve been a huge fan of his photography for many years and through listening to Mark’s stories that are full of admiration for Gerry, his and Doug’s plan is to try to give the work the recognition it truly deserves.
They hope This Sporting Life will redress that — it certainly has Gerry’s blessing for the project. Now aged 92, he is in good spirits and always happy to talk about his eclectic career. The book will include his personal recollections — from photographing a Muhammad Ali world title fight in Las Vegas to cyclo-cross in the snow in Harlow.
I’ve signed up for the book, I think you should too.

In the shadow of Heathrow and glow of Thorpe Park, a band of Arsenal loyalists have built something lasting — a grassroots club with old-school values, writes LAYTH YOUSIF

A point apiece at the Emirates with both Arsenal and Palace looking distracted by forthcoming semi-finals