1989–90 Arsenal F.C. season

Arsenal
1989–90 season
Chairman	Peter Hill-Wood
Manager	George Graham
Stadium	Highbury
First Division	4th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Fourth round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Alan Smith (10); All: ; Alan Smith (13)
Highest home attendance	43,483 vs. Queens Park Rangers ; (27 January 1990)
Lowest home attendance	26,865 vs. Southampton ; (2 May 1990)
Home colours	Away colours
	← 1988–89 1990–91 →

Last updated September 18, 2025

The 1989–90 season was Arsenal Football Club's 64th consecutive season in the top flight of English football.^[1]^[2] After winning the title the previous season, Arsenal finished fourth in 1989–90, behind champions Liverpool, runners-up Aston Villa and third-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the title challenge.

Season summary

Arsenal's campaign to retain the Championship in 1989–90 began well once they recovered from a 4–1 drubbing by Manchester United on the opening day, and in November they were on top. But the signs were not good; few of their victories were comfortable. The 4–3 home victory over Norwich on the first Saturday of November was particularly uncomfortable. The game marked David O'Learys 622nd major match for Arsenal, a club record, and it was an eventful occasion. O'Leary scored an equaliser as Arsenal recovered from 3–1 down and was also shown the yellow card. Then a last-minute penalty which gave Arsenal victory sparked a fracas involving 19 players. Three weeks later the FA Disciplinary Committee fined Norwich £50.000 and Arsenal £20.000. It was the first time clubs had been responsible for their players in such an incident.^[3] Arsenal's wheels wobbled in the fourth round of the Littlewoods Cup in November. After a two-leg, 8–1 victory over Plymouth and a 1–0 victory over Liverpool at Highbury, a visit to Second Division Oldham did not seem so awesome. Yet they were beaten 3–1 and, from Christmas onwards, their season fell apart. Five out of six successive away games were lost, with only one goal scored. Niall Quinn scored the winning goal against Stoke City in the FA-cup third round on 6 January 1990, which was to be his last game for Arsenal. After only 6 appearances in the League, Quinn left to join Manchester City for £700,000 in March 1990.^[4]

FA-cup defeat at Queens Park Rangers followed, David Rocastle and Michael Thomas suffered dramatic losses in form and the goals dried up for Alan Smith, only 10 compared to 23 the previous season. On the other hand, the introduction of Kevin Campbell was an exiting indication of the future.^[5]

As Arsenal had seen before, winning the championship and retaining it were different propositions. A final position of fourth was no disgrace, but it was 17 points behind Liverpool F.C. ^[6]

Adams, Rocastle and Smith were all in Bobby Robsons preliminary squad to World Cup 1990. Adams was axed in preference to Mark Wright, Rocastle was excluded although he had played in five of England's six World Cup qualifying matches. Smith was omitted in favour of Steve Bull. The only Arsenal player to make an appearance in the World Cup 1990 was David O'Leary who scored the last decisive penalty that took Ireland to the quarter finals. ^[7]^[8]^[9]

Results

FA Charity Shield

As league champions, Arsenal contested the 1989 FA Charity Shield against Liverpool, who beat their local rivals Everton to win the 1989 FA Cup Final. Liverpool won the match on 12 August 1989 by 1–0 with a goal from Peter Beardsley.

12 August 1989FA Charity Shield	Liverpool	1–0	Arsenal	London
	Beardsley 32'			Stadium: Wembley Stadium Attendance: 63,149 Referee: Allan Gunn (Sussex)

First Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
2	Aston Villa	38	21	7	10	57	38	+19	70	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
3	Tottenham Hotspur	38	19	6	13	59	47	+12	63
4	Arsenal	38	18	8	12	54	38	+16	62
5	Chelsea	38	16	12	10	58	50	+8	60
6	Everton	38	17	8	13	57	46	+11	59

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

19 August 19891	Manchester United	4–1	Arsenal	Manchester
	Bruce 2' Hughes 63' Webb 79' McClair 83'		Rocastle 22'	Stadium: Old Trafford Referee: David Hutchinson

22 August 19892	Arsenal	2–0	Coventry City	London
	Marwood 50' Thomas 84'			Stadium: Highbury

26 August 19893	Arsenal	0–0	Wimbledon	London
				Stadium: Highbury

9 September 19894	Arsenal	5–0	Sheffield Wednesday	London
	Merson Adams Marwood Thomas Smith			Stadium: Highbury

16 September 19895	Nottingham Forest	1–2	Arsenal	Nottingham
	Parker		Merson Marwood	Stadium: City Ground

23 September 19896	Arsenal	1–0	Charlton Athletic	London
	Marwood (pen)			Stadium: Highbury

30 September 19897	Chelsea	0–0	Arsenal	London
				Stadium: Stamford Bridge

14 October 19898	Arsenal	4–0	Manchester City	London
	Groves (2) Thomas Merson			Stadium: Highbury

18 October 19899	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Arsenal	London
	Samways Walsh		Michael Thomas	Stadium: White Hart Lane

21 October 198910	Everton	3–0	Arsenal	Liverpool
	Nevin 39', 82' McDonald 78'			Stadium: Goodison Park

28 October 198911	Arsenal	1–1	Derby County	London
	Smith		Goddard	Stadium: Highbury

4 November 198912	Arsenal	4–3	Norwich City	London
	Quinn 55' Dixon 60' (pen.) O'Leary 78'		Allen 19' Phillips 30' Sherwood 76'	Stadium: Highbury

11 November 198913	Millwall	1–2	Arsenal	London
	Sheringham		Thomas Quinn	Stadium: The Den

18 November 198914	Arsenal	3–0	Queen's Park Rangers	London
	Smith Dixon (pen) Jónsson			Stadium: Highbury

26 November 198915	Liverpool	2–1	Arsenal	Liverpool
	McMahon 30' Barnes 65'		Smith 79'	Stadium: Anfield

3 December 198916	Arsenal	1–0	Manchester United	London
	Groves 15'			Stadium: Highbury

9 December 198917	Coventry City	0–1	Arsenal	Coventry
			Merson	Stadium: Highfield Road

16 December 198918	Arsenal	3–2	Luton Town	London
	Smith Merson Marwood		Elstrup (2,1 pen)	Stadium: Highbury

26 December 198919	Southampton	1–0	Arsenal	Southampton
	Rod Wallace			Stadium: The Dell

30 December 198920	Aston Villa	2–1	Arsenal	Birmingham
	Platt Mountfield		Adams	Stadium: Villa Park

1 January 199021	Arsenal	4–1	Crystal Palace	London
	Smith (2) Dixon Adams		Pardew	Stadium: Highbury

13 January 199022	Wimbledon	1–0	Arsenal	London
	Bennett			Stadium: Plough Lane

20 January 199023	Arsenal	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	London
	Adams 64'			Stadium: Highbury

17 February 199024	Sheffield Wednesday	1–0	Arsenal	Sheffield
	Bould (o.g.)			Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium

27 February 199025	Charlton Athletic	0–0	Arsenal	London
				Stadium: Selhurst Park

3 March 199026	Queen's Park Rangers	2–0	Arsenal	London
	Wilkins Wegerle			Stadium: Loftus Road

7 March 199027	Arsenal	3–0	Nottingham Forest	London
	Groves Adams Campbell			Stadium: Highbury

10 March 199028	Manchester City	1–1	Arsenal	Manchester
	White		Marwood	Stadium: Maine Road

17 March 199029	Arsenal	0–1	Chelsea	London
			Bumstead 63'	Stadium: Highbury

24 March 199030	Derby County	1–3	Arsenal	Derby
	Briscoe		Hayes (2) Campbell	Stadium: Baseball Ground

31 March 199031	Arsenal	1–0	Everton	London
	Smith 21'			Stadium: Highbury

11 April 199032	Arsenal	0–1	Aston Villa	London
			Price 85'	Stadium: Highbury

14 April 199033	Crystal Palace	1–1	Arsenal	London
	Gray		Hayes	Stadium: Selhurst Park

18 April 199034	Arsenal	1–1	Liverpool	London
	Merson 40'		Barnes 86'	Stadium: Highbury

21 April 199035	Luton Town	2–0	Arsenal	Luton
	Dowie Black			Stadium: Kenilworth Road

28 April 199036	Arsenal	2–0	Millwall	London
	Davis Merson			Stadium: Highbury

2 May 199037	Arsenal	2–1	Southampton	London
	Dixon (pen) Rocastle		Horne	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 26,685

5 May 199038	Norwich City	2–2	Arsenal	Norwich
	Bowen 13' Fox 45'		Smith 44', 77'	Stadium: Carrow Road

Football League Cup

19 September 1989Second round (1st Leg)	Arsenal	2–0	Plymouth Argyle	London
	Smith, o.g.			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 26,865

3 October 1989Second round (2nd Leg)	Plymouth Argyle	1–6 (1–8 agg.)	Arsenal	Plymouth
			Thomas (3), Groves, Smith, o.g.	Stadium: Hope Park Attendance: 17,360

25 October 1989Third round	Arsenal	1–0	Liverpool	London
	Smith 80'			Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 40,814

22 November 1989Fourth round	Oldham Athletic	3–1	Arsenal	Oldham
	Ritchie (2) Henry		Quinn 90'	Stadium: Boundary Park Attendance: 14,924

FA Cup

Arsenal entered the FA Cup in the third round proper, in which they were drawn to face Stoke City.

6 January 1990Third round	Stoke City	0–1	Arsenal	Stoke on Trent
			Quinn	Stadium: Victoria Ground Attendance: 23,827

27 January 1990Fourth round	Arsenal	0–0	Queen's Park Rangers	London
				Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 43,483

31 January 1990Fourth round replay	Queen's Park Rangers	2–0	Arsenal	London
	Sansom, Sinton			Stadium: Loftus Road Attendance: 21,547

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	GK	ENG	John Lukic
—	DF	ENG	Lee Dixon
—	DF	ENG	Nigel Winterburn
—	MF	ENG	Michael Thomas
—	DF	ENG	Tony Adams (captain)
—	DF	IRL	David O'Leary
—	MF	ENG	David Rocastle
—	MF	ENG	Kevin Richardson
—	FW	ENG	Paul Merson
—	FW	ENG	Alan Smith
—	MF	ENG	Brian Marwood


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
—	MF	ENG	Perry Groves
—	DF	ENG	Steve Bould
—	FW	ENG	Kevin Campbell
—	MF	ENG	Paul Davis
—	MF	ENG	Martin Hayes
—	DF	ENG	Gus Caesar
—	FW	IRL	Niall Quinn
—	MF	ISL	Sigurdur Jonsson
—	DF	ENG	Colin Pates
—	MF	ENG	Kwame Ampadu

Top scorers

First Division

References

↑ James, Josh (18 June 2013). "All-time Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
↑ Ross, James; Heneghan, Michael; Orford, Stuart; Culliton, Eoin (25 August 2016). "English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888–2016". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
↑ Pye, Steven (July 2020). "when-arsenal-and-norwich-shared-seven-goals-and-a-21-man-brawl". The Guardian.
↑ "arsenal/historic/players/niall-quinn". 2 October 2023.
↑ Emery, David (1994). Gunning for Glory. Simon & Schuster.
↑ Soar & Tyler (2003). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. p. 147.
↑ Davies, Pete (1990). All Played Out: The World Cup Finals 1990. Arrow (A Division of Random House Group).
↑ "ten-surprising-england-tournament-squad-selections". 13 May 2016.
↑ "irelands-world-cup-joy-david-oleary-recalls-his-penalty-v-romania". Sky Sports. 1 October 2023.

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[1] James, Josh (18 June 2013). "All-time Arsenal". Arsenal F.C. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.

[2] Ross, James; Heneghan, Michael; Orford, Stuart; Culliton, Eoin (25 August 2016). "English Clubs Divisional Movements 1888–2016". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.

[3] Pye, Steven (July 2020). "when-arsenal-and-norwich-shared-seven-goals-and-a-21-man-brawl". The Guardian.

[4] "arsenal/historic/players/niall-quinn". 2 October 2023.

[5] Emery, David (1994). Gunning for Glory. Simon & Schuster.

[6] Soar & Tyler (2003). The Official Illustrated History of Arsenal. Hamlyn. p. 147.

[7] Davies, Pete (1990). All Played Out: The World Cup Finals 1990. Arrow (A Division of Random House Group).

[8] "ten-surprising-england-tournament-squad-selections". 13 May 2016.

[9] "irelands-world-cup-joy-david-oleary-recalls-his-penalty-v-romania". Sky Sports. 1 October 2023.

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v t e Arsenal F.C. seasons
Royal Arsenal F.C.	1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90 1890–91 1891–92 1892–93
Woolwich Arsenal F.C.	1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14
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1989–90 Arsenal F.C. season

Contents

Season summary

Results

FA Charity Shield

First Division

Football League Cup

FA Cup

Squad

Top scorers

First Division

See also

References