This was the game when the announcer at half time told supporters of Tottenham how to get cup final tickets. Anderson and Quinn got the goals and one long remembered by Arsenal fans at the time.
On 1 March 1987 the league table showed Arsenal in third, one point behind the league leaders and with a game in hand. Interestingly, behind Arsenal at the time came the mighty Luton Town and Norwich City, before Tottenham Hotspur.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everton | 29 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 53 | 23 | 30 | 55 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 29 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 52 | 29 | 23 | 55 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 28 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 42 | 16 | 26 | 54 |
| 4 | Luton Town | 29 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 34 | 28 | 6 | 50 |
| 5 | Norwich City | 29 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 41 | 38 | 3 | 48 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 | 14 | 5 | 8 | 48 | 29 | 19 | 47 |
| 7 | Nottingham Forest | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 35 | 15 | 47 |
Arsenal had been doing well in the league as the table above reflects, and had had an easy ride in the third round of the FA Cup beating Plymouth Argyle 6-1 at Highbury.
But in the league cup semi-final Arsenal were up against Tottenham, and in the first leg, again at Highbury, expectations were dashed as Tottenham beat Arsenal 0-1.
After that Arsenal went to Sheffield Wednesday and drew 1-1 and there was much talk of Arsenal throwing away all the promise of the season, although an easy win over Barnsley on 21 February in the fifth round of the FA Cup restored some home.
Next it was Oxford away, which should have been another easy victory, but instead turned into a goalless draw, with the general consensus in the media that Arsenal were imploding, and that the following game – the return leg of the league cup on 1 March would see Arsenal out of that competition and that the “Spurs” would once more go “marching on”, as the media liked to say (despite the lack of trophies the club had actually marched on to).
However to general media surprise, the result on 1 March was not an easy Tottenham victory, but a 2-1 away win to Arsenal. Quinn and Anderson getting the goals.
Now in those ancient days, there was no thought of penalties, but rather the match had to be replayed. There was a toss of a coin to see where the game would be played, and Tottenham won that call, meaning that on 4 March there was a third playing of the match.
Here’s the video and the full run of results.
| 24 Jan 1987 | Manchester United v Arsenal | L | 2-0 | League Division One |
| 31 Jan 1987 | Arsenal v Plymouth Argyle | W | 6-1 | FA Cup |
| 08 Feb 1987 | Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur | L | 0-1 | League Cup |
| 14 Feb 1987 | Sheffield Wednesday v Arsenal | D | 1-1 | League Division One |
| 21 Feb 1987 | Arsenal v Barnsley | W | 2-0 | FA Cup |
| 25 Feb 1987 | Oxford United v Arsenal | D | 0-0 | League Division One |
| 01 Mar 1987 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | W | 1-2 Agg: 2-2 | League Cup |
| 04 Mar 1987 | Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal | W | 1-2 | League Cup |