Robert Exley
One season prior to the formation of the Premiership, West Ham came back to the top flight for the 1991/92 season by finishing as runners up in the old Second Division. Their pre-season warm up took in the Makita International tournament at Highbury, though started with a thumping 6-1 defeat to Serie A side Sampdoria and resulted with the Hammers picking up the wooden spoon after losing to Greek side Panathinaikos 24 hours later on penalties. The Hammers returned to Highbury nearly three months later however, beating Arsenal 1-0 with a long range shot by Mike Small. Their stay back in the top flight however was only to last one season, with the Hammers relegated back to the second tier by the end of that season, finishing rock bottom and consequently missing out on participating in the inaugural Premiership season in 1992/93.
West Ham did however bounce back the following year, returning to Highbury in late April toward the end of the 1993/94 season, inflicting a shock 0-2 defeat on Arsenal – their first loss that calendar year. Two things of note about that game – firstly, this was Arsenal’s last league fixture before their European Cup Winners Cup Final against Parma. Luckily, the bad omen of losing to West Ham ahead of the 1980 Final was thankfully not repeated here. Secondly, it was the last game at Highbury in which the Arsenal side were numbered from 1 to 11. Arsenal of course took part in the first squad numbered match in English football a season before in the 1993 League Cup, with the rest of the Premiership following suit at the start of the 1993/94 season. Arsenal however unilaterally broke with this toward the end of the season to return to 1 to 11 numbering, though reverted back to squad numbering by the start of the following season.
Surprisingly, West Ham were to make it a hat-trick of wins at Highbury the following year after a Don Hutchinson goal took the points for the Hammers in early March 1995. Arsenal however would return to winning ways with a 1-0 win from an Ian Wright penalty the following September for the 1995/96 season. West Ham’s next visit to Highbury was the opening fixture of the 1996/97 season. Arsenal were manager-less due to the sacking of Bruce Rioch just five days prior to the start of that season. The game was also noteworthy for being Frank Lampard Jnr’s first start for West Ham. With his uncle, Harry Redknapp as West Ham boss and his father Frank Lampard Snr as Harry’s assistant there were many cries of nepotism with those doubting his ability, such as this one instance after the Arsenal game where a West Ham fan insisted that Scott Canham (?/!) was the better midfielder. Canham for the record went on to play for Brentford and Leyton Orient, though Uncle ‘Arry was proved right as Frank obviously did to go on and prove his worth, albeit hitting his peak at Stamford Bridge, moving on from the Boleyn Ground after his dad and uncle were sacked in 2001.
In the event, Arsenal were comfortable 2-0 winners with goals from Dennis Bergkamp and John Hartson, the latter finishing the season at West Ham, moving on from Highbury on transfer deadline day in March 1997. Hartson talks of his time at Highbury and hints at a twinge of regret at leaving at the time he did, though was a relative success at West Ham. His time at West Ham abruptly ended in January 1999 not long after a famous X-rated altercation with Eyal Berkovic at West Ham’s Chadwell Heath training ground. Hartson would undoubtedly regret not being a part of the Arsenal side which won the double, a little over a year on from his Highbury exit. That season, back in late September Arsenal comfortably saw off West Ham at Highbury in a 4-0 victory, with all four goals scored in the first half.
Later on in that Double season Arsenal would encounter West Ham again in the FA Cup, a tie which ended in a 1-1 draw, before Arsenal would triumph in the replay. Later on that calendar year, West Ham would visit Highbury again in the league with a 1-0 for Arsenal from a Marc Overmars goal. The match would also be noteworthy for Ian Wright’s return to Highbury after leaving the previous summer. In 1999/2000 Marc Overmars would make it three seasons in a row scoring against West Ham at Highbury, cancelling out Paolo Di Canio’s first half opener. Arsenal however were to take full points from a last minute strike by Emmanuel Petit.
To West Ham’s relief, Overmars would exit Arsenal in the close season, however close season acquisition Sylvan Wiltord would dispose of the Hammers the following campaign with a first half hat-trick, in a 3-0 victory for Arsenal in March 2001. Arsenal were playing great football at the time, but endured three trophy-less seasons. This however changed fifteen months on, with Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over West Ham in their penultimate home fixture with a red haired Freddie Ljungberg scoring in his fourth consecutive game, as well as a second from Kanu to ease Arsenal toward the title a fortnight later.
Twelve months on, a ten-man West Ham side battling relegation were defeated at Highbury 3-1 with a hat-trick from Thierry Henry. West Ham’s demotion at the end of that season meant a three year absence before the two sides would meet again at Highbury, and this would be for the very last time. West Ham went on to become the last visiting side to pick up three points at Highbury, the fixture would also become famed for Sol Campbell’s meltdown and subsequent post-match disappearance. Around this period also, were the beginnings of Alan Pardew’s duelling with Arsene Wenger. However, in 2006 relations between Arsenal and West Ham would reach unprecedented levels of cordiality under the philosophy of my enemy’s enemy must be my friend.
Famously, on May 7th 2006 with Tottenham needing to go to Upton Park and avoid defeat to finish above Arsenal for a place in the Champions League, while Arsenal’s last game at Highbury saw a 4-2 victory over Wigan, West Ham saw off a Tottenham side suffering the after effects of a dodgy lasagne at Canary Wharf’s Marriott Hotel the previous day with a 2-1 win and winning goal from future Arsenal star Yossi Benayoun. During the closing ceremony of Highbury Stadium which followed the Wigan victory, ex-Eastenders star Tom Watt led a rendition of ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ joined with most of the Arsenal crowd in tribute to the Hammers’ victory that day – something previously unimaginable during the dark days of the 1980s.
It’s fair to say most Gooners (this one included) would have been happy with a West Ham victory in the Cup Final six days later, as an act of gratitude for helping to put one over on the auld enemy. Sadly it wasn’t to be, though – small consolation to the Hammers – for the neutrals it would go down as one of the best FA Cup Finals of all time for sheer entertainment value. Fourteen months on from becoming the last side to win at Highbury, West Ham would also achieve the feat of becoming the first side to take three points at our new ground in Holloway. Despite Arsenal having around thirty shots on target, West Ham miraculously walked away with the points. It would also be the first time since 1964/65 that West Ham would beat Arsenal both home and away in the same season – a feat that they’ve only ever achieved three times in their history!
The following season, West Ham came to a high flying Arsenal side on New Years’ Day with first half goals from Eduardo, just a few weeks before his horrific leg break at St. Andrews and Emmanuel Adebayor (@01.02) , though sadly also saw a visibly disappointed Freddie Ljungberg (hoping to make his mark with West Ham after Arsenal discarded him the previous summer) limp off after 37 minutes. Ljungberg’s injury troubles however saw his contract with West Ham terminated at the end of that season. However, looking to the future, a couple of months later in the reserves while still at school a tattoo-free Jack Wilshere scored a memorable left footed curler in the top corner at Underhill against West Ham, captured here on YouTube.
Ironically Wilshere, though an Arsenal player since the age of nine, actually grew up a Hammers fan and hails from a West Ham supporting family. West Ham’s next visit to Arsenal at the end of January 2009 ended in a 0-0 draw – the match obviously not as ‘lively’ as the West Ham fans obviously were in the Drayton Arms prior to the game! The following season in March 2010, Arsenal overcame a sending off for Thomas Vermaelen, with Manuel Almunia saving the subsequent penalty by Alessandro Diamanti, to win 2-0 with goals from Denilson and a Cesc Fabregas penalty. This win briefly took Arsenal top of the table, but they finished the season in third position with Chelsea taking the title (rather like last season, though Arsenal actually finished one point closer to Chelsea in 2009/10).
At the end of October 2010 Arsenal took the points with a late goal from future Hammer Alex Song, which no doubt aided West Ham’s drop from the top flight at the end of that season to the Championship. Their absence this time however was just the one year, returning to the Premiership for the 2012/13 season though in early January Arsenal overcame a first half strike from West Ham’s Jack Collison, scoring four goals in the first nine minutes of the second half to demolish the Hammers 5-1. West Ham were again to take the lead over Arsenal in their 2013/14 meeting, with a goal from Matt Jarvis, however as with the season before both Podolski and Giroud would be on the scoresheet as Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners.
In front of a much smaller crowd at London Colney a month earlier however, the encounter between Arsenal and West Ham’s U-21 sides turned out to be a high scoring affair, with a 5-3 win for Arsenal sealed with a Chuba Akpom hat-trick. Incredible to think that several first team encounters between these two sides in the 1980s were never caught by the cameras, however in the 2010s even a youth match at the training ground in front of six men and a dog is captured for posterity. Meanwhile, back in the Premiership last March goals for Giroud, Ramsey and Flamini sealed a fifth home win on the bounce for Arsenal over West Ham, the latter having only won on two of their last eighteen visits to the Gunners.
The 2015/16 encounter between the Pride of East London on their visit to the Pride of North London sees the beginning of the Slavan Billic era. As seen here Billic often moonlights as a guitarist on the side. His media CV also includes an appearance on the Croatian version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ Given West Ham’s form away to Arsenal in recent seasons however, he may wish to phone a friend at some point this Sunday!
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