For many Gooners of a certain age, fifty years today would have been not only have been their best ever Highbury moment but possibly the happiest day of their lives. It certainly was for me. Today is the 50^th anniversary when after a lengthy absence, silverware finally arrived, along with memories that would last forever.

This was the climax of the 1969-1970 season. Forget about the league. Out of 42 matches played, we only won twelve and drew eighteen, ending up in twelfth spot. But we won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. It was a bit like the forerunner of the Europa League, all rather second fiddle with fellow Gooners having little idea what the opposition was like. Glentoran, Sporting Clube de Portugal, Rouen and Dinamo Bacau all came and were dispatched. We had reached the semi-final and at the beginning of April I was becoming just a tiny bit excited. We were playing the home leg first, against Ajax of Amsterdam, a team of all stars including Johan Cruyff. But from my standing point in the centre of the North Bank, this was one of those games where all our players clicked. Charlie George produced a master class performance, scoring twice as we ran out 3-0 winners. Although we were beaten 1-0 in the return leg, our cup final place was never in doubt. Waiting for us in that final were the Belgian league winners Anderlecht, who had surprisingly beaten Inter Milan 2-1 on aggregate in the other semi.

Back in those days, the final was a two legged affair, and we were away in the first leg. At one point we were losing 3-0, but Ray Kennedy pulled a goal back six minutes from time to give us distant hope.

The second leg was on the following Tuesday evening, the 28^th April 1970. Oh, how that day stands out! Could we hope to pull back the two goal deficit? Just like the Ajax game, the pre-match atmosphere at Highbury was brilliant. The pitch was a sea of mud which seemed to work in our favour, and from the first whistle, you could see that we were up for it. Eddie Kelly gave us the lead half way through the first half when he fizzed one in at the Clock End. We just needed one more goal. With 75 minutes gone it was becoming tense. Then it happened. A moment of magic with one of my most treasured Highbury memories. Bob McNab banged over an enticing cross from the left wing and there was my super hero Big John Radford soaring like an eagle to head the ball past their keeper, over the line and Arsenal into the lead. What a moment! The noise was immense. It was one of those moments when you had to pinch yourself to make sure that it was for real. We were still celebrating on the North Bank when a minute later, a belter from Jon Sammels hit the back of the net, and that was it. We saw out the final fifteen minutes and we had done it. The North Bank erupted. In fact, the whole stadium erupted. I had never witnessed such euphoria before. It was wonderful. Silverware at last!

I danced on the pitch at the end before hot-footing it to my local boozer in an attempt to properly celebrate. The strict 10.30pm closing time meant that there was insufficient time to pour enough pints of draft Double Diamond down my throat to do the occasion justice. The ale tasted like nectar. I remember running back home to watch late night ITV highlights. The enchanting voice of Brian Moore helped to decipher what was going on through the fuzzy black and white haze on the tiny box.

Happy 50^th anniversary, everybody!

(Ed’s note – an extended version of this article will appear in the final issue of the current season (number 283) – although that will either be published after a few matches, doubtless behind closed doors, have been played, or if the decision to abandon the season is made)

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