By virtue of finishing fourth in the First Division, Bertie Mee’s Arsenal side qualified for the 1969/70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a European competition set up in the 1950s primarily to promote international trade fairs, and the precursor to today’s Europa League.
We benefited from the Fairs Cup’s one-team-per-city rule to enjoy a second taste of European football, six years after our first-ever continental action. In 1968/69, Everton actually finished above us in third position but missed out because Liverpool had finished one place above them, so the Reds took another English spot alongside us, holders Newcastle United and Southampton.
After knocking out Glentoran 3-1 on aggregate in the first round, we would be handed a double header with Sporting Lisbon, who’d just finished fifth in Portugal’s Primeira Divisao.
There was a sense of excitement amongst our players. “Clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham had been enjoying some great experiences in Europe, so we thought it was about time a club of Arsenal’s stature was also on that stage,’ recalled Frank McLintock, who’d lift the Fairs Cup in April on a memorable night at Highbury.
For many of our side, playing the first leg at the impressive Estadio Jose Alvalade was their first experience of one of Europe’s glamour parks. “Sporting were a famous club, and everyone instantly recognised their iconic green and white striped shirts. Their ground was like a huge, noisy bowl. We rose to the challenge,” recalled goalkeeper Geoff Barnett, who made his European debut in Portugal. We dug in for a hard-fought 0-0 draw, meaning that the tie was delicately poised for the Highbury return in late November.
On a foggy and misty night, 35,232 turned up to see us turn in a mightily impressive performance. The action was captured by Sportsnight cameras. Many of the players who’d go on to win the Double in 1970/71 were present and correct, but David Court and Jimmy Robertson, who’d leave during the 1970 close season, also played their part.
Midway through the first half, striker John Radford neatly controlled a pass from Bob McNab on the edge of the Sporting box and half-volleyed the Gunners ahead. Minutes later, an excellent pinpoint Jimmy Robertson cross was powerfully headed home by George Graham. The Scot, who’d become our manager in 1986, then stabbed home from close range in the second half to complete a comfortable 3-0 win on the night, and propel us forward in the competition.
“It was always an education to play teams like Sporting, who played in a continental style, and were very good passers of the ball,” recalled Radford, “but we used our strengths of close marking and aerial power very effectively.”
We would then defeat Rouen, Dinamo Bacau and Ajax, before beating Anderlecht 4-3 on aggregate in the final to secure our first European trophy, which was used as a springboard for the memorable 1970/71 Double-winning season.
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