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This week, 10 years ago....
A chorus of “Ian Wright, Wright, Wright” echoed around
Highbury, home of Arsenal Football Club. Ian Wright had done it.
He had equaled and then broken Cliff Bastin’s long standing
record of 178 goals for the club.
Bolton were the opponents on a beautiful September’s afternoon
in North London. Before kick-off Ian Wright’s goal tally stood
at 177, one shy of therecord. He had been going through a drought
for his high standards, not hitting the net for 3 games and was
hungrier than ever to make history in front of the home crowd.
The game started at a frantic pace and the visitors took a surprise
lead through Alan Thompson, but a mere 7 minutes later Wright fired
past Keith Branagan in the Bolton goal and the ball nestled sweetly
in the bottom corner. Highbury erupted as Wrighty tore off his jersey
to reveal the message ‘179 - Just Done It’. It was actually
only his 178th but he didn’t have to wait long for the T-shirt
to make more sense.
Five minutes to be exact. Dennis Bergkamp stormed from the halfway
line through the Bolton defense only to be denied by the keeper’s
out-stretched leg, Vieira challenged for the rebound before it broke
kindly for Wright.
With Branagan stranded, Wright had an open goal from 2 yards, he
couldn’t miss.
He didn’t. Ironically, it was probably the easiest of all his
179 goals. He then wheeled off in celebration, racing up the pitch
with his famous number 8 jersey pulled over his head once again
revealing the ‘179 - Just Done It’ slogan.
Each one of his teammates congratulated him as the home crowd rose
to their feet giving him a prolonged standing ovation.
Ray Parlour added a third before the break ensuring a comfortable
second half for the Gunners. In true Ian Wright fashion he went
on to complete his hat-trick with 9 minutes to go. Shortly afterward,
he was substituted to yet another standing ovation.
Wright spent 7 seasons with Arsenal from 1991 to 1998, scoring 185
times in 288 games. He won the FA Cup and Coca Cola Cup double as
well as the Cup Winners Cup under George Graham. He won another
double (Premiership & FA Cup) in his final year at Highbury
with Arsene Wenger at the helm. His phenomenal goalscoring rate
never really translated to the international stage, however, he
did earn 33 caps for England, scoring 9 times.
Despite Thierry Henry breaking his record in 2005, the 13th September
1997 is a date Ian Wright and Arsenal fans alike will not soon forget.
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