Mention Port Vale to any members of Arséne Wenger’s class of ‘98, and following a sharp intake of breath, they’ll acknowledge that the men from the Potteries came within a whisker of ending our double dream that season.
When we were drawn at home to Port Vale in the FA Cup third round, it was widely assumed that the title-chasing Gunners would easily defeat a side in the lower region of the second tier, without a win in nearly two months.
It would be more than 80 years before their modern counterparts went head-to-head. The two clubs hadn’t faced one another since 1927 in the FA Cup, while the last time they were in the same league was when Second Division Woolwich Arsenal and Burslem Port Vale drew 0-0 in the final match of the 1903/94 season.
By the time Vale had pitched up to Highbury, the fizz had gone out of our sparkling early-season form, and Vale boss John Rudge, who often sported a flat cap on the touchline, drilled his side impressively prior to their trip to N5. On a chilly, wet and windy January afternoon, Vale escaped with a hard-fought goalless draw against a virtually full-strength Arsenal line-up, with neither team creating many clear chances, ensuring they would have to do it all again at Vale Park 10 days later.
When construction of Vale’s home ground was completed in 1950, there were ambitious plans to turn it into ‘the Wembley of the north,’ with a proposed 70,000 capacity. That ultimately fell some way short, but the atmosphere when we arrived was nevertheless electric, and for Vale, this was their cup final.
“Our match at Vale Park in the replay was a classic English cup game. Noisy crowd, physical football, bumpy pitch,” Patrick Vieira recalled. It was a tough night all around.
The Valiants should perhaps have been two goals up by half-time, with Tony Naylor toe-poking the ball wide, and Gareth Ainsworth (in his pre-rock ‘n’ roll haircut days) clipping the ball over the bar when it looked easier to score. A strong Arsenal side were under the cosh; a Mark Overmars chance which hit the post was our best opportunity, while Ian Wright had a goal wrongly ruled out for offside before being forced off with a hamstring injury. He wouldn't start another game until May, with Nicolas Anelka taking his chance to impress.
In extra-time, Dennis Bergkamp’s exquisite lob, as good as the ones he’d scored against Leicester City and Barnsley earlier that season, gave us the lead, before Wayne Gordon slammed home Vale’s equaliser, sending the match went to penalties.
Lee Dixon, a regular penalty taker at the start of the decade, missed from the spot, but Ray Parlour, Dennis Bergkamp, Luis Boa Morte and Stephen Hughes all tucked their spot kicks away. Former Newcastle United man Ian Bogie fluffed his penalty for Port Vale and after Allen Tankard skied his into the crowd, Wenger’s men escaped into the next round.
Happily, Port Vale escaped relegation that season, and following this close call, we regrouped and moved through the gears in both the league and the FA Cup as we edged towards the domestic double.
But with more assured finishing from Vale’s players, the Gunners could easily have fallen at the first hurdle on the road to Wembley. "On another occasion they’d have put us out," Parlour admitted.