The famous "Back Four." Left to right: Lee Dixon,
Tony Adams, Steve Bould and Nigel Winterburn.
The trophies: The FA Cup, the Premier League Trophy,
and the FA Charity Shield.
May 16, 1998: Arsenal defeat Newcastle United, 2-0, to win the FA Cup at the old Wembley Stadium in London. Having already won the Premier League title, Arsenal thus win "The Double." It is their 2nd time doing so, after 1971.
Arsenal had last finished 1st in England's top flight in 1991, under the label of The Football League Division One. In 1992, the top flight was rebranded as the Premier League. The rise of Manchester United prevented their return to the top of the League.
But Arsène Wenger, the innovative Frenchman who managed Arsenal, had David Seaman in goal, with a big mustache, a long ponytail, and the safest pair of hands in England. He had the best back four in Europe: Right back Lee Dixon, centrebacks Tony Adams (also the team Captain) and Steve Bould, and left back Nigel Winterburn. His midfield was anchored by Senegal-born Patrick Vieira, who was about to help France win the World Cup. And up front was a Dutch genius named Dennis Bergkamp.
On March 14, 1998, trailing United by 9 points, they went to United's ground, Old Trafford, and a late goal by Dutch winger Marc Overmars gave them a victory that started a 12-game winning streak. On April 3, at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London, they beat Liverpool team Everton 4-0, and clinched the title.
They had won the Football Association Cup as recently as 1993, and got back into the Final. Their opponents would be Newcastle United, the pride of England's North-East, led by forward Alan Shearer, and manager by Liverpool FC playing legend Kenny Dalglish. Together, Shearer and "King Kenny" had led Lancashire team Blackburn Rovers to the Premier League title in 1995. Now, they were trying to build another great team on Tyneside. And with Arsenal's superstar Dutch forward Dennis Bergkamp unavailable due to injury, "The Toon" thought they had a chance.
That chance didn't last long. Overmars scored in the 23rd minute. That lead held until the 69th, when Nicolas Anelka, a black forward from France who had just turned 19, put the game away. Arsenal won, 2-0. Centreback Tony Adams raised the FA Cup for the 2nd time, having previously raised 3 League title trophies, a League Cup, and a European Cup Winners' Cup.
In 1999, Arsenal would finish just short of the League title, losing to United, and lose to United in the Semifinal of the FA Cup. Anelka had a great season, and wanted more money. So Wenger sold him to the richest team in the world, Spain's Real Madrid.
With the money he got for Anelka, he bought another French forward, Thierry Henry, who would become the team's all-time leading goalscorer; and build the team's new training ground at London Colney. So, despite only playing 2 seasons for Arsenal, Anelka turned out to be a key player in the team's history. Arsenal would win a 3rd "Double" in 2002, win the Cup again in 2003 and 2005, go unbeaten in winning the League in 2004, and reach the Final of the UEFA Champions League in 2006.
As for Newcastle, they reached the Final again in 1999, but lost to United. Dalglish and team management fell out, and Bobby Robson was named manager. He got the Geordies high enough in the League to qualify for the Champions League, but no major trophies. Through the 2021-22 season, Newcastle's last major trophy remains the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; their most recent FA Cup, 1955; and their most recent League title, 1927.
Shay Given, then 22, was Newcastle's goalkeeper in the 1998 FA Cup Final. In 2015, 17 years later, the native of Ireland's County Donegal would be in goal in the FA Cup Final again, for Birmingham team Aston Villa -- and, again, lost to Arsenal and Arsène Wenger.
UPDATE: In 2025, Newcastle United won the League Cup, beating Liverpool, and ending their major trophy drought at 56 years, and their domestic cup drought at 70 years.
*
May 16, 1998, like most FA Cup Final days, was a Saturday. In American soccer, the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, the team that would become the New York Red Bulls, beat their arch-rivals, the Washington club, D.C. United, 4-3 at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands.
American football was out of season. There was 1 game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs: The Dallas Stars beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.
And there was 1 game in the NBA Playoffs: The Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-77 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
These games were played in Major League Baseball:
* The New York Yankees beat the Minnesota Twins, 5-2 at Yankee Stadium. Ramiro Mendoza outpitched former Yankee Bob Tewksbury. Derek Jeter went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs. The next day, David Wells pitched a perfect game against the Twins.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-1 at Candlestick Park (then named 3Com Park at Candlestick Point) in San Francisco. Alberto Castillo hit a home run for the Mets. Barry Bonds went 0-for-3 with a walk.
* The Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 5-0 at Fenway Park in Boston. It took 3 pitchers to finish a 4-hit shutout: Steve Avery (5 innings), Rich Garces (2 2/3rds) and Tom Gordon (1 1/3rd). Damon Buford and Mo Vaugh hit home runs.
* The Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles, 5-2 at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Wade Boggs went 2-for-4 with a walk. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4.
* The Seattle Mariners beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 8-1 at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre) in Toronto. Ken Griffey Jr. went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Alex Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 4 RBIs.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Texas Rangers, 10-3 at Jacobs Field (now Progressive Field) in Cleveland.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4 at Cinergy Field (formerly Riverfront Stadium) in Cincinnati. Sammy Sosa hit his 8th home run of the season. At the time, hardly anyone outside of the Chicago metropolitan area cared when Sosa hit one.
* The Anaheim Angels beat the Detroit Tigers, 8-6 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit.
* The Oakland Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 11-3 at the new Comiskey Park (now Rate Field) in Chicago. Rickey Henderson went 2-for-6 with an RBI.
* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Florida Marlins, 5-4 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mark McGwire hit his 16th home run of the season. He was on a pace for 65. Little did anyone know...
* The Houston Astros beat the Atlanta Braves, 3-2 at the Astrodome in Houston. Craig Biggio hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th, wasting a good performance from Braves starter Greg Maddux.
* The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Colorado Rockies, 7-5 at Coors Field in Denver.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6-3 at Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field) in Phoenix.
* The San Diego Padres beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 3-2 at Qualcomm Stadium (formerly San Diego Stadium and Jack Murphy Stadium). The Phils led 2-1 going into the bottom of the 9th, but an error by pitcher Mark Leiter allowed the tying run, and the winning run was driven in by a single by Greg Myers.
* And the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Montreal Expos, 9-4 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
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