MX23RW : Friday, May 24 13:46:39| >> :60:2312:2312:

On this day: Anders Limpar joins Arsenal

Twenty-five years ago today, Arsenal completed the signing of Swedish winger Anders Limpar for £1m.

Unlike today's cosmopolitan squad at the Emirates Stadium, the players available to Arsenal manager George Graham in 1990 were predominantly home-grown.

Indeed, apart from Republic of Ireland international David O'Leary and Icelandic midfielder Sigurour Jonsson, every single member of the squad was English.

However, it was 25 years ago today that Graham looked overseas to bolster his options when he secured the services of Anders Limpar from Italian club Cremonese for a reported £1m.

Upon his arrival at Highbury, not much was known about the Swedish winger, but by the end of his first campaign in England, Limpar had made himself a firm favourite among the Arsenal faithful.

The Gunners won the First Division title in 1990-91, thanks in part to Limpar's 11-goal contribution. He was the club's third-highest goalscorer behind Paul Merson and Alan Smith, who found the net 13 and 22 times respectively.

In the campaigns that followed, Limpar's appearance numbers dropped, with speculation at the time having claimed that Graham had lost trust in the Solna-born midfielder.

He eventually departed North London for Everton in 1994, having scored 17 goals from his 96 appearances in Arsenal colours.

Speaking about his departure, Limpar revealed that he was bitterly disappointed at the way that he was treated by Graham: "He sold me in April with my contract running out in May. No talk of extending the contract, just 'bye bye'. I said - 'I would like to carry on playing for Arsenal and sign a new deal', to which he replied - 'No you are not.'

"So I said - 'but I've won so many titles in four years for you, is that not enough?' So we went in to his office and I had my agent with me and Graham is talking and says: 'I have a really good offer from Manchester City so you are going there.'

"So I realised that I was leaving the club, extended my hand to shake his hand and said - 'Well, thanks for four years then.' Then he just swivelled round on his chair and stared into the wall. So after four years he did not even shake my hand. We started driving towards Manchester but then we had a phone call from Everton, spoke to them and joined Everton in the end."

Limpar helped Everton to win the FA Cup in 1995, before playing for a host of clubs prior to his retirement back in his homeland in 2008.

ID:231271: cacheID:231271:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3616:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Kevin Campbell of Arsenal 'steaming'' during a Coca Cola Cup match against Sheffield Wednesday at Highbury in London
Read Next:
OTD: Arsenal hammer Sheff Wed
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38287396346291
2Arsenal38285591296289
3Liverpool382410486414582
4Aston Villa382081076611568
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs382061274611366
6Chelsea381891177631463
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381861485622360
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd38186145758-160
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham381410146074-1452
10Crystal Palace381310155758-149
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381212145562-748
12Bournemouth38139165467-1348
13Fulham38138175561-647
14Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38137185065-1546
15Everton38139164051-1140
16Brentford38109195665-939
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3899204967-1832
RLuton TownLuton3868245285-3326
RBurnley3859244178-3724
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd38372835104-6916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!