1988–89 Arsenal F.C. season
| 1988–89 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman |
 Peter Hill-Wood
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| Manager |
 George Graham
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| First Division | 1st | ||
| FA Cup | Third-round | ||
| League Cup | Third-round | ||
| Top goalscorer |
League: Alan Smith (23) All: Alan Smith (25) |
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| Highest home attendance | 54,029 vs. Liverpool (9 November 1988) | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 17,885 vs. Hull City (12 October 1988) | ||
| Average home league attendance | 34,477 | ||
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The 1988–89 season was Arsenal Football Club's 84th season in the top flight of English football.
Arsenal participated in the First Division, the FA Cup and the League Cup.
Arsenal finished the season as champions of the First Division, their first championship in 18 years. It was also the first time in eight years that the title had been won by a club outside the city of Liverpool, with the last seven seasons having seen Liverpool win the title five times and Everton twice.
However, Arsenal failed to improve on their attempts during the previous season in League Cup and FA Cup where they reached the final and sixth round respectively, exiting both competitions in the third round - to West Ham United and Liverpool.
Arsenal's highest scoring league win was the 5–0 success over Norwich City at the beginning of May, a margin of victory which proved to be vitally important come the end of the season.
The season began with a 5–1 away win over FA Cup holders Wimbledon, in which striker Alan Smith scored a hat-trick. The next game was disappointing, as the Gunners went down 3–2 at home to newly promoted Aston Villa. Then came a 3–2 win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. By 22 October, Smith had reached the 10-goal mark in the First Division in a 2–1 home win over QPR which saw the Gunners occupy fourth place in the league, with the unlikely trio of Norwich City, Millwall and Coventry City ahead of them, though they had the upper hand over the Liverpool and Manchester United sides who were seen as their key title rivals for the season. By Christmas, Arsenal were second in the league, two points behind leaders Norwich City and with a game in hand. Millwall and Coventry City remained in close contention, with Liverpool and Manchester United starting to slip out of contention. The year ended with a 3–0 win at Aston Villa and Arsenal were now top of the league on goal difference. Arsenal maintained their lead with a 2–0 home win over Tottenham in the first game of 1989, which was followed by a 3–1 win over Everton at Goodison Park. On 11 March, Arsenal lost 3–1 at home to Nottingham Forest, but still led the league with Norwich City second and Millwall third. Liverpool were in fourth place and 13 points adrift of Arsenal but had three games in hand.
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