"I wanted to come home"

In Defining Moments former Arsenal stars select the situations that defined their career with the Gunners. Ex-player Tony Woodcock is next to recall his favourites. This first appeared in the Bayern Munich matchday programme, you can buy yours here.

#1 Auf wiedersehen, Koln

I wanted to come home. I’d been in Germany playing for Cologne for a couple of years but I really wanted to get in the England team – and being on the continent wasn’t helping my chances.

I was in the squad, but not getting enough starts for my liking. There was a lot of interest in me – Manchester United and Liverpool both tried to get my signature. Some big clubs in Spain wanted to sign me, too.

But I liked the look of Arsenal. I wanted to come to London and live here – that was a big factor in my decision – and also Arsenal had shown their interest and had stayed in regular contact with me. That was important too.

Being in London just felt nice. I moved to Totteridge. Liam Brady and Frank Stapleton had left in recent seasons but it was still a great club with some very good players in the side.

Euro 84 was on the horizon and I had set myself a target to be in the England team for that. It had been a great experience playing abroad – and I would later return to Cologne – but coming to Arsenal was great for me. I did OK too. I was leading scorer for the next four seasons at Highbury.

#2 Villa Park supershow

We won 6-2 at Aston back in October 1983 – and I scored five of Arsenal’s goals, which I believe was a post-war record at the club. It was just a game I’ll never forget.

Despite not always getting the results we felt we deserved we had been playing reasonably well as a team – and I had personally started the season in good form – but I didn’t really envisage scoring five in one game.

Of course, Ted Drake had scored seven on the same ground nearly 50 years before. At the time, I was just happy we had won and it was obviously great to score five.

But looking back it is only more than 30 years later that I really wish I had scored more.
Dieter Muller – my old team- mate at Cologne who once scored six goals in a 7-2 win over Werder Bremen – would definitely have tried to score more and more. He was that kind of player.

In fact, I only scored one in the second half, although I do remember that Paul Davis should have played me in for a relatively easy chance. I think I had a go at him for not passing to me!

It was an extraordinary game and looking back now I wish I had kept the matchball. I grabbed it straight after the game but lost track of it and I think it was thrown in the skip with the old kit.

But all I know is by the time we got back to London Colney the ball had disappeared, never to be seen again. That was a shame. I’d love to know where it ended up.

#3 Derby delight

I loved playing against Spurs. And I loved beating them too. I knew what it meant to the fans. I do hope players these days understand what it means to the fans.

The one that sticks out was when we beat them 3-2 at Highbury in April 1984. I scored a really good goal that day but it was a great occasion. It was a really hot day, we’d scored and then they’d come back and got a goal quickly. It was a real see-saw battle.

The thing I remember – and I could say this about all the north London derbies –was the packed terraces. I am sure there was always more than the official crowd figure at both Highbury and White Hart Lane. It seemed that way, anyway.

The sheer number of fans was always incredible.There were so many great clashes with Spurs – we actually beat them three times that season because we beat them away in the League Cup as well as doing the double over the in the league – but it was that hot and sunny day at Highbury that lives long in my memory.

#4 Auf wiedersehen, Arsenal

Looking back I wish I had stayed at Arsenal. But in the end I left in the summer of 1986 – and unfortunately it ended on a sour note. George Graham had just come into the club as the new manager and certain things had happened behind the scenes that culminated in a contract dispute.

That was why I left in the end. I had been leading scorer every season I had been at the club and was looking to stay, but all hell broke loose and – you won’t believe this – at one stage I was even willing to sign for Tottenham.

In fact, that deal progressed and it looked like it was going to happen before the club realised there no chance I’d be allowed to leave for Spurs of all clubs. “You cannot go there,” I was told. And that was that.

In the end, Cologne came back in for and I was nice to return to Germany. I loved the club and the people and made many friends there.

But, yes, looking back nearly 30 years on, it would have been nice to have stayed at Highbury.