Iconic Moments in Football No.16
This was perhaps the most talked-about debut of any Arsenal player in their history. Nwankwo Kanu had signed from Inter Milan a few days prior to this FA Cup Fifth Round tie against Sheffield United.
Kanu had come on as a second-half substitute and was eager, as any player would be, to make a great first impression to his new fans and team mates.
With the score at 1-1 in the 76th minute, Sheffield United’s Lee Morris was lying on the floor injured. United’s goalkeeper Alan Kelly kicked the ball out for a throw-in so that Morris could get treatment. The physio came on and Morris was taken off the pitch and Arsenal’s Ray Parlour took the throw-in, attempting to get the ball back to Kelly.
Parlour was going by the gentleman’s agreement of fair play of giving the ball back to the opposition, which is not in the official rules of the game. Teams tended to do the decent thing and give possession back if play was stopped for injured opponents but teams weren’t required to do it.
Unfortunately for Kanu, he was unaware of the Fair Play custom that was used throughout the English game, and he chased after the ball. Sheffield United’s players had stopped, expecting Parlour’s throw to reach Kelly without being intercepted. This gave Kanu a couple of seconds head-start over United’s defenders who after a moment’s hesitation, began to chase after the Nigerian.
Kanu raced into Sheffield United’s box from the right wing and as Alan Kelly rushed out to close down the angle, Kanu squared the ball to Marc Overmars who had ran through the middle. Overmars tapped the ball into the net to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead causing bedlam on and off the pitch!
United’s players surrounded the referee protesting that they had thought they would get the ball back after one of their player’s left the pitch. Their manager Steve Bruce was incredulous on the touchline.
After a few minutes, order was restored and the game continued.
The match ended 2-1 and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger immediately stated that the club had offered to replay the game. Kanu was very apologetic as he was unaware of the Fair Play rules and looked a bit bewildered when he was asked about the incident in the post-match interview.
The replayed game was played ten days later and ended 2-1, the same scoreline as the cancelled game. I have included a video of the entire incident below:
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