On This Day – 13th September
It was on this day back in 1997 that Ian Wright finally broke the Arsenal goalscoring record, scoring a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers.
On a glorious sunny day at Highbury, Ian Wright bagged a hat trick and more importantly, took Cliff Bastin’s record that had lasted 58 years.
Wright broke the deadlock after 20 minutes, latching on to a perfectly weighted through-ball from Dennis Bergkamp to fire a low shot past Keith Branagan. This goal gave Wright his 178th goal for the club, putting him on level terms with Bastin.
In typical Ian Wright fashion, the Arsenal forward let his emotions get the better of him. He ripped his shirt off in delight, unveiling a white Nike vest with ‘179 Just Done It’, especially made to mark the occasion for breaking the record. He was left to look quite foolish as he was still a goal short of taking the record!
He only had five minutes to wait to make the record his own and proudly show his vest in the knowledge that he had scored 179 goals!
Dennis Bergkamp began a marauding run at the Bolton defence who kept backing off him. Under pressure from a defender, Bergkamp hit a tame effort that Branagan pushed away into the path of Patrick Vieira.
Vieira closed in on the rebound but didn’t get enpugh on the ball and his effort rolled slowly towards the Bolton goal. Wright sprinted in to nudge it over the line from a couple of yards out.
Highbury roared in delight as the fans witnessed a moment of Arsenal history. Wright was a real crowd favourite and his infectious enthusiasm for the game and love for the club was a delight for us Arsenal fans.
Wright added a third to complete his hat-trick in the 81st minute, hitting a cushioned volley into the back of the net from just inside the Bolton penalty area. He was immediately substituted by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger to get one final round of applause from his adoring Arsenal fans.
Ian Wright eventually ended his time at the club the following summer, finishing his time at Highbury with 185 goals. That record lasted until Thierry Henry surpassed it in 2005.
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