The clubs are meeting at Anfield in the League Cup this week. They needed three matches to settle their tie in 1988

By Steven Pye for That 1980s Sports Blog

When the draw was made for the third round of the Littlewoods Cup in the 1988-89 season, it was not difficult to spot the standout tie. Champions Liverpool, winners of the League Cup four times in the 1980s, were paired with a resurgent Arsenal in a repeat of the 1987 final, which George Graham’s team had won thanks to two goals from Charlie Nicholas.

That win at Wembley, which gave Graham his first trophy as Arsenal’s manager and ruined Liverpool’s record of never having lost a game when Ian Rush had scored, was an indication that Arsenal could beat Liverpool in a one-off game. But toppling Kenny Dalglish’s team over the course of a full league season was a different matter completely.

Related: When Arsenal and Norwich shared seven goals and a 21-man brawl

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