‘Arsenal come forward now in surely what will be their last attack. A good ball by Dixon, finding Smith, for Thomas, charging through the midfield. Thomas, it's up for grabs now! Thomas! Right at the end! An unbelievable climax to the league season.’
These were the famous words spoken by commentator Brian Moore on the night when Arsenal snatched the league title away from Liverpool in dramatic fashion at Anfield in 1989. The winning goal was scored by then Arsenal midfielder Michael Thomas, a versatile midfielder who went on to make 206 appearances for The Arsenal, scoring 30 goals. However it was his winning goal at Anfield that will be remembered as his most famous and important goal as not only did it give Arsenal a victory at Liverpool for the first time in 15 attempts, but also allowed the Gunners to win the Division One title on goals scored.
Michael Thomas’ Arsenal career ended in 1991 when he went on to join Liverpool after securing his second league title with Arsenal the previous season. Thomas would go on to make a total of 124 league appearances for the Merseysiders, scoring nine goals whilst adding an FA Cup and League Cup winners medals to his honours list. Following the return of then injured midfielder Jamie Redknapp in 1997, Thomas saw his options limited at Liverpool and, after a transfer to Coventry City broke down, he was allowed to join Middlesbrough in January 1998 on loan making 10 appearances.
Knowing that his Liverpool career was coming to an end, Thomas Joined Benfica to link up with former Liverpool boss Graeme Souness, however this move would turn out to be less than successful as Souness was sacked and Thomas only made 18 appearances in two years. Thomas made the return to English football with Wimbledon in 2000 for one last season; he retired on 31 May 2001 after playing only nine times for the Dons. He now resides in the city of Liverpool, running his own security service called 'Stop taking the Michael'.
Michael Thomas’ career will always be remember for his famous night at Anfield in 1989, he has since been named the 37th greatest player in the history of Arsenal in an poll on the Arsenal website in 2008.