There has been some rather remarkable goals scored at St James' Park over the years. From Cheick Tioté's last-minute volley in a 4-4 draw with Arsenal to Alan Shearer's thunderbolt against Everton, Newcastle United fans have been treated to many stunning strikes since the turn of the century.
However, today marks the 20 th anniversary of the transcendent goal from Dennis Bergkamp against the Magpies, possibly the greatest scored by an opposition player on Tyneside. It was a finish of pure class and is remembered for its difficulty, uniqueness, and grace.
Newcastle and Arsenal were both chasing the Premier League title ahead of the game and it was a clash of so much importance. The Gunners ran out 2-0 winners and it put a massive dent in the Toon's hopes of lifting the league.
Bergkamp needed to step up in Thierry Henry's absence and he did just that, helping the Gunners to win the league that season, finishing seven points ahead of Liverpool, and 15 ahead of Newcastle in fourth. But it's the Dutchman's strike that will be remembered for many years to come.
A pass from Robert Pires found the striker on the edge of the box and his first touch span past the stranded Nikos Dabizas as he ran through on goal. It was a clever flick and Bergkamp set himself before tucking the ball into the corner.
There was some talk about whether he meant it but he has previously cleared up those rumours in an interview with FourFourTwo. The 52-year-old scored 120 times in 423 appearances during his time at the Gunners.
"The week after that goal, ‘Did you really mean it?’ was the question everyone was asking me," he said.
"I couldn’t understand what people meant by the question. I didn’t see the goal on television for several days, and so many people were asking me that I thought, ‘OK, I have to see what they saw’.
"I watched it back, and then I could understand what they meant. The pass from Pires was slightly behind me and I was adjusting myself to the situation, because I wanted to go through on goal with one touch. I touched the ball, but my body was already turning the other way, so it looked quite good!
"For many goals, players just decide at the last moment what they’re going to do. That was the same with me. I’m glad it looked like that, and that everyone is still talking about it today."
