'I can relive it now in my mind' - Wayne Clarke claimed to have never watched back spectacular goal that inspired Everton title triumph

It was the spectacular goal that swung the pendulum in Everton’s favour during the title race that culminated in their last League Championship, but has Wayne Clarke still not watched it back? As long-range strikes go, they don’t get much more special than Clarke’s 35-yarder against Arsenal – some 35 years ago today.

Blighted by injuries throughout the season, Everton went into March three points adrift of leaders Liverpool but a sequence of seven consecutive victories saw them charge to the summit after the Wolverhampton-born striker’s arrival. Arguably their most impressive result during this spell was a 1-0 win at Highbury on March 28 which gave Howard Kendall’s side the belief they could reclaim the title they’d won two years earlier – especially given that the Reds crashed to a 2-1 home defeat to Wimbledon on the same day.

The Blues secured the three points thanks to a pinpoint long range effort from Clarke who calmly placed the ball into Arsenal’s net after keeper John Lukic had scuffed a clearance under pressure from Adrian Heath. Speaking a decade ago for the 25th anniversary of Everton’s ninth League Championship, Clarke claimed to have never have watched the goal back since – because he doesn’t need to.

He told the ECHO: “I knew he (John Lukic) was out of his area. My first thought was to have a good first touch and I knew exactly what I was going to do and put it in there. When it went in, I suppose a little bit of it was down to good fortune but if I’m honest it just seemed to take an eternity to drop in.

“Believe it or not, that’s the only time I’ve seen the goal. I don’t know why I’ve not watched it, I’ve just not had access to it. I can relive it now in my mind though so nothing can take that away.”

Clarke