Nigel Winterburn’s 1997 testimonial: when Arsenal drew 3-3 with Rangers at Highbury

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·9 October 2025

Nigel Winterburn’s 1997 testimonial: when Arsenal drew 3-3 with Rangers at Highbury

Nigel Winterburn is one of Arsenal’s greatest defenders to have worn the famous red and white shirt. The Englishman spent 13 years as part of the infamous “Back Four” through the late 1980s and 1990s before signing for West Ham in 2000. He played over 400 games for the Gunners, winning three league titles (1989, 1991, 1998), two FA Cups (1993, 1998) and one European Cup Winners’ Cup (1994). On top of that, he was voted Arsenal’s Player of the Season during the 1998-99 campaign.

A special night at Highbury

On 13 May 1997, Arsenal held a benefit match for Winterburn, otherwise known as a testimonial, against Scottish giants Rangers. England legend Paul Gascoigne featured for the visitors, having helped take the Three Lions to the semi-finals of Euro 1996 at Wembley before the nation bowed out to Germany on penalties following Gareth Southgate’s miss. Before his spell at Rangers, Gascoigne had previously played for Arsenal’s north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur between 1988 and 1992, famously scoring to knock Arsenal out of the 1991 FA Cup semi-final before going on to win the final 2-1 against Nottingham Forest.

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The match was the 19th testimonial in Arsenal’s history and attracted a crowd of 20,022 fans to Highbury, which had a capacity of almost 39,000 at the time. Despite that, Winterburn later told Arsenal’s media team that he was still “appreciative of everyone that turned up” and that it was a “massive thing” for him.

IAN WRIGHT Mandatory Credit: Shaun Botterill/ALLSPORT

Wrighty at the double

Rangers, who had just won the 1996-97 Scottish Premiership, took the lead within five minutes through Ally McCoist. The Flying Dutchman, Dennis Bergkamp, who would later have Arsenal’s first-ever game at the Emirates Stadium as his own testimonial in 2006, struck the equaliser ten minutes later to make it 1-1. Moments after that, Arsenal’s second all-time top goalscorer, Ian Wright, turned the game in favour of the Gunners with a 14th-minute goal.

Before half-time, Wrighty slammed in his second of the night in the 35th minute to make it 3-1, and it looked to be the winner as thousands of Gooners chanted Winterburn’s name. However, Rangers fought back to rescue a surprise 3-3 draw in the final 17 minutes. Gascoigne found the back of the net on 73 minutes before Peter van Vossen sealed the comeback for the Scottish champions.

Today, you can still see Winterburn’s image at the Emirates Stadium, leaning from a Highbury window on one of the famous exterior banners – a lasting tribute to a true Arsenal great and symbol of pure “classnal.”

Liam Harding

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