When you think of Arsenal’s famous Invincibles vintage, you would be forgiven if you forgot the name Graham Stack.
Stack was the understudy to Jens Lehmann in Arsene Wenger ’s legendary squad. The goalkeeper made five appearances during the 2003/04 campaign, all of which came in the team’s run to the semi-finals of the League Cup.
For a player who came through the Arsenal academy and was right at the start of his career, it was still quite the achievement. And, according to the man himself, he owes his part in that success to a violent incident in Belgium the year before.
It is quite the story – something that Stack has become famous for – and starts when he was sent on loan by Wenger to Beveren for the 2002/03 season. He was just 20 years old and still without a senior appearance to his name when he left for Beveren, which is close to Antwerp in the north of the country.
It was a chance to get regular game time and mature as a player and a person. Stack says that is exactly what happened in Belgium – but not perhaps not in the manner you might expect.
Stack made 30 appearances for Beveren that season, but only made headlines due to his actions in a game against rivals Royal Antwerp. Beveren were winning the match 3-1 in the dying minutes of the second half when all hell broke loose in what he later described as a “crazy, crazy day”.
Stack says he was being pelted with “bottles, stones, coins, lighters” throughout the game by rival fans. He decided to throw one object back into the Antwerp fans – a decision which backfired and provoked a response. Angry fans managed to get past a big steel fence and onto the pitch.
Speaking on The Broken Metatarsal podcast last year, Stack explained what happened next. “Before you know it, the ball’s at the other end, I’ve turned round and there are people marching towards me,” he said. “I’m thinking, ‘What have I done here, where’s this going?’
“This big fella has got to be 6ft 4in, wearing a big leather jacket, and he’s come charging towards me, swearing at me. I’m thinking, ‘Should I just run off and save myself or do I try to confront this lunatic and stand my ground?’ Your instincts kick in and I decided to front it, but then another one comes on and I’m thinking, ‘I’m outnumbered, I’m up against it here.’
“Actually, the big fella after giving it the big ‘un no longer wanted to confront me, but this fella who’d had far too many beers came steaming in and starting throwing digs.
“Naturally you swing one back, and naturally you drop him on the floor. Then the next big one didn’t really fancy it and they all started walking back. This happened in a few moments, but before you know it there’s riot police out and the game’s getting called off.”
Having initially been on a quiet loan spell away from the glare in the relative backwater of Belgium, Stack was now headline news. Rather than being entirely negative, the attention worked in his favour, with scouts and agents suddenly aware of his existence.
He returned to Arsenal in the summer of 2003 and took his place on the bench for the greatest season in the club’s history. Stack stayed at Arsenal until 2006, spending time on loan with Millwall and Reading before going on to have a journeyman career.
Twenty years on from his Belgian punch-up, Stack is now 41 and is the goalkeeping coach at Cardiff City. It’s quite the career trajectory.
