The goal that changed everything: Arsenal legends Lee Dixon, Alan Smith and David O'Leary recall unforgettable title win at Anfield back in 1989

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It is the night of the documentary film premiere and Arsenal's stars of '89' gather in the London hotel where the Spice Girls made the video for Wannabe.

Lee Dixon is searching for a poppy. That's what he wants, what he really, really wants.

Alan Smith and David O'Leary are comparing notes on the gaffer, George Graham, as their reunion turns back time to a night they won the title in the most sensational style.

Michael Thomas scored the goal in injury time that ensured Arsenal won the league at Anfield

Thomas fires the ball past Bruce Grobelaar for the famous title winning goal against Liverpool

Arsenal celebrate at Anfield after winning the 1989 title in the most dramatic of circumstances

O'Leary is 'Paddy' and Smith rarely calls Tony Adams anything but 'Rodders' - an affectionate reference to his resemblance to Rodney from Only Fools and Horses, which was big in the '80s, like the mobile phones.

Smith: We've got a WhatsApp group haven't we?

Dixon: I tried to get the lads on a group so I could ask questions about the film, but Tony Adams left after about three messages. 'Tony has left the building'.

Smith: 'Tony is not interested'.

O'Leary: Tony uses bigger words nowadays. I wouldn't understand them.

Dixon: You haven't even got a phone, Paddy.

O'Leary: I've just inherited a phone, actually.

Dixon: There's only five or six of us left in the group.

O'Leary: We always got on, that was one of our strengths. I'd seen people come and go who were top-class players but couldn't handle the expectation of Arsenal. I thought we'd blown the league but I knew we had a great bond and characters I knew wouldn't freeze.

Dixon: I was thinking: 'We're not going to beat Liverpool 2-0.' Sympathy was on their side after Hillsborough and I had a little of that in me - they were all touching that Anfield sign as you go out. But George instilled an inner belief. I could hear his voice and it gave me a feeling in my chest. I kept going back to that when my head told me we couldn't win 2-0.

David O'Leary, Alan Smith and Lee Dixon (L-R) have fondly recalled that famous night at Anfield

The Arsenal legends gathered before watching the premiere of '89' to recall their title win 

Smith: Do you remember Bob Wilson (former Arsenal goalkeeper) the day after Liverpool thrashed West Ham and we knew we had to win by two goals. We were looking disconsolate before training and Bob's come round the corner and said: 'Cheer up lads, this is the week when you win the league.'

O'Leary: I'd been there 12 years and Pat Rice drove me mad, going on about how they won the league at White Hart Lane, which must have been fantastic. Pat said: 'You're going to do what we did,' and I thought: 'Oh, I'd love to do it to shut you all up.' He was delighted I did shut him up but I'd grown up with all that - lots of cup finals but not won the league. We'd never been in with a chance and I'd have come away that year thinking that was the chance and it's gone.

Smith: Everyone thought we'd messed it up.

O'Leary: We went up on the day of the game, my son's birthday. I left home and said the corniest thing: 'I'll bring you back a medal.' He wasn't too interested. He said: 'Bring me back an Action Man.'

Smith: The gaffer accentuated the clean sheet. Up front, there's me and Merse thinking: 'We've got to score two.' And the gaffer's gone: 'The clean sheet is the most important thing.'

Dixon: It was genius because that's what we did anyway.

O'Leary insists he knew Arsenal had the characters that wouldn't freeze during the season

Dixon claims George Graham 'instilled an inner belief' before Arsenal played Liverpool 

O'Leary: He went with three centre backs to get Dicko and Nigel Winterburn further up the pitch. He said we'd get chances - and we were up for it.

Dixon: We were all shouting: 'Extra running today, Paddy's legs have gone.'

O'Leary: Oh, I could run all right. When the ball came, that was my problem.

Of the '89 heroes, only Steve Bould has returned to Arsenal's inner circle. Bould is assistant manager to Arsene Wenger with the club on another long run of 13 years-and-counting without the title.

Dixon: I couldn't have predicted that, not a chance. He hated football. It was a shock when I found out he was doing his coaching badges.

O'Leary: Who thought George Graham would be a manager? His colleagues used to talk about him the way we're talking about Bouldy. He was the last one I'd have down as a coach or manager, especially at Arsenal.

Smith: He was very irreverent, always joking.

Dixon: He never showed interest in doing extra in training or saying something in training. Even on the pitch, he wasn't a mover of people. He was a great defender but he wasn't vocal, he didn't give you instruction.

Smith: He couldn't get a word in edgeways with Rodders.

The former Arsenal trio share a laugh ahead of the documentary film premiere of '89' 

O'Leary: Is Rodders coming?

Dixon: He'll make an entrance at about 20 past seven.

Smith scored the first goal at Anfield. His glancing header from Winterburn's indirect free-kick was angrily disputed by Liverpool, who said there was no touch.

Smith: We used to practise that free-kick all the time and it never worked. Me, Bouldy and Tony - one peeled around the back and one made a dart to the near post. I said: 'Gaffer, this never works, why do we keep doing it?' But it worked on the big day. Great ball in by Nige and Tony flung himself like Superman and I managed to ghost in.

Dixon: Come on, did you get a touch?

Smith: I can't believe this question is asked so much. If you look at that angle behind the goal, it's obvious I get a good, solid touch but it doesn't divert the flight of the ball much.

Dixon: You can't blame Liverpool for disputing it. That's what we'd have done. They had all the chirpers - Ronnie Whelan, Alan Hansen, Steve McMahon and Gary Ablett. We were kids. I wouldn't have gone in there against Whelan.

Smith: There was only Paddy in there for us.

O'Leary: I knew Ronnie from the Ireland team. He'd say how they'd get on top of the ref at Anfield. So I went straight over. The poor referee's been swarmed upon.

Smith pictured scoring the first goal at Anfield in May 1989 as Arsenal went on to win 2-0

Dixon: The ref said he was never going to disallow it. He knew he'd got a touch and wasn't offside. He said the hardest part was at the end. That's when he said he became the most powerful man in football because only he knew how long there was to go.

The documentary film is dedicated to midfielder David Rocastle, who died in 2001, aged 33 after a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Smith: There was something a bit special about him. I know it's easy to say when someone's passed away but he had such a nice nature and everybody loved him. On the pitch, he played like a Brazilian, every skill in the book and strong with it. His desire and attitude were second to none.

Dixon: My first training session was a physical in the gym at Highbury and I was so nervous. I'd just signed from Stoke and they put me in the middle of the circle. I didn't touch the ball for about 20 minutes. They were nutmegging me and really taking the mick.

David Rocastle must have got me 12 times with that drag-back and they're all going 'whey-hey' and I instantly didn't like him. He came up afterwards and said: 'Don't worry, everyone gets it first day.' He took me under his wing a little bit and looked after me when I went to England.

Smith: He was mature beyond his years. He was a leader and he would have been a great coach. He was a diamond.

O'Leary: That's what he was. A diamond.

The documentary film is dedicated to former Arsenal man David Rocastle, who died in 2001 

With critical eyes of pundits, they all agree Liverpool's John Barnes should have played for time rather than run at Kevin Richardson. Richardson won the tackle and passed to goalkeeper John Lukic, who launched the move for Michael Thomas's decider.

Smith: Michail Antonio got slaughtered for it the other week. Barnesy did say Ronnie Moran absolutely hammered him.

Dixon: John Aldridge was in front of Lukie, his arms up. He pulled them down at the last second and still says he wakes up thinking: 'Why didn't I just stop it?'

O'Leary: I was shouting at Lukie to lump it up there.

Dixon: I didn't want it. He shouted 'Dicko!' and threw it and I'm thinking: 'Oh for God's sake.' I wanted to knock it long-long and there's Smudge doing his usual run into the channel. I thought: 'Why's he doing that? It has to go long,' but I didn't have another ball, so I had to hit him.

Smith: It's habit, you show for it. Lee fizzed it in and I thought I'd have to turn first-time. I've seen Mickey making a run, a yellow-shirt blur in my peripheral vision, and poked it in his direction. Obviously, we got a lucky break.

O'Leary: I'm looking straight down the middle of the pitch thinking: Jesus, this is a chance.

Dixon, O'Leary and Smith pose for a photo in the London hotel before the premiere

Dixon: Mickey's No 4 was disappearing behind red shirts. There's a photo and Ray Houghton's foot is literally touching the ball as Mickey kicks it. That's how close it was. Another millimetre and he'd have got it.

Smith: Mickey was such a stubborn character and would never do anything other than in his own time.

Dixon: Including shoot when he should have done.

Smith: He would never be persuaded to do anything he didn't want to. Once in training we were doing press-ups and the gaffer's saying: 'Mickey, you're not doing it right,' and he got on his back to shove him down - he could've broken his back - and Mickey's just held the gaffer. He couldn't get him down. Strong as an ox.

A night of celebration ensued when Arsenal's team bus descended on a club called Winners in Southgate, north London, but not everyone was involved.

Dixon: I was going to my parents' house in Manchester because my uncle was over from Australia and my mum arranged a party on the Friday night. I'd only seen him once in my life and I'm going: 'Mum, we're playing Liverpool, we can win the league and all the lads will be going out.' But she said: 'No, it's a really important family do.' So I was half-cut, in the car park at Anfield, waving to all the lads as the bus headed to London. I was gutted.

Smith: I'd forgotten all about that. Honestly, Dicko, I'd have said: 'F*** Uncle Ernie.'

Graham (centre) and the majority of his 1989 squad pose with the first division trophy

O'Leary: I didn't have a drink. We were joining up with Ireland. We had a game on the Sunday against Hungary. I wasn't a great drinker, so didn't mind that but I would've liked to be at the parade. I was at Stansted first thing Saturday morning and when I got to the hotel in Dublin all the Liverpool lads are there. Kevin Sheedy played for Everton and he came and gave me a bear-hug. They told me he'd been doing handstands and roly-polies when Mickey scored.

Smith: I met up with England and Terry Butcher said he'd jumped up, hit the lampshade and nearly went through the floor. Stuart Pearce said the same.

O'Leary: I never thought anyone would be making a film about it.

Smith: It builds to a climax and there's a feelgood ending, the Americans would love it.

Dixon: Originally, the title was The Goal That Changed Everything. Not only did it change the fortunes of Arsenal but it flipped Liverpool into a different era. And, after Hillsborough, it changed the way people thought about football. So it was quite a poignant goal. It kind of was the goal that changed everything. But that title was just too long.

'89' is in cinemas now & on DVD & Digital Download from Monday.