I’m an Arsenal legend who scored winner in FA Cup final with a broken nose… now I run a plumbing company
ANDY LINIGHAN is the retired FA Cup final goalscorer who is now unblocking toilets for a living.
Linighan scored a historic winner for Arsenal in their 1992-93 Cup final replay with Sheffield Wednesday.
His 119th-minute header saw the Gunners run out 2-1 winners and become the first English club to win the Cup Double.
Linighan’s commitment to getting his head on the ball was made even more remarkable by the fact he was nursing a broken nose from a controversial Mark Bright elbow.
And after his playing days came to an end in 2002, he committed himself to ensuring people’s pipes and toilets were unblocked.
Shortly after hanging up his boots, Linighan set up Linighan Plumbing Service – which is based in Harpenden, Hertfordshire.
It’s not surprising that Linighan decided to become a plumber after retiring as he learned the trade as a teenage apprentice.
A Twitter account allegedly belonging to the 61-year-old describes himself as: “[A] retired football player who has now got a profound love for plumbing.
“Currently run Linighan Plumbing Services. Average footballer, Excellent Plumber.”
Rumours circulated that Linighan used the “Average footballer, Excellent Plumber” motto on the side of his van.
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But he dispelled them by saying: “I bumped into Ray Parlour at the last game at Highbury.
“I think I made a joke or something about this van and sign and the next thing talkSPORT are calling to ask if it’s true.
“Ray Parlour. Cheeky chappie. I don’t even have a van.”
Linighan has fond memories of his FA Cup final heroics for George Graham’s side.
Recalling the moment – in which he had to once again battle in the air with Bright – Linighan told The Daily Mail: “John Jensen took a shot and it went for a corner, a minute left.
“John says to me, ‘Big man, it was going for the top corner’. This is John Jensen who scored one goal for Arsenal.
“Paul Merson takes the corner, plenty of pace on it. We did this corner at Norwich before I joined where I’d stand on the edge of the D with Ian Butterworth.
“He’d spin round and I’d attack the middle. I headed it flush and that was that.”
Linighan and his Arsenal team-mates, unsurprisingly, celebrated their Cup triumph by partying into the early hours of the morning.
He revealed: “That night we went to Sopwell for a big party. I left with some friends at 2am and we got pulled over.
“The bobby put his head in the car, saw me sleeping in the back and said, “He scored the winning goal tonight.
“‘On you go son.’ That was a good night.”
