Arsenal was where I began
It’s the club where I learnt my trade. You walked up those steps into the famous Marble Halls; that old Etonian image, the history, the stadium and you knew you were playing for something very special. David Rocastle, God bless him, felt the same and there’s the Arsenal motto often attributed to him, ‘remember who you are, what you are and who you represent'. That was drilled into all of us young players; we were brought up the right way, on and off the pitch.
Dream debut
On the Thursday I was at Euston ready to catch the train to join Port Vale on loan, but the club got a message to me not to board as Tony Woodcock was injured and I was needed as cover for the game against Liverpool. On the Saturday, I got the train from Enfield to Finsbury Park, walked among the fans to the stadium, not expecting to even be on the bench. At 2pm, Don Howe put the team-sheet up and I was playing – Paul Mariner having also dropped out injured. Then, with 25 minutes on the clock, I’ve followed up a Paul Davis shot to make it 2-0. An almost surreal day.
I became a footballer at City
That’s how it was. When Howard Kendall left, I went on to have a good year with Peter Reid and ended my first full season with 22 goals. I emerged from this player who was training fodder to really kicking on with my career. We finished fifth twice in a row and although I later had a chance to join Everton, I stayed loyal to City. Manchester was also a great place to be; on the pitch both clubs were on the up and off it we had the emergence of a vibrant music scene, with the Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, Oasis, the Hacienda…
Magic memories
I scored in four or five games against United, scored and then saved a penalty against Derby when Tony Coton had been sent off, and it was always a pleasure to play in front of the Kippax; but scoring on my debut against Chelsea tops the lot. It laid down a marker for what was to come.
Semi-final thoughts
I don’t like taking sides when it comes to my former clubs, but if you look at recent form, you would have to say that City are favourites. With the likes of Aguero, de Bruyne, Sterling and Silva they also have more match-winners going forward and that could be the difference. Like recent league games, it should be a good spectacle.
You can read the full feature with Quinn in the official Emirates FA Cup semi-final match programme for Sunday's game, along with exclusive features from Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling, Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey. Click here to order your copy.
