By virtue of finishing fourth in the First Division, Bertie Mee’s Arsenal side qualified for the 1969/70 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a European competition set up in the 1950s primarily to promote international trade fairs, and the precursor to today’s Europa League.

We benefited from the Fairs Cup’s one-team-per-city rule to enjoy a second taste of European football, six years after our first-ever continental action. In 1968/69, Everton actually finished above us in third position but missed out because Liverpool had finished one place above them, so the Reds took another English spot alongside us, holders Newcastle United and Southampton.

After knocking out Glentoran 3-1 on aggregate in the first round, we would be handed a double header with Sporting Lisbon, who’d just finished fifth in Portugal’s Primeira Divisao. 

There was a sense of excitement amongst our players. “Clubs like Manchester United and Tottenham had been enjoying some great experiences in Europe, so we thought it was about time a club of Arsenal’s stature was also on that stage,’ recalled Frank McLintock, who’d lift the Fairs Cup in April on a memorable night at Highbury. 

For many of our side, playing the first leg at the impressive Estadio Jose...