In November 1989, Gunn was involved in a controversial incident that attracted significant media attention. Norwich played Arsenal at Highbury and with five minutes remaining, Arsenal's David O'Leary scored an equaliser that brought the scores to 3–3. Then, in the dying seconds of the match, the referee awarded Arsenal a penalty kick—and the chance to seal the match. The Norwich players were already annoyed by the match situation, and their perception was that the decision was "really dodgy". Gunn saved Lee Dixon's shot, but the ball was not cleared. In the resulting melee, Mark Bowen and Ian Culverhouse for Norwich and Alan Smith for Arsenal challenged for the ball. "The three of them got in an almighty tangle and the ball, along with all of them, was bundled over the line," Gunn remembers. The goal was awarded, but the situation rapidly deteriorated: the three players in the goal had "a little skirmish". Separately, Arsenal's Nigel Winterburn gave "a gloat to Dale Gordon, who promptly pushed him". The result was mayhem: