The Unforgettable.....Whatshisname?

As we are now greeted by the site of the newly ‘Arsenalised’ home of Football in N7 adorned with murals with shirts bearing the names of the great and good that have enriched the history of the club, one thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to the lesser names who have contributed to pivotal moments in the successes of the Arsenal in the modern era. Arsenal’s modern era of success for me can be divided into four parts – the Mee era, the Neill era, the Graham era and the Wenger era and in the course of this article I shall endeavour to highlight and award one player from each era the recognition of their under-valued efforts.

From the Mee era, the efforts of Graham, McLintock, Charlie George et al live long in the memory, though one man’s name probably wouldn’t have the same allure on the after dinner speaking circuit. Despite this, the early 70s Arsenal renaissance may never have happened at all but for Eddie Kelly’s (Left) vital opening goal in the second leg of the 1970 Fairs Cup Final at Highbury. That night the Arsenal went on to overturn a 1-3 deficit from the first leg and ran out 3-0 winners on the night, 4-3 on aggregate. The momentum gained from that night carried over to the following season, with Arsenal riding on a dual carriageway to glory, albeit at times a rather rocky one at that.

On the final Saturday of the 1970/71 season Arsenal had ground out a vital 1-0 home victory against a Stoke side that not only thrashed them 0-5 earlier on in the season, but contained Gordon Banks – the world’s number one goalkeeper, between the sticks. Kelly came on as a substitute for the injured Peter Storey and had scored the all important winner, thus taking Arsenal to just one point behind Leeds United at the top of the table with a vital game in hand – at White Hart Lane just 48 hours later. Kelly played a full part in the championship decider at the Lane, that the Gooners won 1-0, due to Storey’s injury, though was again banished to the subs bench the following Saturday for the cup final against Liverpool at Wembley.

He had again entered the fray due to an injured Peter Storey and again popped up with a vital goal to cancel out the Scousers’ 1-0 lead. However Eddie had to wait a further 24 hours for recognition of his place in history, courtesy of someone’s eagle eye in the LWT cutting room. George Graham must have been wearing extra long boots that day as he was under the impression he had got the vital last touch on the equaliser, also not the last time he had claimed something not rightfully his in an Arsenal capacity. GG in all modesty however clarified his stance on that goal many years after the event by asking the question ‘who would you rather run after and kiss – me or Eddie Kelly?’

After Charlie’s screamer of a winner in 1971, the Arsenal had to wait another 8 years before regaining that winning feeling under Terry Neill. Between 1978-80 Arsenal reached 4 finals, though lost 3. Many would say that the one that did come off was down to Arsenal’s supposedly inherent ‘lucky’ streak; however some schools would have it down to poor tactics from Terry Neill in putting the ‘79 Cup Final in jeopardy in the first place. Arsenal were comfortably 2-0 up at 84 minutes when Neill decided to substitute David Price (right). Though Price was often over shadowed by the sweet skills of Brady and Rix and the work rate of Brian Talbot, my father assures me that David Price was a talent grossly under-rated by Neill and had been vital in holding off a United comeback in the ’79 Cup Final. Being only 7 months old in May 1979 I’d have to take his word for that, though the 6 minutes that followed his withdrawal saw what neutrals would call a thrilling climax to an otherwise ordinary final. Arsenal fans would just call it an unnecessary rise in blood pressure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQEXjVWe6lA&feature=related).

Whatever the merits of David Price, Terry Neill traded him in to Crystal Palace in exchange for the lesser Nicholas of the 1980s two seasons later. Peter the not so great had been one of many flop transfers for Neill which meant another 8 year drought for N5’s finest until GG came back to Highbury to replace Don Howe. Arsenal’s revival of fortunes had been built on the fruits of youth, though vitally supplemented by inexpensive additions to the squad. Central to the renaissance had been the holy trinity of Davis, Rocky and Thomas in Midfield. Davis was held up as mentor to the other two fledglings, even at international level with Davis appearing for England under 21s alongside them as the eligible older player at the ripe old age of 27 (scandalously he never attained a full cap).

As the new breed of black footballers Davis, Rocky and Thomas were very much De La Soul to Regis, Batson and Cunningham’s Three Degrees, though midway through the 88/89 season after Davis’s absence through a combination of suspension and injury it fell to a man with a namesake in the Backstreet Boys to keep the party vibe going. Already a championship winner with Everton, Kevin Richardson (left)provided the vital missing ingredient of experience in a midfield deprived of Davis and Steve Williams’s departure the previous summer. He moved on from Arsenal in 1990, comparing GG’s authoritarianism to that of Colonel Gaddafi, missing out on regaining the title in 1991. However he remains one of the few to win it with two different sides, nearly adding a third with Villa in 1993.

For the lesser recognised hero of the Wengerian era it may be tempting to go for Ray Parlour, however he’s barred by mere universal popularity. The honour instead befalls Sylvain Wiltord, who’s often derided for not being worth the £13 million Arsenal paid out. However since when is a player responsible for the inflated fee a club pays out? At just over 1 goal per 4 games his ratio wasn’t that spectacular, but he was effective whether played centrally or wide. He also contributed some important goals in his 4 years at Highbury, including 6 goals in Arsenal’s run to the 2001 Cup Final and the winner at Old Trafford securing our third double 31 years to the day after our first.

The Wiltord moment that sticks out for me was when he had been banished to the League Cup XI against Rotherham in 2003 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEHDeuB2BmA). The crowd made him well aware he was playing a stinker, though for me he was more down on his luck than not trying. The match had gone to a shoot out, Wiltord missing the opener. One sexagenarian man on the North Bank clearly thought his moment of comic genius had come repeatedly shouting ‘we should sell Wiltord to a team from Liechtenstein!’ (If wit was shit, clearly that man was suffering constipation). The shoot out had gone through all eleven players and Wiltord had his moment to make amends for the evening with the deciding penalty and did so. I’d hoped this would regain Wiltord’s confidence, but as the invincibles swept all before them his presence had withered away, with him leaving on a free in the summer. Was Wiltord a £13 Million loss? Looking back after 4 barren years, Nic Bendtner and waiting for Theo Walcott to mature the same kind of player equally effective out wide or in the centre surely anyone instrumental in a double win at Old Trafford has easily repaid that sum with interest? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TH-Ky-Cgd8)