(1992/93-1996/97)
Ian Selley, who was unable to play for Arsenal between February 1995 and
April 1997 having broken a leg, joined Second Division Fulham from Arsenal
in October 1997 for £500,000. He played in 3 league games for Fulham before
sustaining a second broken leg during his third and final appearance for
the club in October 1997. He was unable to make a single league appearance
for the rest of the 1997/98 campaign, and for the entire 1998/99 and
1999/00 seasons before eventually being released in the summer of 2000 on a
free transfer. He spent the 2000/01 pre-season training with Division One
side Wimbledon, recently relegated from the Premiership, as did the fellow
former Arsenal player, Michael Thomas after a two-year spell in Portugal
with Benfica. Both players signed for the club during the summer and once
again linked up with Terry Burton, a former youth-team coach at Arsenal,
who is now the manager of Wimbledon. Ian made 4 appearances in Division One
during 2000/01, meaning he has only made a total of 7 league appearances
over the past four seasons.
(1994/95-1996/97)
In September 1997, Paul Shaw signed for Second Division Millwall for
£250,000 having only made 12 league appearances for Arsenal since turning
professional in September 1991. Paul bagged 26 goals in 109 league games
for Millwall during his stay at The New Den and started to fulfil the
potential that he showed during his youth-team days at Highbury. He
finished the 1997/98 season as the Millwall top league goal-scorer with 11
goals and helped the side finish in fifth place during 1999/00. During the
2000/01 pre-season, Paul joined forces with his former Arsenal team-mate,
Vince Bartram at newly promoted First Division side Gillingham in a
£450,000 deal. In the FA Cup Fourth Round, Paul scored at home against
Chelsea in a 4-2 defeat, but in 33 appearances in the league, he failed to
score more than once.
Michael Thomas (1986/87-1991/92)
Michael Thomas moved from Arsenal to Liverpool in December 1991 for a fee
of £1,500,000 and was to make 124 league appearances over six and-a-half
years for the 18-time League Champions. In his first season at Anfield, he
scored at Wembley as his new side triumphed to win a 2-0 FA Cup final
victory over Sunderland. The following two seasons came and went without a
trophy to the clubs name as Liverpool were failing to maintain the
standards that they had set in the 1980s, the decade in which they were the
dominant force of English football. During 1994/95, Michael returned to
Wembley as an unused substitute in the Coca-Cola Cup final, in which
Liverpool defeated Bolton Wanderers 2-1. His third Wembley final during his
time at Liverpool came a year later, when he came off the bench in the FA
Cup final in a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United. In 1997/98, Michael
was loaned to First Division Middlesbrough from Liverpool, making 10 league
appearances for the Teeside Club during their second promotion season in
four years. The loan move was made in between two Coca-Cola Cup semi-finals
between the two sides, with Middlesbrough winning 3-2 on aggregate, but
Liverpool's qualification for the UEFA Cup was about to be made by
finishing third in the Premiership. Michael was not eligible to play for
Middlesbrough in their Coca-Cola Cup campaign and so could not prevent
Premiership side Chelsea from winning 2-0 after extra-time in the final. He
transferred to Portuguese club Benfica in the summer of 1998; a move that
reunited him with the man who signed him for Liverpool, Graeme Souness.
Michael had two years with Benfica but became unsettled in Portugal
following a training ground incident with a team-mate in March 1999, the
clubs failure to pay his wages and Souness' departure as manager at the end
of the 1998/99 campaign. He also accused the club of racism for the way
they treated him financially and for a lack of first-team opportunities. In
February 2000, FIFA ordered the Portuguese club to pay Michael £750,000 to
cover the signing-on fees and back wages that were owed to him. Michael was
released on a free transfer at the end of the 1999/00 season and it was not
before the eve of the 2000/01 First Division campaign before he finally
agreed to sign for Wimbledon, the team he had been training with throughout
the summer. He made 8 league appearances for 'The Dons' during 2000/01 as
the club finished in eighth position, five points behind the play-offs
zone.
Steve Williams (1984/85-1987/88)
Steve Williams left Arsenal for their Littlewoods Cup final conquerors
Luton Town, in a £300,000 deal during the 1988/89 pre-season. Although
Steve did not play for Arsenal in that game, he did feature for Luton in
the league on 40 occasions between 1988/89 and 1990/91 and signed for
Exeter City of Division Three in the summer of 1991 on a free transfer.
Over the course of his two seasons at St James' Park, he appeared in the
league 48 times before calling a halt to his professional playing days. He
had been signed at Exeter by former Arsenal favourite Alan Ball, and was
also Alan's assistant at the club, helping 'The Grecians' maintain their
status in the Third Division (which became Division Two from 1992/93
onwards) during 1991/92 and 1992/93. The partnership ended in January 1994
when Alan became the manager of Southampton. After his retirement from the
game, Steve co-owned a Publishing House for about 3 years before being
bought out by his partner in 1997, deciding that a future in office work
was not suitable as a future career path for him.
Rhys Wilmot (1985/86-1986/87)
Rhys Wilmot left Arsenal for Second Division Plymouth Argyle in the summer
of 1989 in a £100,000 deal having spent 10 seasons with Arsenal since
1979/80. Rhys made 116 league appearances in the 3 years that he spent at
Plymouth on a permanent basis, but it ended in relegation during 1991/92.
He moved on to Grimsby Town in the 1992/93 pre-season for £87,500, making
33 league appearances throughout their Division One campaign (the former
Division Two) but he was not used at all in the league during the following
season. In the summer of 1994, Rhys joined Crystal Palace, who had just
gained promotion to the Premiership, in a £80,000 deal. He managed to make
6 league appearances for the club but could not prevent Palace from being
relegated for the second time in three seasons. After spending yet another
season without making a single league appearance for his side, Rhys joined
Third Division Torquay United on a free transfer in the summer of 1996, and
made 34 league appearances during his first and last season at Torquay. His
last appearance in league football came on Monday, March 31, 1997 in a 2-1
defeat at home against Northampton Town. Rhys went on to play for Aylesbury
United of the Ryman League Premier Division, following in the footsteps of
many other former Arsenal players who have plied their trade in non-league
football.
(1991/92-1997/98)
Ian Wright decided that it was time to move on in the summer of 1998 and
joined West Ham United on a two-year contract for £750,000. During 1998/99,
Ian finished the season as the West Ham top goal-scorer, scoring 9 league
goals in 20 games for his new club. He helped steer West Ham towards fifth
position in the league, a feat that handed the club an entry into the
Intertoto Cup for the 1999/00 season. West Ham won the competition, beating
French side Metz in the final by the aggregate score of 3-2 over two legs.
Ian was an unused substitute in both games and after being unable to force
his way into the West Ham team at the start of the season, had a loan spell
with First Division Nottingham Forest. During his time at the City Ground,
he netted 5 times in 10 league games but just as a permanent move looked a
realistic possibility, he opted to join his close friend, John Barnes, at
Scottish Premier League side Glasgow Celtic. The free transfer deal, which
ended Celtic's hunt for a new striker after Henrik Larsson was the victim
of a broken leg, was completed in October 1999, with Ian being paraded to
the Celtic Park faithful prior to a 1-0 league defeat by Motherwell. During
his spell in Scotland, he scored 3 goals in 4 starts and 4 substitute
appearances in the league before moving on to Second Division Burnley in
February 2000 on a free transfer. The impact that his move had on the club
was enormous with crowds at Turf Moor exceeding the 20,000 mark,
substantial media attention surrounding this club and a rise in the sale of
club merchandise. Ian helped Burnley on their way to promotion, scoring 4
goals in 4 starts and 11 substitute appearances in the league. He made his
last league appearance as a professional footballer on Saturday, May 6,
2000 in a 2-1 victory at Scunthorpe, which guaranteed Burnley the runners-
up position. It was to be the end of the road though as in July 2000, a
month short of spending 15 years in the professional game, Ian decided to
hang up his boots so he could spend more time with his family and
concentrate more closely on a career in television. He was awarded an MBE
later that month for his services to football and added to that honour in
December 2000, when he received an honorary doctorate from the University
of North London for his efforts in developing sport locally throughout the
area. Since that achievement, he has been signed up by the Lawn Tennis
Association in an attempt to attract children to the sport who live in
inner-city areas and has been working as a Goodwill Ambassador for the
Football Association to promote football in some of the worlds poorest
countries. Crystal Palace, Burnley and Wycombe all approached Ian about
making a return to football throughout the 2000/01 season but it is
unlikely now that he will make a comeback having been absent from the
playing side of the game for the duration of the campaign.
© Richard Tufft & ArseWeb 2001