Arsenal anniversaries 14 June: Arsenal sign man who played more games than any other

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Here are the anniversaries

14 June 1912:  Andy Ducat was sold to Aston Villa.   He was Arsenal’s one great player at the time, and was still only 26.  He had remained loyal to the club through all its troubles and had played 175 league games for Arsenal, but the club was desperate for funding.

14 June 1920: Athletic News magazine gave fulsome praise to Sir Henry Norris for his work on steering the anti-gambling bill through the Commons.  It now moved onto the Lords where their Lordships who were fond of a flutter on the horses did all they could to hold the bill up.  However it did eventually pass.

14 June 1973: David O’Leary signed for Arsenal.  He went on to become Arsenal’s all-time record holder for first team appearances.  He stayed for 20 years whereupon he transferred to Leeds.  Since getting compensation from Al-Ahli in the UAE for the early termination of his contract he doesn’t seem to have worked.

14 June 1973: Peter Storey made his 19th and last appearance for England.  He also played twice for England Schoolboys and twice for the Football League. In 2004, he moved to a village in Southern France and in September 2010 he released his autobiography. Other than that we have not heard of him for a while.

14 June 1974: Ian Selley born.  He joined Arsenal in 1990 as a trainee and won the SE Counties League and the Floodlit Cup winners’ medal in his first season.  He later moved on to Wimbledon and a number of smaller clubs.   He ended his playing career in the summer of 2012 and was appointed as the new head coach at Arsenal Soccer Schools Dubai.

14 June 1990: John Lukic left Arsenal for Leeds for £1m.  He played 265 league games for Leeds before returning to Arsenal in 1996 where he remained as backup keeper until 2001.  He now works as a freelance goalkeeping coach and tours the country as an after dinner speaker

14 June 1993: Eddie McGoldrick joined Arsenal from Crystal Palace.  In all he played 57 times for Arsenal and scored one goal, before moving on to Man City, after a loan spell.

14 June 1997: Luis Boa Morte signed from Sporting CP to Arsenal for £1.75m.  The press were very critical of Arsenal’s signing of overseas players and in reporting the move the Daily Telegraph sarcastically said of Luis Boa Morte he was “apparently just one player, not three”.

14 June 2001: Francis Jeffers signed by Arsenal for £10m from Everton.  His transfer was not a success and in 2003 he was loaned back to Everton.  In all he had 12 clubs but never played more than 55 games with any of them.

14 June 2013: Denilson transferred to São Paulo who gave him a four year contract, after he had played 96 times for Arsenal, followed by a loan spell to the Brazilian club.

14 June 2014: Sir Chips Keswick was announced as Arsenal’s new chairman, replacing Denis Hill-Wood who had been chair from 1962 to 1982.  Denis Hill-Wood was the third generation of his family to serve as chairman of Arsenal going back to his grandfather, Samuel Hill-Wood who ousted Sir Henry Norris in a coup.

14 June 2018: The Football League announced the fixtures for the new season showing Arsenal and new manager Mr Emery having the toughest of starts: at home to Man City, away to Chelsea.

Henry Norris at the Arsenal:  There is a full index to the series here.

Arsenal in the 1930s: The most comprehensive series on the decade ever

Arsenal in the 1970s: Every match and every intrigue reviewed in detail.