Chasing down the history of players after they have left Arsenal is always fascinating not least because by and large we generally know very little of the player beyond what we see on the pitch.
I never saw Nelson Vivas as a desperately violent or hotheaded player while at Arsenal, so it is interesting to note that his promising career in club management came to an end when he ran from the pitch, went into the stand and attacked a supporter. He has not turned up on the football radar since but he is presumably out there somewhere.
Pat Jennings on the other hand returned to Tottenham after leaving us, working for Corporate Hospitality.
Here are the anniversaries.
12 June 1945: Pat Jennings born. In his early years he played for Shamrock Rovers and Newry Unite, and had a spell playing Gaelic football before joining Watford in 1963.
12 June 1946: Bobby Gould born. He started his career with Coventry, making his debut for them at the age of 16, before joining Arsenal in 1968. In all he played for nine and managed 11 major clubs. He is reportedly now assistant manager at Western League side Portishead Town.
12 June 1951: Final appearance for Ian McPherson. He played 152 games for Arsenal before moving back to Notts County – the club from which he had been signed in 1946. He was a regular in the championship team of 1948.
12 June 1974: Death of Peter Dougall who played 21 league games for Arsenal in the 1930s. He later played for Everton and Bury before retiring from football.
12 June 1977: Even a full-back pairing of Rice and Nelson could not stop N Ireland being beaten by Iceland 2-0 in the World Cup.
12 June 1980: Clive Allen was signed by Arsenal from QPR in one of the strangest transfers ever. He never played for Arsenal in the league (although he played in three pre-season friendlies) and moved to Crystal Palace in a swap deal for Kenny Sansom before the season began. His playing career ended with three games for Carlisle in 1995/6 and NFL for the London Monarchs in 1997.
12 June 1998. Emmanuel Petit played for France in their opening world cup game. He played 63 times for France and scored three goals including one in the world cup final. He is reportedly now working as an online trading broker and a pundit on French TV as well as being an ambassador for the Homeless World Cup.
12 June 2001: Nelson Vivas moved to Inter on a free transfer. He played 69 times for Arsenal scoring one goal, moving first to Celta de Vigo on loan before moving on to Italy. He later moved into management but in 2013 attacked a fan in the stands and then resigned. We’re not sure where he is now.
12 June 2008: Derek Tapscott died. After retiring from playing football he worked in the sporting goods business until retiring in 1997. He also wrote an autobiography, Tappy.
12 June 2009: Fabianski signed a four year contract with Arsenal which ended with him lifting the FA Cup. He then moved on a free transfer to Swansea having refused to sign a new contract with Arsenal and in 2018 moved on to WHU.
