Ian Wright's story is one that has particularly grabbed the imagination given the long and difficult road he took to make it to the top, which is why he's featured in this week's Player Profile
Born on the 3
rd of November 1963, Ian Edward Wright had a pretty interesting path into the limelight, and at times it looked like he would never make it to the big time.
That seems a strange statement for a man who went on to be a record goalscorer for Arsenal, but he had to overcome tremendous adversity to make it as a pro.
He had a very tough upbringing, but from a young age loved football. However, his step-dad used to make him and his brothers turn away from the screen when Match of the Day came on, and when he did eventually make it to the show himself years later, he realised a dream he'd had since he was a kid.
The formative figure in his youth was a teacher he had at school, Sid Pigden who took a particular interest in him, and would spend extra time making sure a young Ian could read and write properly.
He also gave him some incredibly sound advice about passing to team-mates and not being selfish with the ball, and the impact that this man had on Wright can be seen in a documentary made about Wright's journey, when he meets his teacher for the first time in over 20 years, having thought that he had passed away years earlier. This great video captures the moment, and lightens the mood at the end too with a pretty funny twist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA8-wM8-uJM
Wright did serve some time in prison when he was younger, after a few of his minor offences caught up with him and he didn't pay some fines. Later, he noted that this was a real eye-opener for him, and really made him focus.
He spent a lot of time writing to clubs and attending trials, all the time working in some pretty undesirable jobs, but after getting rejection letter after rejection letter, he called time on his footballing ambitions and focused on work, although he still played Sunday league on the weekends.
A trial popped up at Crystal Palace a few months later, but Wright decided to turn it down as he couldn't get the time off work.
His manager at the time, however, told him he'd sort it out for him, and he had to take this one last chance.
As fate would have it, that chance proved to be the opportunity that made his career at the age of 22. After impressing on the two week trial, Palace took him on.
He helped Crystal Palace achieve promotion to the top flight, and when there, he grabbed the attention of the folks over at Arsenal. He moved to Highbury in 1991 at the age of 28, and went on to become their record goal scorer, before Thierry Henry came along. That alone is an incredible achievement so late in his career, and is something that is unthinkable now.
He was Arsenal's top goalscorer for six seasons in a row, and finished his career with 387 goals in the professional game to his name. He also scored the odd handy one, like this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DWhtoFu0rw
At Arsenal, he won a Premier League title, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup, which is a fantastic haul for a man who was playing Sunday League football in his early twenties. You could see in how he played, with a smile on his face at all times, that he was in love with football and couldn't believe his luck that he was playing at the highest level.
Say what you like about his media personality and the side of Ian Wright that was a bit brash and cocky, but he achieved some fantastic things on the football pitch, and appreciated every minute of it as a result of the difficult journey he faced.
