Kenny Sansom - Arsenal and England

Arsenal and England

Arsenal put in a bid of £1million for Sansom in the summer of 1980, with striker Clive Allen going in exchange; this was an unusual move, as Allen was an equally prized young player and had only joined Arsenal weeks earlier, and had yet to play a competitive match for the club. Palace accepted the bid and Sansom left for Highbury. The same summer he had starred for England in the 1980 European Championships in Italy, though England did not make progress.

Sansom made his Arsenal debut against West Bromwich Albion on 16 August 1980 and was an ever present for that season and the next, and a near-constant figure at left back for Arsenal for eight years in total. He was voted Arsenal's Player of the Year in 1981, but it took him seven years to win a trophy, with the Gunners largely underachieving through the early and mid-1980s.

Therefore, it was for his England career for which Sansom gained plaudits and recognition. He was rarely out of the team and played in the 1982 World Cup in Spain, in which England exited in the second group phase. He was still the first-choice left back for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, playing in all of the matches up to and including the quarter final defeat against Argentina, in which game he was one of the England players left behind by Diego Maradona as he burst from inside his own half to score his second goal.

Sansom missed only a handful of England matches between 1980 and 1988, with only the odd rest given to him in friendly matches so that coaches Ron Greenwood and then Bobby Robson could check on potential replacements (Derek Statham, Alan Kennedy, Nick Pickering) in the event of Sansom suffering from either serious injury or chronic loss of form. Neither happened, but the first genuine sign of competition came in 1987, when the Nottingham Forest left back and captain Stuart Pearce was given his England debut against Brazil and played well, setting up England's goal for Gary Lineker. However Sansom was still the regular left-back during England's 1988 European Championships qualifying campaign.

Sansom finally won some domestic silverware in 1987, captaining Arsenal to a League Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley; Arsenal came from a goal down to win 2-1, and Sansom had started the move which had led to Arsenal's late winner, scored by Charlie Nicholas.

The following season, Sansom's relationship with his Arsenal manager George Graham soured and he was replaced as captain by fledgling defender Tony Adams, who was just 21. Sansom did, however, keep his place in the side; although Graham had just signed a long-term replacement in Nigel Winterburn, he was played at right-back rather than left for his first season at the club. Arsenal reached the League Cup final again in 1987-88, only to lose 3-2 to Luton Town in a dramatic and exciting match.