George Armstrong

Armstrong was born in Kipling Avenue, Hebburn, County Durham. After leaving school he took up an apprenticeship as an electrician, at Hawthorne Leslie and played works football with his older brothers. He had an unsuccessful trial with Grimsby Town, and was on the books of Newcastle United as an amateur. The Newcastle United coaching staff fell out with Armstrong following a mix up which resulted in Armstrong missing one game, consequentially as a result of the fall out, the stubborn Newcastle staff would rarely pick him. He signed for Arsenal early in the 1961–62 season. Armstrong arrived at Highbury as an inside forward but was soon switched to the wing. He made his senior debut while still only 17, against Blackpool on 24 February 1962 in a match that Arsenal won 1–0. Although he started out as understudy to Johnny MacLeod and Alan Skirton, by the 1963–64 season he had become a regular in the side, and in 1964–65 he missed only two matches. Over time Armstrong became one of Arsenal's most consistent players, who was noted for the quality and accuracy of his crossing and corner kicks, as well as for his tireless running along the wing. He primarily played on the left, but was also effective on the right. Signed by George Swindin but maturing under Billy Wright's management, he was one of several players from the Wright era such as Jon Sammels and Peter Storey who became an integral part of successor Bertie Mee's Arsenal side. After losing two successive League Cup finals,…

After retiring as a player, Armstrong moved into coaching, and worked for clubs including Fulham, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers. He managed Enderby Town and Norwegian club FK Mjølner, and managed the Kuwaiti national team between 1988 and 1989. In 1990, before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, he returned to England, where he rejoined Arsenal as reserve team coach, a post which he retained for the rest of his life, despite the club's many managerial upheavals. During his time coaching at Arsenal Armstrong was responsible for bringing many young players through the ranks, including Steve Morrow, Ray Parlour and Paul Dickov.

Arsenal

Football League First Division: 1970–71 FA Cup: 1970–71; runner-up: 1971–72 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1969–70 Football League Cup runner-up: 1967–68, 1968–69 Individual

Arsenal Player of the Season: 1969–70