John Hartson

Luton Town and Arsenal

Hartson turned professional in 1992 and made his Luton Town first team debut as a substitute in a 1–0 League Cup defeat to Cambridge United on 24 August 1993. In January 1995, at 19, he joined Arsenal for £2.5 million, a British record fee for a teenage player at the time. Along with Chris Kiwomya, Hartson was one of George Graham's last signings before the manager's sacking in February 1995. He made his Arsenal debut on 14 January 1995, a 1–1 home draw with Everton, and scored his first goal for the club the following week, the only goal in a 1–0 away win at Coventry City. He was a regular for the remainder of his first season, a highlight of which was scoring Arsenal's 75th-minute equaliser in the 1995 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final against Real Zaragoza; however a last-minute goal from 40 yards by Nayim over David Seaman meant Arsenal lost the game 2–1. He was strike-partner to Ian Wright, being favoured ahead of Kevin Campbell to fill the gap left by the injured Alan Smith, who retired at the end of the season. Following the signing of Dennis Bergkamp, who was preferred up front to partner Wright, Hartson went on to feature under Graham's successors Bruce Rioch and Arsène Wenger. With Wenger wanting him to stay at the club, Hartson though in February 1997 linked up with West Ham United in a £3.2 million deal. At the time, he was the most expensive player to be signed by West Ham. The deal was initially reported to be worth £5 million. In…

Hartson won 51 first team caps for Wales, scoring 14 goals. He is currently the 11th highest scorer of all time for the Welsh. He also holds a record for the Wales U21 team by being one of only four people to have scored a hat-trick at that level alongside Craig Davies, Lee Jones and Ched Evans. Hartson retired from international football in February 2006 in order to concentrate on his career with Celtic but in August that year he stated that he would come out of retirement to play if John Toshack needed him.

Just a few weeks after his retirement from playing, East Stirlingshire in the Scottish Football League Third Division offered Hartson the chance to succeed Gordon Wylde as manager, but Hartson rejected the opportunity, saying that, "the timing is just not right for me at the moment." Hartson joined Setanta Sports as a pundit for the 2008–09 season, as part of the broadcaster's coverage of the Scottish Premier League. A Welsh speaker, Hartson appears regularly as a studio guest on S4C's Sgorio. He was also a regular pundit on ITV's coverage of the FA Cup until ITV lost the rights to the competition at the end of the 2013/14 season, and often appears on BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of both Premier League and Champions League games as a match summariser. In 2011 Hartson was appointed part-time coach with Newport County. In 2016, he joined BT Sport to provide analysis on the newly launched BT Sport Score. John also appeared in the Welsh language travel interest program Am Dro (Going for a Walk)[1] broadcast on 1 January 2024

John Hartson was born on 5 April 1975 in Swansea, the third of four children to Cyril and Diana Hartson. Cyril had played football for local team Afan Lido. His paternal grandfather, Pius Hartson (1918–2012), was Canadian from Newfoundland and served with the Royal Navy during World War II. Hartson grew up in Talycoppa, Swansea, alongside his elder brother James, elder sister Hayley and younger sister Victoria. As a youngster Hartson represented Lonlas Boys' Club in Skewen, playing his first match aged six. He joined Luton Town's Youth Training Scheme at the age of sixteen but was suspended four months later for stealing a bank card from the son of a couple with whom he was lodging. He used the card to withdraw £50 in order to fund his gambling addiction. Hartson was suspended and sent home to Swansea but was reinstated by Luton shortly afterwards and allowed to resume his apprenticeship.