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Dublin born John Devine signed apprentice forms for Arsenal in November
1974, and as a professional on 11 October 1976. The specialist
right-back made his full Arsenal debut on 22 April 1978 in a 3-1 win at
Leeds United for the injured Pat Rice and kept his place for the next
two games which immediately preceded the 1978 FA Cup Final. Rice
recovered, however, so Devine missed out on an early Wembley experience
in the disappointing 1-0 defeat against Ipswich Town. He started the
1978/79 season in the side, but a bad injury kept him sidelined until
late April as the club geared itself up for another F.A. Cup final,
which John again missed out on. However, one bright spot for him prior
to his injury was his European debut in a UEFA Cup tie away at
Lokomotive Leipzig, which Arsenal won 4-1. 1979/80 was a marathon season
as the Londoners fought a seventy game campaign.
John made twenty
league appearances deputising for the ageing Rice, but also as Sammy
Nelson's stand in at left-back, a versatility that would serve him well
come May. Things were going very satisfactorily for the young defender,
but it was in the cup competitions where he first experienced real
football drama. As the season passed Easter Arsenal were through to the
semi-finals of both the FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup. Devine
played in a 1-0 victory that decided an epic Cup semi-final battle with
Liverpool that took four attempts to settle, and also in one of the
Gunners' most famous victories, a 1-0 success against Juventus in Turin
that took the club through to the Cup Winners' Cup Final. Both games
were all the more remarkable for Devine, as he played out of position at
left-back.
He was selected to start at Wembley, but things turned out
as sour for him as they did for the club, for he had a poor game while
Arsenal lost 0-1 to West Ham and he was dropped for the following game,
the Cup Winners' Cup Final against Valencia, which the Gunners also lost
in a penalty shoot-out. In the summer Rice moved to Watford and Devine,
now first choice right-back, played thirty-nine games in 1980/81 as
Arsenal achieved a third place league finish. However, two subsequent
disappointing seasons saw veteran John Hollins becoming the established
right-back and after a first team career of 111 league and cup games
over six seasons, Devine moved to Norwich City on a free transfer in
June 1983. (David Fensome)
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