|
Somewhat of a cult figure during his time at Highbury, John Jensen
joined the Gunners from Danish club Brondby in July 1992 for a fee of
£1, 100, 000. He had just helped the Danes to sensationally win the Euro
'92 tournament in Sweden, after they had only been admitted at the
eleventh hour due to the withdrawal of civil war-torn Yugoslavia. Jensen
scored the opening goal in the final against Germany in Stockholm, with
Kim Vilfort adding a late second to seal a shock 2-0 win and spark wild
celebrations in Denmark. The Dane played in a defensive midfield role
for the Gunners, allowing for the likes of Paul Merson and Ray Parlour
to break forward. Jensen's first season at Highbury was to be a
trophy-laden one, although he was absent from the team that beat
Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in the League Cup Final at Wembley in April
1993, Steve Morrow scoring the winner for the Gunners, and then famously
breaking his arm in the post-match celebrations.
However, Jensen was
back in the team when the two sides met again at Wembley in the FA Cup
Final a month later. After the initial match finished 1-1, the replay
was at the same scoreline deep into extra time when Andy Linighan headed
a late winner to give Arsenal the trophy. Jensen played his part in
helping the Gunners to the Cup Winners Cup Final the following season
but suffered the disappointment of missing the game through injury; it
was all the more heartbreaking for the Dane as the match took place in
his home city of Copenhagen. Alan Smith's early goal against Parma, who
were hot favourites against a makshift Arsenal, proved enough to win the
Gunners their second European trophy.
The 1994-95 campaign was to prove
to be one of the most disappointing in Arsenal's history, but one of
the few highlights for Gunners fans was Jensen's first and only goal for
the club, a curling effort from the edge of the box on New Year's Eve
1994 in a 3-1 home defeat by QPR. The goal led to Arsenal fans who were
there printing t-shirts declaring 'I saw Jensen score' ! Soon after, the
Dane's transfer was implicated in the 'bungs' scandal that rocked
Arsenal and cost George Graham his job. Jensen rejoined Brondby,
initially on loan in 1996, after making a total of 139 appearances for
the Gunners. After completing a permanent move, he went on to play for
another Danish club, Herfolge BK. He retired in 2002 after earning 69
caps for his country, scoring 4 goals. (Mark Jones).
1983–1988 Brøndby IF
1988–1990 Hamburger SV 47 (0)
1990–1992 Brøndby IF 44 (4)
1992–1996 Arsenal 138 (1) all games
1996–1999 Brøndby IF 90 (3)
1999–2001 Herfølge BK 40 (0)
|