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After joining Arsenal as a trainee, Ian Selley spent five years trying
to establish himself in the Gunners first team, but was never quite able
to do so, although he will wonder just what could have been if it
wasn't for injury. A regular at youth and reserve team levels, Selley
was given his first team debut, aged 18, by George Graham in a 1-0
defeat to Blackburn at Ewood Park in September 1992. He had to wait five
months for his next league start, which ended in another 1-0 defeat,
this time at home to Wimbledon. He went on to feature seven more times
in the league that season, and was an unused substitute in both the
League Cup Final and FA Cup Final replay victories, both against
Sheffield Wednesday. The following campaign was Selley's most successful
season with Arsenal. He featured 27 times in League and Cup, and scored
his first goal for the Gunners in a stunning 7-0 win away to Belgian
side Standard Liege in the 2nd round of the Cup Winners' Cup.
He was the
youngest player on the pitch in the final against Parma in Copenhagen;
Alan Smith scoring the only goal to give an injury hit Arsenal a
memorable victory. Selley was in and out of the side the following
season, playing seventeen times in all competitions. Once again his only
goal arrived in the 2nd round of the Cup Winners' Cup, this time in a
2-2 draw with Danish side Brondby at Highbury, a result that gave
Arsenal a 4-3 aggregate win. His Arsenal career was effectively ended in
a match against Leicester City at Highbury on 11th February 1995. A
severely broken leg ended his participation in the game, and kept him
out of action for the rest of the campaign, and the whole of the
following season. Arsene Wenger loaned him to Southend for a brief spell
upon his arrival at the club in 1996 and after he returned, Ian would
play just 5 more minutes for the Gunners, coming on as a substitute for a
young Patrick Vieira in the closing stages of a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea
at Stamford Bridge in April 1997.
Six months later, he was sold to
Fulham for £500,000. He went on to have spells at Wimbledon and
Southend again, before joining Woking in 2003. (Mark Jones)
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