Role Footballer Name Jon Sammels | Years Team 1961–1963 Arsenal | |
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Full name Jonathon Charles Sammels Date of birth (1945-07-23) 23 July 1945 (age 70) Place of birth Ipswich, Suffolk, England | ||
Playing position | ||
Jon sammels in 501 arsenal goals
Jonathon Charles "Jon" Sammels (born 23 July 1945) is an English former footballer.
Sammels joined Arsenal, in 1961, the club he supported as a boy, from his family home in Grundisburgh near Woodbridge in Suffolk. He was a regular in the reserves and a successful youth international winning seven caps for England. He joined Arsenal soon after fellow East Anglian Peter Simpson and played alongside him for several seasons. Jon scored on his first-team debut for Arsenal on 27 April 1963, against Blackpool. However, he only played sparingly — twice in 1963-64 and not at all in 1964-65 — and did not secure a place in the side until the departure of Geoff Strong, and later George Eastham.
Noted for his accurate passing and strong shooting, he broke through in 1965-66 and was an ever-present in the 1966-67 season. As well as being a regular for Arsenal, Sammels played for the England U23 side nine times. He played in both of Arsenal's League Cup final defeats in 1968 and 1969, before finally claiming a medal in the 1970 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup; he scored Arsenal's winning goal in their 4-3 victory on aggregate over RSC Anderlecht, after Arsenal had trailed 3-1 after the first leg.
However, Sammels lost his first team place in the 1970-71 season, thanks to an ankle injury and the emergence of George Graham; although he played enough games to win a First Division winner's medal, he did not take part in Arsenal's' FA Cup Final win over Liverpool that completed their Double-winning season. Sammels submitted a transfer request, and he was duly sold to Leicester City for £100,000. In all he played 270 matches for Arsenal, scoring 52 goals.
Sammels was a regular in the Leicester side for the next seven seasons, playing 265 matches for the Foxes, scoring 25 goals. Under Jimmy Bloomfield, Leicester were a talented and exciting side, but the only trophy they won was the 1971 Charity Shield, and they never finished above seventh in the League. Sammels left Leicester on a free transfer in 1978, and played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL for two seasons. He was a member of the Whitecaps team that won the league championship in 1979. After that, he retired from the game and returned to the UK. He now works as a driving instructor in Leicester.