Remembering David Rocastle
Remembering David Rocastle Today marks 25 years since David Rocastle passed and as we do every year, it’s time to remember the Arsenal legend who was taken from us far too soon. Here, from our Arsenal Number 7s book , is an extract from Paul Williams chapter on this true legend. We’ve also created a graphic, designed by Anita Sambol , honouring the man himself, which can be viewed, downloaded and shared from the site.
When I was a kid, the first Arsenal poster on my wall was an illustration, from either Shoot or Match magazine, of David Rocastle. The bare statistics of David’s Arsenal career, 23 goals in 228 games 1984-1992, do not quite tell the story of why it is that Rocky is still so revered nearly 25 years after he left the club. To put those figures into context, Robert Pires – another number 7- used to score around 20 goals a season every season.
Nor can this reverence be explained purely by Rocky’s tragically premature death at the age of 33 in 2001. The globalisation of football has been largely a good thing. Certainly, without it, Arsenal’s last two decades would look very different.
However, it does mean that the days of someone being able to proceed directly from the North Bank to the pitch are all but at an end. Nor is it likely, these days, that a whole group of extremely talented youngsters will come through the ranks of a big club, kicking the door of the first team dressing room door down to steal pegs from their elders. In the mid 80’s, there was such a group of players.
They may not have all come through at exactly the same time, but they did make massive contributions to Arsenal Football Club. Only Manchester United in the early 90’s have been able to produce a group to rival these guys in the thirty intervening years. That sounds like I’m overstating it, doesn’t it?
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