Andrew John Arnott (born 18 October 1973) is an English former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, but also occasionally deputised as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He began his career with Gillingham, later joining

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

on loan with a view to a permanent move, although he made no appearances. He subsequently played for

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

in the Football League.

Career

Born in

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

, Arnott began his career at nearby Gillingham, where he signed his first professional contract in May 1991. At the end of the 1991–92 season, after only 32 appearances and 8 goals, Arnott went on loan to

, specifically to play in the Blue Star youth tournament in Zurich. He started all United's games as they reached the final, scoring two of their six goals, before they lost 1–0 to

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dyna ...

. However, he did not join the club and returned to Gillingham for the start of the next season. He concluded his time at Gillingham with a record of 12 goals in 73 league games.

signed Arnott in January 1996 for a fee fixed by tribunal at £10,000, a further £5,000 after 50 first team appearances and a 25 per cent sell-on clause. He made his debut against Darlington in February 1996 and made 54 League and cup appearances, scoring six goals. He did enough to convince

to pay £23,000 for his services in the summer of 1997, but under

Mohamed Al-Fayed Mohamed Al-Fayed (; arz, محمد الفايد ; born 27 January 1929) is an Egyptian-born businessman whose residence and chief business interests have been in the United Kingdom since the late 1960s. His business interests include ownership of ...

's regime at the club Arnott could only manage one substitute appearance. He was loaned out to

Rushden & Diamonds Rushden & Diamonds Football Club was an association football club based in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire, England. Nicknamed "The Diamonds", the club played at Nene Park. The club's main rivals were county neighbours Kettering Town. The cl ...

in 1998, before transferring to

for £20,000 in October 1998. He made 28 appearances for Brighton, and was involved in a swap loan deal with

in September 1999, being exchanged for

Warren Aspinall Warren Aspinall (born 13 September 1967) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder or forward in the Football League, most notably for Portsmouth and Carlisle United. He began his career with hometown club Wigan Athletic, earnin ...

. After making four appearances, the deal was made permanent in November of the same year. Arnott made 15 league appearances in total while with the club, but was forced to call time on his professional career after undergoing a hernia operation. After leaving Colchester, he signed for

Stevenage Borough Stevenage Football Club (known as Stevenage Borough Football Club until 2010) is a professional association football club based in the town of Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier o ...

in December 2000, making his debut for Stevenage on 18 August 2001 against

Stalybridge Celtic Stalybridge Celtic Football Club is an English football club based in Stalybridge, Greater Manchester. They are currently members of the and play at Bower Fold. The team traditionally plays in a blue and white strip. In 1921 Stalybridge Celtic ...

. Again, he was troubled with injuries during his time, joining

Dover Athletic Dover Athletic Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in the town of Dover, Kent, England. The club currently competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 198 ...

in 2002. He was made team captain for Dover, and moved to

Welling United Welling United Football Club is a professional football club, based in Welling in the London Borough of Bexley, England. The club's first team play in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football. History Welling United Foot ...

in 2004 before a final move to

Ashford Town (Kent) Ashford United F.C. are an English football club based in Ashford, Kent. The 'new' United was formed in 2011, resurrecting the name used by the town's football club between 1891 and 1907. Following the demise of the original Ashford United cl ...

Career statistics

:A. The "Other" column constitutes appearances and goals (including those as a substitute) in the

Football League Trophy The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Leag ...

References

External links

* *
Profile at Archive Database for Colchester United
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnott, Andy 1973 births Living people Footballers from Chatham, Kent English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Gillingham F.C. players Manchester United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Fulham F.C. players Rushden & Diamonds F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players Colchester United F.C. players Stevenage F.C. players Dover Athletic F.C. players Welling United F.C. players Ashford United F.C. players English Football League players National League (English football) players