Samuel Nelson (born 1 April 1949) is a 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, rugb ...

who played as a

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

in the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...

for

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...

and

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 ...

. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...

51 times for

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

and played at the

1982 FIFA World Cup The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain between 13 June and 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy, who defeated West Germany 3–1 ...

Club career

Arsenal

Nelson was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

where he attended the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, a

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

-playing school. He joined

as a 16-year-old, and turned professional on his 17th birthday in 1966. Originally a left- winger, he was later moved back into defence to become a

. Nelson played in the 1966 FA Youth Cup final in which Arsenal beat

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

5–3 over two legs. He was a regular in Arsenal's reserve side for several seasons, before making his first-team debut against

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professio ...

on 25 October 1969. He was understudy to the Gunners' established left back, Bob McNab, and only when McNab was injured in the 1971–72 season did Nelson become a regular. Even then, whenever McNab returned to fitness, Nelson was forced to step down. He made two appearances in Arsenal's successful 1969–70 Fairs Cup campaign but played no part in the final itself, and his four league matches during the 1970–71

Double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

-winning season were not sufficient for a medal. Select season required. McNab left Arsenal in the summer of 1975, and Nelson finally became Arsenal's first-choice left back. An aggressive, hard-tackling player, he was a crowd favourite and known for his cheeky sense of humour. For the next five seasons he was a near ever-present in the Arsenal side, and he played in all three of their successive FA Cup finals, in the starting eleven in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

and as a substitute in

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 ...

. The only win was in 1979, in which Arsenal beat

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 Salford to the west. The ...

by a 3–2 scoreline. Nelson also played in the

1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final The 1980 European Cup Winners' Cup Final was a football match contested on 14 May 1980 between Valencia of Spain and Arsenal of England. The final was held at Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium. Valencia won the match 5–4 on penalties. It ...

, which Arsenal lost to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

. With the arrival of England international

Kenny Sansom Kenneth Graham Sansom (born 26 September 1958) is a former professional footballer who played as a defender. An England international, he played for clubs such as Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Coventry City, Queens Park Rangers, ...

at the club in 1980, Nelson again found himself out of the first team. He left Arsenal in 1981 to join

. He played 339 first-class matches for the Gunners in total, and scored 12 goals.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Nelson made 45 appearances in all competitions in his two seasons with Brighton. In the second, 1982–83, they were relegated from the First Division but reached the

1983 FA Cup Final The 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium. Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season, and had never reached a cup fin ...

, losing to

4–0 in a replay after the original match finished 2–2; Nelson was not selected for either match. He retired as a player that summer.

International career

Nelson made his debut for

as a substitute against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

on 21 April 1970. He went on to win 51 international caps, two of which came in Northern Ireland's matches at the 1982 World Cup.

Later career and personal life

After spending a season as a coach at Brighton & Hove Albion, Nelson left the game completely and went into the insurance industry. He has also led the "Legends Tour" at Arsenal's

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

. Nelson is married with three children. His daughter Emily is married to English

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

Matt Prior Matthew James Prior (born 26 February 1982) is a South African-born English former cricketer, who played for England in Test cricket and for Sussex County Cricket Club in domestic cricket. He was a wicket-keeper and his aggressive right-handed ...

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. I ...

: 1965–66 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Sammy 1949 births Living people Association footballers from Belfast Association footballers from Northern Ireland Northern Ireland international footballers Association football defenders Arsenal F.C. players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. players English Football League players 1982 FIFA World Cup players Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup Final players