David John Court is an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 former football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

er, now turned coach.

Court joined Arsenal

Arsenal F.C.

Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 as a schoolboy in 1959, turning professional in January 1962. Initially a centre forward

Striker

Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals...

 or inside forward

Inside forward

In football, the position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the 20th centuries. The inside forwards would support the centre forwards, running and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him with passes...

, he was a regular goalscorer for the Gunners' youth and reserve sides. He made his first-team debut against Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C.

Aston Villa Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Witton, Birmingham. The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founder members of The Football League in 1888. They were also founder...

 on September 10, 1962, in a 2-1 defeat and went on to make fourteen league appearances over the next two seasons.

At the start of the 1964-65

1964-65 in English football

The 1964–65 season was the 85th season of competitive football in England.-Overview:* After a three-way tussle for the League title between Manchester United, Leeds United and Chelsea, Manchester United came out on top and were crowned champions....

 season, Arsenal manager Billy Wright switched Court to the right wing

Winger (sport)

In certain sports, such as football, field hockey, ice hockey, handball, rugby union, lacrosse and rugby league, the term winger is the name of a position. It refers to positions on the extreme left and right sides of the pitch . In American football and Canadian football, the analogous position...

, and he became a regular there for that season, playing 35 times, before being switched to right back in 1965-66

1965-66 in English football

The 1965–66 season was the 86th season of competitive football in England.-Diary of the season:7 October 1965: An experiment to broadcast a live game to another ground takes place...

, where again he was a regular for the season, playing 38 times. Wright was dismissed as Arsenal manager and many players left the club as a result, but Court continued to stay at the club for the next three seasons as a utility player.

Court played every position bar goalkeeper

Goalkeeper (football)

In association football, the goalkeeper occupies a position that represents the last line of defence between the opponent's offence and his own team's goal. The primary role of the goalkeeper is to defend his team's goal and prevent the opposition from scoring a goal...

 under Wright's successor Bertie Mee

Bertie Mee

Bertram "Bertie" Mee OBE was an English football player and manager, noted for managing Arsenal to their first Double win in 1971. He was the younger brother of fellow footballer Georgie Mee.-Early life:...

, although he played fewer matches - a total of only 31 over Mee's first two seasons. However, 1968-69

1968-69 in English football

The 1968–69 season was the 89th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Leeds United won the League for the first time in their history, finishing six points ahead of Liverpool...

 saw him return as a first-team regular – he played 51 matches that season, including the Gunners' League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 Final

1969 Football League Cup Final

The 1969 Football League Cup Final took place on 15 March 1969 at Wembley Stadium. It was the ninth final and the third to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Arsenal and Swindon Town.-Pre-match:...

 loss to Swindon Town

Swindon Town F.C.

Swindon Town Football Club are a team based in Swindon, Wiltshire. Currently in League Two, Swindon have been managed by Paolo Di Canio since 23 May 2011...

 at Wembley Stadium.

He continued to be a regular in 1969-70

1969-70 in English football

The 1969–70 season was the 90th season of competitive football in England.-First Division:Everton won their seventh title, finishing nine points clear of Leeds United with Chelsea in third and newly promoted Derby County in fourth...

, until he suffered injury midway through, and as a result he missed both legs of the Gunners' Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition was the idea of Swiss pools supremo Ernst Thommen, Ottorino Barassi from Italy, and the English Football Association general secretary Stanley Rous, all of whom later became senior officials...

 final triumph that season. In July 1970 Arsenal accepted a £30,000 bid for him from Luton Town

Luton Town F.C.

Luton Town Football Club is an English professional football club based since 1905 at Kenilworth Road, Luton, Bedfordshire. The club currently competes in the fifth tier of English football, the Conference National, for the third consecutive season during the 2011–12 season.Formed in 1885, it was...

; in all he had played 204 matches for Arsenal, and had scored 18 goals. He spent two seasons with Luton, before seeing out his career at Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

. He played non league football at Barnet

Barnet F.C.

Barnet Football Club is an English football team from High Barnet, London, England, currently playing in Football League Two. The ground is in the town of Barnet within the London Borough of Barnet....

 before retiring.

After retiring from football, he worked in the financial

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

 sector, before returning to Arsenal in 1996 as Assistant Head of Youth Development, alongside Liam Brady

Liam Brady

Liam Brady is a former Irish association football player, and former assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team....

, and has remained in the job since.