Jay Simpson

Jay-Alistaire Frederick Simpson (born 1 December 1988) is an former English professional footballer who played as a forward.

A product of the Arsenal Academy, he never played a league game for Arsenal, spending most of his time on loan, at Millwall, West Bromwich Albion and Queens Park Rangers.

He featured prominently for Arsenal's reserve team whilst at Islington Arts and Media School, and was on the bench for the first team's League Cup match against West Bromwich Albion on 24 October 2006, but did not play.

On 19 February 2007, he made history by becoming the first player ever to score a hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium, for Arsenal's under-18 team in an FA Youth Cup match against Cardiff City, in a 3–2 win.

After his loan spell at Millwall came to an end, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that he believed Simpson had a future at Arsenal by stating "At the moment it is too early to say if he [Jay Simpson] has a future, but I think so yes. He has done extremely well and has scored goals. I always thought Jay was a very good player and the fact he can get good experience at Millwall makes us all happy, because he is not only a good player but a very nice boy."

On 31 August 2007 he was loaned from Arsenal to Millwall until the new year.

The next day, he made his first team debut in a 2–1 League One defeat to Huddersfield Town at The New Den, replacing Danny Spiller for the final eight minutes.

He scored his first goal in a 3–2 loss to Swansea City in the first round of the Southern Section of the Football League Trophy on 4 September, and his first league goal in a 2–1 defeat to Swindon Town on 29 September.

His performance saw him earned November's PFA Fans Player of Month award for League One.

On 15 December, he was sent off for celebrating in the crowd after equalising in a 2–3 home loss to Oldham Athletic.

Simpson made his Arsenal first team debut in a 6–0 win over Sheffield United in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September 2008, coming on as a substitute for Nicklas Bendtner in the 71st minute.

In the fourth round, he scored his first two senior Arsenal goals against Wigan Athletic in a 3–0 win on 11 November, in what was his first senior start for the club.

His loan was due to expire on 1 January 2008, but was later extended to the end of the season.

Simpson scored eight goals in 44 appearances for Millwall and won the PFA Fans' League One player of the year award for 2008.

Simpson thanked Millwall for giving him the chance to improve his game, stating "Going to Millwall was the best decision I have ever made. Playing regularly in the first team really developed my game. It helped me grow as a player and I made a lot of good friends. It did me the world of good. The Millwall fans were really good to me – and I appreciated their support."

He signed a new contract with Arsenal on 29 December 2008, but was then loaned out to West Bromwich Albion for the remainder of the 2008–09 season.

He made his Albion debut on 3 January 2009, coming on as a half-time substitute for Robert Koren in a 1–1 draw with Peterborough United at The Hawthorns in the FA Cup third round.

He scored his first goal for the team ten days later, in a 2–0 win in the replay.

His first Premier League goal was scored on 31 January, in the 2–2 draw against Hull City at the KC Stadium.

After making seventeen appearances and scoring two times in all competitions, the club were relegated back to the Championship after one season in the Premier League.

Following this, Simpson returned to his parent club.

On 27 August 2009, Simpson joined the Championship's Queens Park Rangers on a season-long loan.

He made his debut in a 1–0 away win at Scunthorpe United.

His third game for QPR was against Cardiff City, at the Cardiff City Stadium, and he went on to score a first-half brace, followed up by scoring in the next game on 26 September 2009, in a 5–2 win against Barnsley.

In three straight wins against Preston North End, Reading and Derby County between 17 October 2009 and 24 October 2009, Simpson scored three goals in three separate matches.

As the 2009–10 season progressed, Simpson scored six more goals and despite struggling his goalscoring form later on, he finished as the club's top scorer this season with thirteen goals in all competitions.

In 2010, he joined Hull City, and was released three years later.

On 19 August 2010, Simpson signed a three-year contract with Championship team Hull City for a fee of £1 million including add-ons.

It came after when Simpson can leave Arsenal, prompting interests from clubs, such as, Queens Park Rangers, Fulham and Millwall.

He made his debut after starting in a 0–0 with Watford on 21 August.

His first goals for the club came on 18 December, when he scored both goals of a home win against Bristol City, followed up by scoring another brace in the next game, with a 3–2 win over Sheffield United.

His performance throughout December earned him a nomination for the npower Player of the Month award for December, but lost out to Danny Graham.

After spending over a month as an unused substitute, he made his return coming on as a replacement for Tijani Belaid, and scoring his fifth goal of the season in the 1–1 away draw at Ipswich Town on 19 February 2011.

On 23 April 2011, Simpson scored his sixth goal of the season, in a 4–2 loss against Middlesbrough.

In his first season at the club, Simpson made thirty-four appearances and scoring six times in all competitions.

In the 2011–12 season, Simpson made three appearances at the start of the season, but struggled to get first team football at the club.

As a result, Simpson signed again for Millwall on loan, on transfer deadline day, 31 August 2011, remaining with them until the new year.

Simpson spent time in Thailand with Buriram United, winning the 2014 Kor Royal Cup before returning to England with Leyton Orient.

He later played two years with Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer, before returning to England and rejoining Orient.

Born in Enfield, London, Simpson was with Norwich City before he joined Arsenal at the age of nine, and played in an under-18s game at just 13 years of age.