Ray Parlour

Raymond Parlour (born 7 March 1973) is an English former professional footballer and sports radio pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live and Talksport.

He was a midfielder from 1992 to 2007, and spent his career playing for Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Hull City.

He joined the club as a trainee in 1989 and made his debut for the Gunners against Liverpool on 29 January 1992, conceding a penalty in a 2–0 defeat.

Parlour made his debut for the England under-21 team on 12 May 1992; he played the whole game as England drew 2–2 with Hungary in a friendly.

He was a part of the squads that participated in the Toulon Tournament in 1992 and 1994, England would ultimately win the tournament in 1994 with Parlour playing in the final against Portugal.

Parlour won the Prix Spécial award for his performances in the tournament.

, Overall, he appeared for the U21s on twelve occasions without scoring any goals.

He totalled 466 games and 32 goals for Arsenal, winning honours including three Premier League titles, four FA Cup and the 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

He rose to greater prominence in 1994–95, when he took part in Arsenal's European UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final loss to Real Zaragoza (having been an unused substitute in the Gunners' 1–0 triumph over Parma in 1993–94).

After the arrival of Arsène Wenger as Arsenal's manager in 1996, he became a regular fixture on the right wing or in central midfield.

In 1997–98 Arsenal won the Double, and Parlour was instrumental in his club's achievement: he was man-of-the-match in the Gunners' FA Cup Final win over Newcastle United, setting up Nicolas Anelka for the second goal in a 2–0 win.

His increasing success in his Gunners shirt did not, however, secure him a place in England's 1998 World Cup squad, coach Glenn Hoddle preferring Spurs' Darren Anderton instead.

On 10 February 1998, he played for the B-team in a 1–0 loss to Chile at The Hawthorns.

He played ten games for England in 1999 and 2000.

While at Arsenal he was nicknamed "The Romford Pelé", an ironic sobriquet reflecting his combination of solid performance with a humorous, self-deprecating, down to earth personality and an image wholly lacking in glamour.

He has been described as an "unsung hero" and praised as a "fans' favourite" for his high work rate and commitment.

After retiring, Parlour became a pundit on television and radio.

In March 2000, he hit a hat-trick in a 4–2 away win at Werder Bremen (6–2 aggregate) in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals.

He was the only Arsenal player successful from the penalty spot in the team's shoot-out defeat by Galatasaray in the final.

Seven months later, he contributed another hat-trick to a 5–0 win over Newcastle United at Highbury.

In April 2001, at the same ground, he struck a 30-yard winner as Arsenal beat Valencia 2–1 in the first leg tie of a UEFA Champions League quarter-final.

In 2002, another year in which Arsenal won the Double, he opened the scoring in the Gunners' 2–0 FA Cup Final victory over Chelsea, putting his club ahead with a 30-yard strike that Soccer AM's commentator Tim Lovejoy famously failed to anticipate: "Oh, it's all right, it's only Ray Parlour".

In November 2003, he was the stand-in captain who led his team to a 5–1 victory over Internazionale at the San Siro.

In total, Parlour played 466 games for the Gunners, scoring 32 goals in all competitions.

His curriculum vitae with the club includes three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, one League Cup and one European Cup Winners' Cup.

In July 2004, Parlour joined fellow Premier League club Middlesbrough on a free transfer, signing a three-year contract at the Riverside Stadium.

In October 2005, he was ruled out for two months for knee cartilage surgery.

He played 60 games for Boro in two and a half years, and was an unused substitute in their 4–0 defeat by Sevilla in the 2006 UEFA Cup final.

He was released from his contract on 25 January 2007, and returned to train at Arsenal.

On 9 February 2007, Hull City signed Parlour until the end of the 2006–07 season in the hope that his experience would help them to avoid relegation.

With their place in the Championship secured, it was confirmed on 1 June that the club would not be retaining Parlour's services for the following season's campaign.

In 2012, he briefly came out of retirement to play for Wembley in the club's FA Cup fixtures.

Parlour is most famous for his time at Arsenal, where he played for fifteen years.

In June 2012, Parlour was one of several retired footballers enlisted by the semi-professional Wembley to assist them in the forthcoming season's FA Cup.

His fellow former internationals Claudio Caniggia, Graeme Le Saux, Martin Keown and Brian McBride joined him as players, David Seaman was recruited as a goalkeeping coach and Terry Venables, formerly the manager of England, served as the club's technical advisor.

A television documentary recorded the team's improbable quest for Wembley Stadium glory.

In the event, although Wembley knocked out Langford, the club proved unable to progress beyond a replay against Uxbridge.

As of April 2020, his record of 333 Premier League appearances for Arsenal has not been surpassed by any other player in the club's history.

Even at the peak of his success, though, he was less acclaimed by football journalists than several of his Arsenal contemporaries, spending much of his time at the club in the shadow of Patrick Vieira in particular.

Many Arsenal fans believe him to have been one of the most underrated players of his generation.