Nigel Winterburn was born on December 11th 1963 in Nuneaton, West Midlands and formed part of the legendary Arsenal back four of the late 1980s and 1990s
Nigel Winterburn was born on December 11th 1963 in Nuneaton, West Midlands and formed part of the legendary Arsenal back four of the late 1980s and 1990s. After signing for Oxford United, he joined Wimbledon on a free transfer and helped them achieve promotion to the First Division in 1986. Arsenal manager George Graham signed Nigel for £350,000 in 1987. He and fellow full back Lee Dixon, along with central defenders Tony Adams, David O'Leary plus Steve Bould were largely responsible for Arsenal winning the title in 1989. Theirs was a rearguard honed on the training ground by Graham, the master of the offside trap and the 1-0 win..
The Gunners regained the League championship in 1991with the loss of just one match and, two years later, Nigel helped the team win both FA Cup League Cup thus completing his domestic set of medals. He added a European Cup Winners' Cup medal in 1994, Arsenal's first continental success for a quarter of a century. Under Arsene Wenger, Winterburn was in the side that won the double of Premiership and FA Cup in 1998. After 429 League appearances (and eight goals - a handful of which were spectacular strikes from outside the area) for Arsenal, Nigel, a perennially wholehearted and tenacious competitor, joined West Ham United where he enjoyed a three-year ‘twilight’ to his career before retiring in his 40th year. Nigel Winterburn made his England debut in 1990, coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 draw against Italy. He earned just one more cap.
(c) Givemefootball.com official Nigel Winterburn profile
