Perry Groves
Perry Groves in 2014, at the Emirates Stadium legends tour
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Perry Groves | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1965 | ||
| Place of birth | Bow, London, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Left winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1981–1982 | Colchester United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1986 | Colchester United | 142 | (26) |
| 1986–1992 | Arsenal | 155 | (21) |
| 1992–1994 | Southampton | 15 | (2) |
| 1994 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 4 | (0) |
| 1995 | Canvey Island | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 317 | (49) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Perry Groves (born 19 April 1965) is a former English footballer, known chiefly for his time at Arsenal. He was a fast-paced player who usually played as winger, and occasionally as a striker. His uncle Vic Groves also played for Arsenal, from 1955 to 1964.
Groves was born in Bow, London, but as a boy he played for Cornard Dynamos in the village of Great Cornard on the Suffolk - Essex border. Groves then had a trial with Wolves as a schoolboy before signing as an apprentice for Colchester United in 1981. He turned professional a year later and over the next four seasons he played 142 league games for the U's, scoring 26 goals.
In September 1986, he signed for Arsenal for £50,000, becoming the first signing by new manager George Graham. In his first season at the club he helped set up Charlie Nicholas for the winner in the 1987 League Cup final, dribbling past three Liverpool players before laying the ball off.
Noted for his enthusiasm and hard work, he started most of Arsenal's games in the 1987–88 season, ousting Charlie Nicholas as strike partner to Alan Smith, and helping the Gunners reach a second League Cup final the following season by scoring the only goal of the away leg of the semi-final against Everton; Arsenal however lost the final to Luton Town. Although Groves made 46 appearances in all competitions that season, the arrival of Brian Marwood reduced his opportunities to play, and he was mainly used as a substitute in Arsenal's title-winning 1988–89 season, coming off the bench 15 times during the league campaign, on top of 6 starts. He was on the pitch as a substitute in the final game of the season and helped create the space when Michael Thomas famously scored the title clinching goal at Anfield.
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