3 November 1963 - Local Boy Will Make Good In 21 Years

On 3 November 1963, Crystal Palace and Arsenal legend Ian Wright was born in Woolwich, London.

A late arrival to professional football, the striker was discovered at the age of 21 by Crystal Palace scout Pete Prentice in 1985 while playing in a local Sunday league. Wright signed a contract with Palace in August of that year. They were in Division Two at the time.

He scored 9 goals in his first season at Selhurst Park, and helped lead the London club to promotion in 1989. Injuries limited his playing time in the 1989-90 season, but Palace advanced to the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Wright made an unforgettable appearance as a late substitute, coming on in the 69th minute and scoring three minutes later to level the match at 2-2. He scored again in extra time to put Palace ahead, but United equalized to force a replay, which the Manchester club won, 1-0. Wright played six seasons for Palace, making 277 appearances and scoring 177 goals, making him the club's third-highest goalscorer.

In September 1991, he moved across London to Arsenal for a then club-record transfer fee of £2.5 million. He got off to a blistering start in his first season with the Gunners, taking honors as the League's top scorer with 29 goals (five of which he had scored for Palace before the transfer). He was the club's top scorer for six consecutive seasons and won several trophies, including the League title (1998), the FA Cup (1993, 1998), the League Cup (1993) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1994). In all, he scored 185 goals for Arsenal in 288 appearances. He was the club's highest scorer until the record was broken by Thierry Henry in October 2005.

He left Arsenal in 1998 and spent time with West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic, and Burnley before retiring in 2000.

18 October 2005 - Henry's Record Goal

On 18 October 2005, Thierry Henry scored a brace to lift Arsenal past Sparta Prague on the third matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage. In doing so, he passed former record holder Ian Wright to become the club's top goalscorer.

The match was played at Sparta Stadium in Prague before a crowd of over 12,500. Arsenal were heavy favorites, on top of the group with two wins, while Sparta were on bottom with a draw and a loss. Henry, who had just come off a near six-week layoff due to a groin injury, put Arsenal ahead in the 21st minute, tying Ian Wright's Arsenal scoring record of 185. The record-breaking 186th goal came in the 74th minute, as Henry calmly controlled a long ball with his heel, then curled the strike in from the edge of the area.

Arsenal made it to the Final in Paris that year, but lost to Barcelona, 2-1.

Henry left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, after amassing a total of 226 goals for the Gunners. He returned in 2011-12 on loan from the New York Red Bulls and scored another two goals, taking his total for the club to 228.

16 September 1996 - I Didn't Even Know They Kept Those Kinds Of Records

On 16 September 1996, midfielder Patrick Vieira made his Arsenal debut and later captained the team to an undefeated season.

Just twenty years old at the time, Vieira had spent two seasons at Cannes at one at AC Milan before moving to Arsenal on 14 August 1996 for a transfer fee of £3.5 million. Arsenal had sacked manager Bruce Rioch two days earlier and were in the process of lining up Arsène Wenger to replace him, starting in October. In the meantime, they used a pair of caretaker managers in Stewart Houston and Pat Rice.

The latter was in charge when Sheffield Wednesday visited Highbury in the sixth week of the season. After the opening kick was delayed by 25 minutes due to a power failure in part of the stadium, Wednesday took another 25 minutes to jump in front with a goal from striker Andy Booth. Three minutes later, Vieira made his entrance, coming on in the 28th minute for the injured Ray Parlour.

He made an immediate impact, as Arsenal controlled the final 15 minutes of the first half, then dominated the second half, getting an equalizer from David Platt (57') and a hat-trick from Ian Wright (61' (pen.), 78', 89') to win 4-1. (Wednesday did get some consolation that day, as a shot from David Hirst set the Premier League for fastest shot on goal, reaching the speed of 183 km/h (114 mph) before hitting the crossbar).

Vieira became a regular starter shortly afterward, then took over as captain for the 2002-03 season. The following year, with Vieira still wearing the armband, Arsenal won the league with an undefeated record. By the time he left for Juventus in July 2005, he had won three league titles and four FA Cups with the Gunners.

9 September 1998 - And Everybody Says A Two-Goal Lead Is The Most Dangerous

On 9 September 1998, Wimbledon rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat West Ham 3-4 in one of the Premier League's biggest comebacks.

It was the fourth game of the season for both teams, who were undefeated. The hosts, West Ham, had beaten Wimbledon twice the previous season, including a 3-1 victory at Upton Park, and few thought the day's result would be much different.

The Hammers reinforced those thoughts by going up 3-0 midway through the first half, with goals from former Arsenal teammates John Hartson (7') and Ian Wright (14', 27'). Wimbledon's Marcus Gayle pulled one back in the 30th minute to go into the break down by the familiar score of 3-1.

But the second half was all Wimbledon's. In the 64th minute, a defensive miscue from West Ham center back Javier Margas allowed Jason Euell to close the gap to 3-2. Then Gayle struck again in the 77th minute and Wimbledon were back on level terms. That alone was reason for the visitors to celebrate, but four minutes later Wimbledon substitute Efan Ekoku took a pass from Euell and scored the winner.

Unfortunately for Wimbledon, the game was one of the few highlights in a long and difficult season that saw them slump from fourth place after beating West Ham to sixteenth in the final table. West Ham, meanwhile, rallied to a fifth-place finish.

3 November 1963 - Local Boy Will Make Good In 21 Years

On 3 November 1963, future Crystal Palace and Arsenal legend Ian Wright was born in Woolwich, London.

A late arrival to professional football, the striker was discovered at the age of 21 by Crystal Palace scout Pete Prentice in 1985 while playing in a local Sunday league. Wright signed a contract with Palace in August of that year. They were in Division Two at the time.

He scored 9 goals in his first season at Selhurst Park, and helped lead the London club to promotion in 1989. Injuries limited his playing time in the 1989-90 season, but Palace advanced to the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. Wright made an unforgettable appearance as a late substitute, coming on in the 69th minute and scoring three minutes later to level the match at 2-2. He scored again in extra time to put Palace ahead, but United equalized to force a replay, which the Manchester club won, 1-0. Wright played six seasons for Palace, making 277 appearances and scoring 177 goals, making him the club's third-highest goalscorer.

In September 1991, he moved across London to Arsenal for a then club-record transfer fee of £2.5 million. He got off to a blistering start in his first season with the Gunners, taking honors as the League's top scorer with 29 goals (five of which he had scored for Palace before the transfer). He was the club's top scorer for six consecutive seasons and won several trophies, including the League title (1998), the FA Cup (1993, 1998), the League Cup (1993) and the Cup Winners' Cup (1994). In all, he scored 185 goals for Arsenal in 288 appearances. He was the club's highest scorer until the record was broken by Thierry Henry in October 2005.

He left Arsenal in 1998 and spent time with West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Celtic, and Burnley before retiring in 2000.

18 October 2005 - Henry's Record Goal

On 18 October 2005, Thierry Henry scored a brace to lift Arsenal past Sparta Prague on the third matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage. In doing so, he passed former record holder Ian Wright to become the club's top goalscorer.

The match was played at Sparta Stadium in Prague before a crowd of over 12,500. Arsenal were heavy favorites, on top of the group with two wins, while Sparta were on bottom with a draw and a loss. Henry, who had just come off a near six-week layoff due to a groin injury, put Arsenal ahead in the 21st minute, tying Ian Wright's Arsenal scoring record of 185. The record-breaking 186th goal came in the 74th minute, as Henry calmly controlled a long ball with his heel, then curled the strike in from the edge of the area.

Arsenal made it to the Final in Paris that year, but lost to Barcelona, 2-1.

Henry left Arsenal for Barcelona in 2007, after amassing a total of 226 goals for the London club.