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A precise, intelligent passer with a firm tackle, Gerry Ward was once Arsenal's youngest ever player.
But despite making a valuable contribution to the team in a nine-year spell at the Club, he didn't live up to the early tag of being 'the new Cliff Bastin'.
It was an accolade very few footballers would have been able to live up to and it came after he had played just once for the Gunners - his debut as a 16-year-old in 1953. After a further two matches in the side, he was dropped and didn't return until 1958.
It was then that he displayed the fine skills that had prompted his early breakthrough. He was a regular during the 1958/59 season and contributed goals against Manchester United, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea.
He featured less regularly the following season and remained a bit-part player until his departure in 1963.
