Not many footballers can say they've scored twice in a win over Brazil. Jon Sammels can.
Some of the world's finest players descended on Highbury in November 1965 (although Pele and his fellow Santos internationals did not make the trip) but Sammels stole the show with a goal in either half. And he was only 20 at the time.
Sammels was a bright prospect in relatively dark days for the Gunners, scoring on his debut against Blackpool in 1963 and eventually taking over playmaker duties from the legendary George Eastham.
A talented midfielder with a powerful shot, Sammels was an ever-present from 1966/67 and played in Arsenal's back-to-back League Cup Final defeats against Leeds in 1968 and Swindon in 1969.
But success was just around the corner and Sammels was a big part of that.
He scored the goal which clinched the Fairs Cup in 1970 as Arsenal turned a 3-1 first-leg deficit into a 4-3 aggregate win over Anderlecht. And it's widely accepted that the Club's first-ever European triumph provided the launchpad for their Double a year later.
Unfortunately for Sammels, he only featured sporadically in that historic 1970/71 campaign. An ankle injury sidelined him at the start of the season and, by the time he was fit again, George Graham had nailed down a place in central midfield. Sammels had to be content with 15 appearances and just the one goal - in a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace.
Sammels soon realised that he would need to move on in the hunt for regular first-team football and that search took him to Leicester City in the summer of 1971.
Jon Sammels
