Ian Arkwright (born 18 September 1959) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

for

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...

and

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the National League South, the sixth level of the English football league system. They have played their ho ...

. He played as a winger, and the majority of his League career was spent with Wrexham in the early 1980s.

Career

Arkwright was born in

Shafton Shafton is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Barnsley (borough), Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England, on the border with West Yorkshire. At the 2001 census it had a population of 2,840, increasing to 3,44 ...

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

, and began his career as an apprentice with

, turning professional in September 1977. He failed to establish himself at Wolves however, and played just four times in total. His debut was as a substitute in a 1–0 win over

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

on 30 September 1978, but after starting the next three games, never featured for the first team again. He was transferred to

for a fee of £100,000 in March 1980. In four years at the

Racecourse Ground The Racecourse Ground (), is a football stadium in Wrexham, Wales. It is the home of Wrexham A.F.C., Wrexham AFC. It is the largest stadium in North Wales and the List of football stadiums in Wales, fifth-largest in Wales. It is the world's o ...

, he made 104 league appearances, scoring 10 goals. Towards the end of his time at Wrexham and of his league career, in March 1984, he played two games on loan to

, away to Chesterfield and at home to

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

. He also plied his trade in foreign leagues, joining

Finn Harps Finn Harps Football Club is an Irish football club that play in the First Division of the League of Ireland, as of 2023. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their ho ...

in Ireland (8 goals in 94 total appearances) and HIK in Finland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Arkwright, Ian 1959 births Living people Footballers from Barnsley English men's footballers Men's association football wingers Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. players Wrexham A.F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players English Football League players Finn Harps F.C. players League of Ireland players Hangö IK players English expatriate men's footballers English expatriate sportspeople in Finland English expatriate sportspeople in Ireland Expatriate men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Expatriate men's footballers in Finland