Born on this day is former Stoke City, Arsenal and Sunderland player Steve Bould. The defender ended his career on Wearside, after winning nine major trophies with the Gunners...
Bould turned professional with his boyhood club Stoke City in 1980, making his debut away to Middlesbrough a year later. Still a youngster, Bould was sent to Bruce Ricoh’s Torquay United to gain more experience.
Upon returning from Torquay, Bould was moved from right back to centre back, a move that turned out to be a masterstroke. The defender excelled for the Potters, and was regularly described as the best defender in Division Two. This excellent form attracted the interest of both Everton and Arsenal, with Bould opting to join the latter in 1988.
At Arsenal, Bould became part of their famous back four alongside Tony Adams, Nigel Winterburn and former Stoke teammate Lee Dixon. In August 1992, Bould scored Arsenal’s first ever Premier League goal. It came at Highbury against Norwich City, although the Canaries went on to win 4-2.
Injuries meant that Bould was often left out of the team, and was second-choice behind Martin Keown when Arsene Wenger took over in 1996. However, the Frenchman's arrival ignited a revival for Bould, who became a key player in Arsenal’s team that won the double in 1997/98.
In 1999, Andy Melville left Sunderland to join Fulham, alongside club captain Kevin Ball. In an effort to replace Melville, Peter Reid brought in Bould for £500,000. He also named the defender club captain following Ball’s departure. Age wasn’t on his side, at 36 years old. However, Wenger’s nutrition and training regimes had given Bould a new lease of life and he would later go on to describe his time at Sunderland as him in his prime!
The defensive partnership of Bould and Paul Butler was extremely formidable, as Sunderland took the Premier League by storm in the first half of the season. He only played 23 times before a toe injury brought his career to an end, but he the defender’s experience was instrumental in helping develop youngsters such as Jody Craddock, Darren Williams and Darren Holloway.
