Career
Originally a left-winger, Nelson was later moved back into defence to become a left back. He was a regular in Arsenal"s reserve side for several seasons, before making his first-team debut against Ipswich Town on 25 October 1969. He was understudy to the Gunners" established left back, Bob McNab, and it wasn"t until McNab was injured in the 1971-1972 season did Nelson become a regular.
Even then, whenever McNab returned from injury, Nelson was forced to step down to being reserve.
In the meantime, Nelson had made his debut for Northern Ireland, as a sub against England on 21 April 1970. McNab left Arsenal in the summer of 1975, and Nelson finally became Arsenal"s first-choice left back.
An aggressive, hard-tackling full back, Nelson was a crowd favourite and known for his cheeky sense of humour. With the arrival of England international Kenny Sansom at the club in 1980, Nelson once again found himself in the reserves.
He left Arsenal in 1981 to join Brighton & Hove Albion.
He played 339 first-class matches for the Gunners in total, and scored 12 goals. Nelson spent two seasons at Brighton. Although unable to save the side from relegation in 1982-1983, they did reach another Cup final that season, losing to Manchester United 4–0 in a replay, after a 2–2 draw in the final, but Nelson missed the game.
He retired from football that summer, and after spending a season as a coach at Brighton, he left the game completely and went into the insurance industry.
He is currently a tour guide at Arsenal"s Emirates Stadium as part of their "Legends Tour". Nelson is married to Helen and they have a daughter named Emily and a two sons Peter and James.
Emily is married to English cricketer Matt Prior, and they have a son named Jonathan.
