BASTIN, WRIGHT, HENRY

In 1946 when Cliff Bastin played his last match for Arsenal he had set the first-team goalscoring record for the Gunners, scoring 178 goals. In 1997, another Arsenal legend, Ian Wright, was getting close to breaking that record. On 13th September 1997 he was playing for the Arsenal in the Premier League match against Bolton Wanderers, having scored 177 goals by that time.  After 20 minutes Wright scored and immediately removed his Arsenal shirt to reveal a T-shirt underneath with the message '179 Just Done It'. Except that he hadn't done it. 177 plus 1 = 178 and so he had equalled the record not beaten it! Mind you the T-shirt was on show again five minutes later when he scored a second to break the record and later increased the total to 180 when he completed a hat-trick. 

He increased the record total to 185 goals (128 League, 12 FA Cup, 29 League Cup, 15 European comps and 1 Charity Shield) - the record was beaten by Thierry Henry in 2005.

Clifford Sydney Bastin (14 March 1912 – 4 December 1991) was born in Exeter and made his career debut at Exeter City in 1928, aged 16. Despite only playing 17 games and scoring 6 goals in his time at Exeter, he was spotted by Arsenal manager, the great Herbert Chapman in a match against Watford. Chapman was at the game to keep tabs on a Watford player but the 17-year-old Bastin's ability became so evident to him that he decided to sign him at the end of the 1928-9 season.

His début was against Everton on 5 October 1929 and was immediately a first-team regular, making 21 appearances that season. He went on to be a near ever-present in the side over the next decade, playing over 35 matches for every season up to and including 1937-8. His youthful appearance earned him the nickname "Boy Bastin", but despite such, Bastin's play was characterised by a remarkable coolness, and deadly precision in front of goal; he also became Arsenal's regular penalty-taker. At the time, Arsenal's strategy depended heavily on their wingers, Bastin playing from the left, cutting into the penalty box with a supply of passes from playmaker, the great Alex James.

With Arsenal, Bastin won the FA Cup in 1929-30, 1935-6 and the First Division title five times, in 1930-1, 1932-3, 1933-4, 1934-5 (note this TREBLE) and 1937-8. By the age of nineteen Bastin had won a League title, FA Cup and been capped for England, making him the youngest player ever to achieve all three. He played in Arsenal's 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge in October 1930. Bastin also finished as Arsenal top scorer in 1932–33 and 1933–34, with 33 and 15 goals respectively. After centre-forward Ted Drake arrived in March 1934, Bastin was no longer Arsenal's primary winger.

With Drake scoring the lion's share of the goals and Alex James increasingly unavailable due to injury and age, Bastin was moved to inside-forward to replace James for much of the 1935–36 season, which saw Arsenal drop to sixth. Bastin still scored 17 goals, including six in Arsenal's run to the 1936 FA Cup Final, which they won 1–0. Bastin was eventually restored to the left wing to score 17 goals in the 1937–38 title-winning season. An injury to his right leg ruled him out of much of the 1938–39 season, the last one played before the outbreak of the Second World War.

Bastin's tally of 178 goals made him Arsenal's all-time top goalscorer from 1939 until 1997, when his total was surpassed by Ian Wright. In 2005 Thierry Henry passed each player's totals, and so Bastin is Arsenal's third-top goalscorer of all time. His record of 150 league goals for Arsenal stood for slightly longer, being equalled by Henry on 14 January 2006 and surpassed by him in February of the same year.

Bastin made his debut at senior level, England v Wales, on 18th November 1931. This game was played at Anfield on 18 November 1931, which England won by a 3–1 margin. A most noteworthy highlight of his England career was the famous "Battle of Highbury", where England defeated Italy, the World Cup holders, by 3 goals to 2. Bastin also featured in a notorious match against Germany in Berlin in 1938, when the England team was ordered to give the Nazi Salute before the match. He won 21 caps/12 goals.

The Second World War intervened when Bastin was 27, cutting short what should have been the peak of his career. Bastin was excused military service as he failed the army hearing test owing to his increasing deafness. Thus, during the war, he served as an ARP Warden. being stationed on top of Highbury Stadium. He also played matches in the war-time league to boost civilian morale. In 1941, Fascist Italy's broadcast on Rome Radio, contained a bizarre claim that Bastin had been captured in the Battle of Crete  and was being detained in Italy. The Italians were unaware that Bastin was deaf and had been excused service.

Bastin's injured leg had hampered his performances in wartime matches, and would ultimately curtail his career. After the war, Bastin, by now in his thirties, would only play seven more times, without scoring, before retiring in January 1947.

After retirement, Bastin returned to his native Exeter and ran a pub. He died in 1991 at the age of 79. A stand at St James' Park, Exeter's home ground, is named in his honour and in 2009 he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame.