The Profile
Ray's story, told with respect to the facts.
Ray Parlour won everything that could be won at Arsenal during the Arsene Wenger era. Three Premier League titles, four FA Cups, and a spot in the squad of one of the most dominant English sides of the modern era. He was not the most glamorous midfielder at Arsenal but he was the engine of the 1998 and 2002 title-winning teams.
The Romford Pele nickname was given to him by Marc Overmars as a joke, and it stuck in the way dressing room nicknames always do. Parlour played the position that got overlooked in every Arsenal analysis, the one who ran the hard yards so that Vieira, Pires, and Bergkamp could play the football that made the highlight reels.
Post-retirement, he has become one of the most recognised voices on talkSPORT and is a regular on after-dinner circuit. His speaker sets are the Arsenal stories told from the perspective of the player who was in the dressing room with everyone else when the famous things happened.
“I did all the running so Bergkamp could do all the thinking. That was the deal. He never forgot and I never complained.”
Career highlights
- Three Premier League titles with Arsenal
- Four FA Cup winners medals
- Cup Winners Cup winner, 1994
- 10 England caps
- talkSPORT pundit
First hand
Ray Parlour at Steam
Ray spoke at Steam twice in early 2023 alongside Alan Brazil. The Arsenal stories from the Wenger era were some of the best after-dinner content any of our regulars can remember.