Paul Davis (footballer)
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Paul Davis (born December 9, 1961) is an English former footballer.
Born in Dulwich, London, Davis signed for Arsenal as an apprentice in 1977 and turned professional the following year. A talented left-footed midfielder, he made his debut in 1980 in a North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur, and within a year he was a regular in the Arsenal side, as well as a member of the England U21 team.
Davis was an integral part of the successful Arsenal side of the late 1980s, winning the League Cup in 1987 and the First Division in 1989 and 1991. However, his career was blighted by a series of injuries, and was overshadowed by an ugly incident in 1988, when he broke Southampton midfielder Glenn Cockerill's jaw during a tussle. The incident, which had not been seen by either the referee or his assistants, was the first to result in a player being disciplined through the use of television evidence; Davis was banned for nine matches, at the time the longest ban ever handed down for an on-field incident, and fined a record £3,000.
Although dropped from the side in autumn 1991 and left on the sidelines, Davis made a late comeback, playing in both the League Cup and FA Cup finals in 1993 as Arsenal chalked up their Cup Double. He also featured in Arsenal's Cup Winners' Cup win against Parma the following year. Davis was released by Arsenal on a free transfer in the summer of 1995; despite his injuries he still appeared 447 times for Arsenal, scoring 37 goals. He never played for the England senior team, despite a set of appearances for the U21s and 'B' team.
After leaving Arsenal, he briefly joined Norwegian side Stabaek to build up his fitness, before returning to London to join Brentford, but he retired soon after due to injury. Davis returned to Arsenal to become a youth coach, before leaving the club in 2003 to seek his fortune elsewhere. On October 27, 2005, Davis was announced as assistant manager of Kettering Town by new manager Paul Gascoigne, but lasted less than six weeks in the job; he left Kettering at the same time as Gascoigne's departure from the club on December 5, 2005.
