Ian Wright
Ian Edward Wright is an English media personality and former professional footballer.
Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal as a forward, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he lifted the Premier League title, both the major domestic cup competitions, and the European Cup Winners Cup. Known for his speed, agility, finishing and aggression, he played 581 league games, scoring 287 goals for seven clubs in Scotland and England, while also earning 33 caps for the England national team, and scoring nine international goals.
Wright also played in the Premier League for West Ham United, the Scottish Premier League for Celtic and the Football League for Burnley and Nottingham Forest., he is Arsenal's second-highest scorer of all time and Crystal Palace's third-highest.
Wright has been active in the media following his retirement, usually in football-related TV and radio shows. Two of his sons, Bradley and Shaun, are retired professional footballers. Wright is also a well-known advocate for women's football, especially for Arsenal's women's team.
In 2025, Wright was named as the UK's second-most influential black person in the 2026 Powerlist.
Early life
Ian Edward Wright was born to Jamaican parents in the Woolwich area of London on 3 November 1963. He has two older brothers. His father was absent and he was brought up by his mother, Nesta, and a stepfather who was abusive. He is a cousin of fellow footballer Jermaine Wright and actor Patrick Robinson, and the uncle of fellow footballer Drey Wright.Wright came to professional football relatively late. Despite having had trials at Southend United and Brighton & Hove Albion during his teens, he was unable to attract sufficient interest to win a professional contract offer. Reverting to playing for amateur and non-League teams, he was left disillusioned about his chances of a career as a professional footballer. After a spell of poverty during which his wife was expecting their first child, Wright spent 32 days in Chelmsford Prison for failing to pay fines for driving without tax or insurance. He recalls that after being locked in the cell, he burst into tears and vowed to God to do everything in his power to make it as a footballer.
Wright described his school teacher Sydney Pigden, who taught him to read and write, as "the first positive male figure" in his life. Having been incorrectly told that Pigden had died and believing it for many years, Wright and his former mentor were reunited in a 2005 episode of the BBC series With a Little Help From My Friends, with the clip of Wright crying and hugging Pigden often going viral years later. Growing up, Wright had an affinity for several London clubs. In his autobiography, he describes Millwall as "the first football team fell in love with" and writes that he "genuinely had loved West Ham" since he was young, with their kit being the first he owned. He also had an early connection with Arsenal as he was close friends with club legend David Rocastle.
Club career
Amateur and semi-professional
From being a teenager, until the age of 21, Wright played for Lewisham-based amateur Sunday league club Ten-em-Bee becoming the top scorer in the London and Kent Border Sunday League. In 1985 Wright was signed by semi-professional Greenwich Borough and got paid £30 a week.Crystal Palace
After a season at Greenwich, Wright was spotted by a Crystal Palace scout after a tip-off from Dulwich Hamlet manager Billy Smith and was invited for a trial at Selhurst Park. Having impressed then-manager Steve Coppell, he signed a professional contract with Palace in August 1985, just three months short of his 22nd birthday, the agreed fee being a set of weightlifting equipment.He quickly made his mark in his first season, scoring nine goals to finish as Palace's second-highest scorer. When Mark Bright arrived on the Palace scene the following year the duo soon established a successful striking partnership and it was largely their goals which took the club back to the top flight via the playoffs in 1989. Wright was particularly instrumental that season, scoring 24 goals in the Second Division and a total of 33 in all competitions.
Wright was called up for England B duty in December 1989 but a twice-cracked shin bone reduced his initial impact in the First Division. However, after recovering from the injury he made a dramatic appearance as a 'super-sub', in the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. He equalised for Palace a few minutes after coming onto the field forcing extra time, then putting them ahead in extra time. The eventual score was 3–3, but Palace lost the replay 1–0.
The next season, he gained full international honours, and reached a hundred goals for Crystal Palace, as the club finished in their highest ever league position of third place in the top flight. He also scored twice as Palace beat Everton to win the Full Members Cup at Wembley. Wright became renowned for his deadly striking ability, as shown when he scored a hat-trick in just eighteen minutes in Palace's penultimate game of the 1990–91 season away to Wimbledon.
Wright scored 117 goals in 253 starts and 24 substitute appearances over six seasons for The Eagles in all competitions, making him the club's record post-war goalscorer and third on the all-time list.
In 2005, he was voted into their Centenary XI and was named as their "Player of The Century". In December 2023, during an appearance on The Overlap YouTube channel hosted by Gary Neville, Wright revealed he was bullied by teammate Jim Cannon until Cannon's departure from the club in 1988. Wright voiced his experiences with Cannon at the time to Coppell, which included Cannon berating Wright for eating communal food and Cannon "two-foot jumping " in the back after he scored past Cannon during a training session. Cannon later disputed parts of Wright's account but admitted to giving him "a little slap".
Arsenal
Wright signed for Arsenal in September 1991 for £2.5m, which at the time was a club record fee. He scored on his debut against Leicester City in a League Cup tie, produced a hat-trick on his league debut against Southampton, and in the final match of the season, scored another hat-trick against the Saints to take his total to 31 goals in all competitions. Wright's 29 league goals were enough to make him the league's top scorer., only Wright and Teddy Sheringham have led the top-flight scoring charts having scored for two clubs during the season in question.Wright went on to be the club's top scorer for six seasons in a row. He played a major part in the club's success during the 1990s, winning an FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993; scoring in both the FA Cup Final itself and the replay against Sheffield Wednesday. Wright also helped Arsenal reach the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup Final, although he was suspended for the final in which Arsenal beat Parma 1–0.
Wright scored in every round but the final of Arsenal's 1995 Cup Winners' Cup runners-up campaign, and scored freely in the Premier League, but it was a difficult time for Arsenal following the dismissal of manager George Graham over illegal payments, and under caretaker Stewart Houston they could only manage a 12th-place finish in the league.
The arrival of Bruce Rioch led to a bleaker time; the two did not get on, resulting in heated arguments in training, with Rioch berating Wright at half-time of a 5–0 pre-season victory over St Albans City. It caused Wright to hand in a transfer request, which he later retracted. The arrival of Dennis Bergkamp brought a brief but fruitful striking partnership: in their first season together, they helped Arsenal finish fifth in the league and qualify for the UEFA Cup. They also reached the League Cup semi-finals, which they lost on away goals to eventual winners Aston Villa.
By the time Arsène Wenger arrived at Arsenal in September 1996, Wright was nearly 33. Despite his age, he continued to score regularly, and was the second-highest Premier League scorer in the 1996–97 season with 23 goals. That season he also set a record by scoring against 17 of Arsenal's 19 opponents, a record for a 20 team Premier League season; scoring against every team but Sunderland and Manchester United. However this was equalled by Robin van Persie in 2012. On 13 September 1997, he broke Cliff Bastin's club record to become Arsenal's then-all-time top scorer with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers, and his memorable goal celebration saw him reveal a shirt with "Just Done It" written on it.
Wright's final goal at Highbury, on 4 October against Barnsley, was his 300th career goal for both Crystal Palace and Arsenal. He scored his final goal for the club on 6 January 1998 in a League Cup quarter-final victory against West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground. A hamstring injury ruled him out for much of the remainder of the season. In his absence, Arsenal were eliminated in the semi-final by Chelsea, ending their hopes of a domestic treble. He was an unused substitute as Arsenal won the 1998 FA Cup Final, and lifted his first Premier League title as the Gunners completed a league and cup double.
Wright scored 185 goals from 288 appearances for Arsenal, and scored eleven hat-tricks for them, a total surpassed only by Jimmy Brain and Jack Lambert., he is Arsenal's second highest goalscorer of all time, behind Thierry Henry who broke his record in 2005. Wright was placed fourth in a 2008 poll of fans conducted on the club's website to select their 50 greatest players.
Later career
In July 1998, Wright moved to West Ham United for £500,000. He spent fifteen months as a West Ham player, scoring the winner on his debut against Sheffield Wednesday, without reaching the same form he had at Arsenal. During his spell there he made headlines when he vandalised the referee's dressing room at Upton Park after being sent off during a match against Leeds United. He had subsequent short spells at Nottingham Forest, Celtic, and Burnley before retiring in 2000.Whilst at Celtic, Wright became involved in a campaign by some fans calling for the removal of manager, John Barnes. Celtic's performances had been poor and Wright, Barnes and Regi Blinker were considered by some to be not sufficiently talented to improve the club. Wright and Blinker were consequently abused by some Celtic fans. Wright said of the incidents, "I felt I was caught up in a war crisis in Kosovo not involved in a football result that wrecked John Barnes' career as Celtic manager. Some so-called fans, a few morons who know nothing better, covered my car in spit, they were shouting obscenities at myself and Regi Blinker." Wright scored on his debut for Celtic as he had for Nottingham Forest. He finished his club career with 313 goals in all competitions.