13 Facts About Cliff Bastin

Clifford Sydney Bastin was an English footballer who played as a winger for Exeter City and Arsenal.

Cliff Bastin made his debut against Everton on 5 October 1929 and was immediately a first-team regular, making 21 league and 8 cup appearances that season.

Cliff Bastin's scoring feats are all the more remarkable considering he played on the left wing rather than as forward.

The Second World War intervened when Cliff Bastin was 27, thus cutting short what should have been the peak of his career, although his leg injury would probably have done this in any case.

Cliff Bastin was excused military service as he failed the army hearing test owing to his increasing deafness.

Cliff Bastin played matches in the Wartime League which was set up to boost civilian morale.

Cliff Bastin played 241 games during the war, and scored 70 goals.

Cliff Bastin's injured leg had hampered his performances in wartime matches, and would ultimately curtail his career.

The retirement of Cliff Bastin was announced in June 1947, while he was recovering from an ear operation.

In 2005 Thierry Henry passed each player's totals, and so Cliff Bastin is Arsenal's third-top goalscorer of all time.

Cliff Bastin made his debut at senior level for England against Wales.

Cliff Bastin 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.

Cliff Bastin outlived him by just over 20 years, dying in April 2012 at the age of 96.