On this day, John Jensen scores – Arsenal 1 QPR 3
John Jensen was a defensive midfielder, a cult hero, and the man whose transfer ultimately brought down George Graham.
When we bought him he had already been Danish Player of the Year, and played in a UEFA cup semi final with Brøndby. He was signed by Graham following the departure of David Rocastle and was in the 1992/3 Cup Double side.
He played 132 senior games for Arsenal, but as his search for a goal went on, the songs about being there when Jensen scores multiplied. The one and only goal scored came on this day in 1994 and finally allowed the stock pile of I saw John Jensen score tee shirts to be released and sold.
But that goal came just before the end as the story broke that the move for Jensen was accompanied by a secret exchange of money paied by Rune Hauge to George Graham for buying players Hauge represented.
Graham was sacked as manager of Arsenal and was banned from all football activities for a year. John Jensen was found not culpable and he stayed at Arsenal for another 18 months before he rejoined his old club, Brøndby IF.
He then moved into management and won the top league in Denmark in his first season. Next he moved as assistant to Michael Laudrup at Brøndby IF, and later at Getafe in Spain.
His first English management period came as assistant to Steve Kean with Blackburn but despite signing a second one year deal in May 2011 he left in September and became a consultant for Brøndby in October 2012.
Of course we might also note that none of this folklore is of any interest in Denmark where he is remembered for scoring the opening goal in Denmark’s 2–0 victory over Germany in the final of the 1992 European Championship.