Born in Bristol, youngster Jimmy Brain began his chapter in football at Wales. After having an unsuccessful trial at Cardiff City, he eventually nailed a regular place at Welsh side Ton Pentre.
This was followed by a move to Arsenal in 1923, where he spent his first year with the reserve side. His first-team debut came against rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which saw Brain score the winner to help Arsenal achieve a 1-0 victory on 25th October 1924. It was nothing short of a dream debut for the English centre-forward.
Let us now look at the rest of his career, which mainly revolved around his outstanding stint with the Gunners.
Arsenal's superstar striker
Jimmy Brain was a prolific striker throughout his career, and his best years were with Arsenal. He was the club's top scorer for four seasons in a row from 1924–25 to 1928–29. The 1925–26 campaign was memorable for the player, which saw him score a remarkable 39 goals ( including 4 hat-tricks). Those remarkable goalscoring feats continued in the following 1926-27 season as well, which Brain ended with 34 goals. His performance against Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley were a career highlight for the player, as he scored 4 goals in both those games.
Brain's goalscoring heroics were instrumental in helping reach their first FA Cup final in 1927 against Cardiff City. However, a mistake by goalkeeper Dan Lewis meant Arsenal lost the game 1–0.
The downfall
Things weren't so bright for the player after this period. He eventually began to experience a huge drop in form that resulted in his removal from the starting lineup. The likes of Jack Lambert, David Jack and Dave Halliday were all preferred over Brain in attack. This also meant that he only started six league matches this season. The Englishman missed Arsenal's 1930 Cup final win over Huddersfield Town as well, which robbed his chance to finally win a title with the Gunners.
However, Brain took part in Arsenal's 2–1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Charity Shield at Stamford Bridge in October 1930. Thus, Arsenal's superstar striker finally won his first well-deserved title with the club.
The ultimate reward came in the 1930–31 season, as Brain finally won a league winner's medal after playing sixteen matches (scoring four goals in the process) in Arsenal's very first Division title-winning season.
The superstar departs
Brain's final appearance for Arsenal came against Sheffield Wednesday in a 2–0 victory on 21st March 1931, which officially spelled the end of a legendary 8 year chapter. Brain departed as one of the finest strikers in Arsenal history, scoring 139 goals in 232 appearances. He is Arsenal's joint-fifth top scorer of all time, and was their first player ever to score 100 goals for the club.
A switch to rivals and eventual retirement
With age catching up with him, Brain had been overtaken by the likes of teammates Lambert and Jack at Arsenal. This is what led to his departure from Arsenal, with the Gunners selling him to rivals Tottenham for £2,500 in September 1931. The Englishman was already in his thirties by the time he joined Spurs, and spent the next 3 years at the club. He made 47 appearances during this period and scored 10 goals.
His final years as a footballer were played at Swansea Town and Bristol City. This was followed by a managerial stint at King's Lynn and then Cheltenham Town from. He briefly returned back to playing during his time at Cheltenham as well. Brain bid farewell to football after his managerial stint at Cheltenham that lasted for 11 years from 1937 to 1948. It was the end of a glorious and memorable career.
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