Who is Alan Smith and when did he become a football commentator?
ALAN Smith is known to many as a Gunners legend and football icon.
Both on and off the pitch, Smith has made his mark on the sport – from his career to his family life, here’s everything you need to know.
Alan Smith is a football commentator and occasional Sky Sports studio punditRex
Who is Alan Smith?
Alan Smith, born November 21, 1962, is a former professional English footballer, co-commentator and occasional Sky Sports studio pundit.
During his years on the football pitch, Smith played for three different football clubs as a striker.
He made a total of 464 appearances throughout his career.
Who did Alan Smith play for and when did he retire?
Smith started out his career at Alvechurch in north-east Worcestershire in 1981 – where he is now a patron of the club.
He then signed a professional contract with Leicester City in June 1982.
It was here Smith scored 13 goals during his first season in partnership with Gary Lineker.
Smith stayed at the club for five seasons, racking up 84 goals and 217 appearances.
However, his time at Leicester City came to end when the club were relagated.
As one door shut, another opened for Smith – who found himself signing for Arsenal for £850.000 in March 1987, but he was then loaned back to Leicester for the rest of the season.
Smith was one of former manager George Graham’s first major signings.
Despite having a promising start after scoring a hat trick against Portsmouth at Highbury, Smith endured a difficult start to his Arsenal career.
At one point he went full two months without scoring a single goal.
Despite a difficult start, Smith soon found his feet and topped the clubs scoring charts in four of his first five seasons.
Smith’s time at Arsenal came to an end in 1995, but not without leaving his mark.
He scored a number of important games for Arsenal, including the 1993–94 European Cup Winners’ Cup final and scored one goal in Arsenal’s decisive victory at Anfield in 1989.
He has also been ranked at 27th within the club’s listing of the 50 greatest Gunners of all time.
Throughout his career, Smith also found himself playing for his country.
He gained his first full England cap against Saudi Arabia on November 16, 1988.
His first goal came against Turkey in the Euro 1992 qualifying group match at Wembley in 1991.
The last of his 13 caps came when he replaced Gary Lineker in the 2–1 defeat by Sweden in the 1992 European Championship.
After forging a successful football career, Smith hung up his boots in July 1995.
His decision to end his playing days came after a knee injury forced him to retire.
When did Alan Smith become a football commentator?
In 2011, the Arsenal legend returned to football once more – but this time as a commentator.
On 30 June 2011, EA Sports announced that Smith would replace Andy Gray as Martin Tyler’s partner in commentating on FIFA 12.
In 2015, Smith became the regular co-commentator for the Champions League competition with Tyler – although he didn’t commentate on the final.
The pair continued to commentate on the games up until FIFA 20 – until they were both cut from the gig for FIFA 21.
After the news was announced, Smith said: “Yes, gutted not to be involved with @EASPORTSFIFA anymore. For Martin Tyler and myself, it was an honour to voice the game for so long. But nothing lasts forever.”
Is Alan Smith married and does he have any children?
Smith is married to his wife, Penny.
The couple first met in 1981 when he was a teenage centre forward and she was the daughter of the late Alvechurch vice-chairman, Allan Schofield.
Smith shares two daughters with Penny – Emily and Jess.
