Where are they now? Rohan Ricketts

Not many players make the switch between The Gunners and closest rivals Tottenham, but for Sol Campbell and William Gallas, the controversial move paid off for very different reasons.

Campbell went onto win the Premier League and FA Cup during his time at Arsenal, while scoring a goal in the Champions League final defeat to Barcelona, while Gallas - whose career seemed pretty much over after leaving in the summer, has featured in the Quarter Final of this season's top European competition against Real Madrid.

But for one man, the move across North London failed to work out and he is now applying his trade in the German regional divisions for SV Wilhelmshaven, while also pursuing a career in journalism in his spare time.

That man is Rohan Ricketts.

He won the FA Youth Cup in 2000 and 2001 with the Gunners but made just one appearance for the senior side – in the League Cup against rivals Manchester United. While he failed to make it in the first team his time with the youth team was something he will always remember.

He said: "I loved my time at Arsenal. It was the best coaching a young player can receive. We had a great bunch of players; it was amazing, definitely one of the best times of my career. Winning the Youth Cup and signing my first professional contract have been the highlights of my career so far."

"Wenger had me train with the first team and gave me loads of good advice, but you had to be really patient at Arsenal at that time. I've still got allegiances to the club because they gave me my education. I learnt everything from them."

It was at the end of the 2002 season that he became only the fourth player, at the time, to move from Highbury to White Hart Lane. While he understands the rivalry between the two clubs, Ricketts admits it wasn't a hard decision to sign for Spurs.

Said Ricketts: "I don't get caught up in the rivalry of football, it's another football club. I changed clubs for my needs, I needed to keep playing football and Tottenham were keen to have me."

It wasn't the best of starts though – as Ricketts didn't make a first team appearance in his first year with the club. That all changed the following season when he was given his first team opportunity by Glenn Hoddle.

His good form saw him rewarded with a one-year contract extension, and England's assistant manager Tord Grip was impressed with his ability. There was even talk of the winger being called up to the senior England squad. Ricketts praised Hoddle for his hand in helping him get called up to the England squad.

He said: "Glenn deserves a lot a credit, he gave me the chance to display my skills and I grabbed it with both hands.

"I spoke to Sven Goran Eriksson. I was 21 at the time and was doing well for Tottenham. I got called up to the Under 21 squad and travelled to Turkey."

Sadly for Ricketts things then seemed to conspire against him. Hoddle was sacked as Tottenham manager and Ricketts began to find his first team opportunities extremely limited.

He said: "Unfortunately there were other powers at the club who were working against me because they were not fond of me as a player. I was forced out the team because they would sign someone for a million pound and drop me. The politics at Tottenham were stopping Rohan Ricketts."

Tottenham's August and September Player of the Month somehow failed to impress new boss Jacques Santini and found himself loaned out to Coventry City - despite a good start to the season. In total he made 30 appearances in the league for Tottenham scoring once, in a 2-1 victory against Aston Villa.

He made six appearances for Coventry before he was loaned out to Wolves by new Tottenham boss Martin Jol. On loan at the Midlands club he linked up once again with Hoddle, making seven appearances scoring one goal in a 2-1 win over Reading. Hoddle clearly saw something in Ricketts and he signed permanently for the club in 2005. He went onto make 44 league appearances in his two years.

Ricketts said: "It was good to link back up with Hoddle, and I enjoyed my time at Wolves. I've still got ties to them and always check their results."

In 2007 he was loaned to QPR, where he made two appearances, before being released by Wolves in May 2007. He joined Championship side Barnsley on a free transfer, but sadly was released again in April 2008 after just ten appearances.

It is here where Ricketts began to travel the globe in search of professional footballer. The same day he was released by Barnsley he joined Major League Soccer side Toronto. It appeared Ricketts had finally settled at a club after being somewhat of a journeyman in England.

He made 39 league appearances for Toronto scoring four goals in the process. During the 2009 season he began to find himself used sparingly in the first team due to new arrivals. He was released in the summer of 2009. America was a new experience for Ricketts, after spending his entire career in England, and it's one he will not forget.

Ricketts said: "I enjoyed my time at Toronto. It's very different to England. I've still got contacts there, and some news companies are interested in taking me on board."

After yet another release, Ricketts looked set for a move back to Britain. He turned down interest from several English clubs to go on trial at Scottish side Aberdeen. He looked all set to sign on the dotted line, but budgetary constraints complicated the signing and Ricketts ultimately left the club.

After his move to Aberdeen fell through, Ricketts signed for Hungarian top division side Diosgyori VTK. He made just one appearance for the first team in the league, and four for the B team. Unfortunately the club were relegated in his first season to the NB2 and Ricketts decided to move on. He admits the standard in Hungary was very different to what he was used to.

He said: "There's a major difference in the professionalism. They train at completely different times. The pressure is nowhere near the same – it comes from inside the club not so much from the fans."

In August 2010 Ricketts made his way from Hungary to Moldova and signed for FC Dacia Chisinau who play in the Moldovan National Division. Once again, it failed to work out for the somewhat unfortunate midfielder. He made just four appearances for the club and parted ways with them in November after just three months.

Dacia treated Ricketts extremely poorly, and there's still controversy over money the club owe to the Englishman.

Ricketts said: "It was a scandalous time for me in Moldova. They held onto my registration which meant I couldn't sign for anyone in January until the process was completed by FIFA to get it back."

In January 2011, on the last day of the transfer window, Ricketts moved to Germany signing for regional north division side SV Wilhelmshaven.

Speaking about the move Ricketts said: "Because the process took 21 days, a lot of teams weren't willing to wait. This team were and I was happy to sign for them."

He has made seven appearances to date, featuring this weekend in their 2-0 win against Plauen. They are two places, and seven points, above the relegation zone, and Ricketts will be hoping he can help them stay up, while at the same time finding himself some stability at a club after years of moving around.

He said: "I hope I have finally settled. You never know what can happen in football though. I might get a call in the summer from an English team or one in a higher division in Germany – you just never know.

"Right now things are going well for me. I got injured in the game this weekend so I think I will be out for a week or so but I've been playing well and there's interest from other teams higher up the leagues."

Ricketts has also begun working as a journalist. At the 2010 World Cup, Ricketts presented ‘The Hardcore Footy Show: South Africa 2010' on Hardcore Sports Radio and was a regular on TSN. He joined Canada's largest sports radio network CJCL in August 2010 and is currently a sports columnist for them. He also writes for an online magazine called the Sabotage Times.

He has also written an e-book which will be out in the near future. Ricketts hopes the book will ‘help youngsters who are just starting out in football'. While playing football is his priority, Ricketts knows it's good to have something to move into straight away when he retires.

He said: "Right now I'm focusing on my football but I've started writing because I have loads of spare time, just like all footballers do. I've had job offers from England, America and Toronto but I am enjoying playing football at the moment."

While Ricketts failed to make it at Arsenal, his generation will always be remembered for winning back to back FA Youth Cups.

Now 28, Ricketts will be hoping he has finally found some stability in Germany. While it's not the dizzy heights of Highbury or White Hart Lane, he is enjoying his football, and is always keeping an eye out for the results of the club he started his professional career with.

He said: "Arsenal is a major part of where I am today. I wish a lot of kids had the same opportunity I did, because you learn so much there. It's the best youth set up in England, and rivals the Barcelona and Ajax systems that have become so famous.

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