Jay Simpson rose to prominence with the Gunners after scoring a brace on his first home start against Wigan. Despite this, this was to be one of only two starts for him and after a host of loan moves and a brief spell in Indonesia, the 25 year-old is now back in London trying to rekindle his career with Leyton Orient.
After being plucked out of the Norwich Youth Academy, Simpson joined the Gunners at the age of 9. He made history in 2007, becoming the first player to score a hat-trick at the Emirates Stadium. His performances in the reserve sides prompted a lot of interest and he subsequently joined Millwall on loan in the 07/08 campaign. He played 46 times in total, scoring 8 goals.
His performances at Millwall persuaded Arsené Wenger to award him with a first-team place the following season, and his debut came as a substitute in the League Cup, during a 6-0 demolition of Sheffield United. His next appearance was against Wigan, where he started and scored a fine brace. This looked like it could be the start of something special in the youngsters career, and in the next round of the cup he netted again, this time against Hull City.
Towards the end of the term Simpson joined West Brom, which further aided his development. In this time, he played 17 games in all competitions, netting twice. In the 2009/10 season it was again decided that Simpson would go out on loan, this time dropping to the Championship with QPR. His time in West London was one of the most successful in his career as he scored 13 times in 42 appearances. On his return to Arsenal it was decided his contract wouldn’t be extended and as a result he went on to join Hull City for the start of the 10/11 campaign.
His time on Humberside would be considered slightly unsatisfactory. In three seasons with the club he played 85 times, scoring only 13 goals. A loan move back to Millwall in the middle of his spell tried to reinvigorate some form, but it didn’t really happen for him. Once his contract ran out Simpson had a brief spell away from the game before linking up with Indonesian side Buriram United. But, after only playing there for a matter of months his contract was cancelled by mutual consent.
At the start of this season Simpson joined Leyton Orient. To date he has played 14 games in all competitions, netting three times. At 25 he still has plenty of time to prove himself at a higher level and after a promising youth career few would bet against him doing so.