Charles Nicholas (born 30 December 1961) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A striker, Nicholas is best known for his spells at Celtic and Arsenal. He won 20 international caps for Scotland, including playing at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. Nicholas began his career at Celtic, and by the age of 21 was considered the most exciting emerging talent in British football. With several English clubs keen to sign him, he joined Arsenal in the summer of 1983. He spent over four years there, and scored both their goals in their League Cup Final win over Liverpool in 1987. Nicholas fell out of favour at Highbury later that year, and moved back to Scotland to join Aberdeen. He won two Cup Finals in his time at Pittodrie, before rejoining Celtic in 1990. His second spell at Parkhead was less successful than his first, but he spent five seasons there before moving on to Clyde for one season before retiring from playing. Since retiring he has worked in the media, most recently on the Sky Sports show Soccer Saturday, until August 2020. Club career Celtic Born in Cowcaddens, Glasgow, Nicholas grew in the Maryhill area of the city (specifically the Wyndford estate) where he was a childhood friend and neighbour of fellow footballer Jim Duffy. He began his career as a youth with the Celtic Boys Club, before signing for Celtic in 1979. He made his first team debut at 17 years of age on 14 August 1979 in a Glasgow Cup tie against Queens Park, scoring Celtic's second goal in a 3–1 win. Aside from his goal, the youngster displayed alertness and confidence. He made his second appearance in the next round of the same competition on 22 August, opening the scoring in a 3–0 win over Clyde and providing the assist for Bobby Lennox to score Celtic's third goal. Nicholas returned to playing for the reserves again for the rest of the season. His next first team outing was in July 1980 in a Drybrough Cup tie against Ayr United. Celtic lost 1–0 in a poor showing, although Nicholas continued to impress with his quick and busy play. His first appearance for Celtic in a major competition came on 16 August 1980 when he replaced the injured Frank McGarvey during the second half of Celtic's 3–0 win away against Kilmarnock in the league. Nicholas began to feature regularly for