Rioch were exceptional. We hit it off straight away. He is a great communicator with some exciting ideas on tactics and a definite view on how he sees me fitting into his plans." The feelings were mutual. "I'm delighted to sign a player of David's calibre," Rioch said. "I have admired him for a long time and through these discussions with him I have been very impressed by his knowledge, ambition and desire." In his first season, Arsenal finished fifth in the league and qualified for the UEFA Cup, although Rioch was sacked just before the start of the following season due to a dispute with the board, and succeeded by Frenchman Arsène Wenger. His first season at Highbury produced six goals from his 29 league appearances, with his first goal in an Arsenal shirt coming in a 2–0 win at Everton in the second game of the campaign. Platt was a regular in Wenger's first season, in the 1996–97 season, with the North Londoners and scored four goals in 28 league appearances, mainly alongside new signing Patrick Vieira in the centre of the Arsenal midfield. Arsenal were top of the table in late autumn, but eventually had to settle for a third place finish, seven points behind champions Manchester United. Wenger boosted his midfield department during the summer of 1997 with the arrival of French pair Emmanuel Petit and Gilles Grimandi. The manager's preferred central-midfield pairing was Petit and Vieira, who played a crucial role in Arsenal's double winning campaign. This severely limited Platt's appearances and he was to make just 11 starts during the season, with a further 20 substitute appearances. He still managed to make a vital contribution to Arsenal's season, however, with a superb headed winner in a 3–2 victory over Manchester United at Highbury. That proved to be Platt's last season with the Gunners as he retired from playing at the end of the season, with the intention of taking a year out from the game to study coaching before making the move into management. His last match was the 1998 FA Cup Final. Early in the 1997–98 season, Arsenal accepted a £1.5million bid from Middlesbrough for Platt, but the transfer never happened and Platt saw out the season at Highbury. Nottingham Forest In July 1999, David Platt signed a three-year contract to take over at Nottingham Forest as player-manager, which saw him go back