Born in
Gorleston-on-Sea,
Norfolk, Simpson initially joined
Arsenal as a member of the club's groundstaff in 1960, before signing as an apprentice a year later in October 1961. He turned professional seven months later, in May 1962. He played for Arsenal's youth and reserve teams at first, before making his first team debut against
Chelsea, in a
First Division match on 14 March 1964; Arsenal lost 4–2. He was not immediately a regular in the Arsenal side, making just 22 appearances over the course of three seasons. However, with the appointment of
Bertie Mee before the start of the
1966–67 season, Simpson was promoted to a first-team place, and became a mainstay of the Arsenal side for the best part of a decade. He started out as a utility man playing in every outfield position, but by the time he was a regular he had settled into the
centre half position, usually alongside
Frank McLintock. Simpson was a leading figure in Arsenal's brief period of success in the early 1970s. After losing both the
1968 and
1969 League Cup finals, Simpson was a key part of the side that won the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in
1969–70, making a total of 57 appearances in all competitions that season. Simpson went on to be part of the side that won the League Championship and
FA Cup Double in
1970–71; though he missed the first three months of that season with a
cartilage problem, he returned in time for the FA Cup run, and appeared in the final, a 2–1 victory over
Liverpool after
extra time. Despite his long career at the top, he was never capped for
England, although he was called into a few squads by
Sir Alf Ramsey during 1969–70. == Honours ==