TIMELINE OF TORMENT: HIGHS AND LOWS OF ARSENAL AND ENGLAND STAR
BORN: March 20, 1968, Harlesden. ARSENAL CAREER: Made debut in November 1986, aged 18. Went on to play 11 seasons at Highbury, winning two league titles, the FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup. Scored 78 goals in 327 games. ENGLAND CAREER: Won 21 caps, scoring three goals. Appeared at Euro ’92 and 1998 World Cup. NOVEMBER 1994: Confessed to being addicted to alcohol, cocaine and gambling. JANUARY 1995: Returned to public life with an emotional press conference following his discharge from a residential clinic, where he had been treated for his addictions. He said: “My life was going nowhere. I now have a choice – I go back to the booze, the gambling and the drugs, or go the other way. I’m an alcoholic. I can never take another drink. It’s hard to explain. Alcoholics will understand.” JULY 1997: Joined Middlesbrough but started a drinking club with Paul Gascoigne after his fellow England star joined the Teesside team. NOVEMBER 1998: Scored his third international goal in his 21st and final England game, a 2-0 friendly win over Czech Republic. It was also Glenn Hoddle’s last match in charge. MARCH 2006: After spells with Aston Villa, Portsmouth and Walsall
– where he was player-manager – Merson played two matches for Conference side Tamworth before announcing his retirement from professional football. Went on to play for non-League sides Whitton Athletic, Welshpool Town and Caerau. 2000: Divorced by his first wife and childhood sweetheart Lorraine Fletcher. His second wife Louise later filed for divorce. Went on to marry his third wife Kate. 2011: In his book How Not To Be A Professional Footballer, he reveals that he lost around £7million to bookmakers over the years. FEBRUARY 2012: Pleads guilty to drink-driving after his car collided with a lorry on the M40, near Warwick, and is given a 14-month driving ban. MARCH 2019: Spoke about his struggles in ITV documentary Harry’s Heroes: The Full English. Said that his addiction left him feeling “like a crack addict”.