Former Arsenal youth training star Jay Emmanuel Thomas has been quickly signed by the new team after being sentenced to four years in prison for just one month. The player was sentenced for participating in a drug smuggling case, but was released on parole after serving 10 months of prison. He immediately signed with England's sixth-level league team AFC Totton.
This former Arsenal youth training player has been loaned to Blackpool, Doncaster Rangers and Cardiff City. His career footprints are spread across clubs in England, Scotland, and even India and Thailand. He eventually joined Greenock Morton and was fired for being arrested in September last year.
Emmanuel Thomas' girlfriend, two women, were intercepted when they tried to smuggle about £600,000 worth of drugs from Stansted Airport. Despite initially insisting that they were not guilty, the 34-year-old eventually pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Criminal Court. Presiding judge Alexander Mills reprimanded in court: "Your behavior will completely ruin your professional player status and will be labeled as a criminal from then on."
Court documents show that Emmanuel Thomas made a profit of 5,000 pounds from it. Its defense attorney Alex Ross said the player, who has played for Arsenal's first team five times, made "disastrously wrong judgments in the economic hardship." The player himself wrote in his own confession letter: "This is the most painful and thought-provoking year of life."
But surprisingly, AFC Totton has officially announced the signing of the released player. The club statement said: "We are very happy to welcome this player with rich experience in the Championship and believe his goals will help the team achieve a successful season."
This move has aroused public doubts about whether his criminal record affects professional qualifications.