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OBITUARY: George Eastham was one of England's boys of 1966 and ended football 'slavery' - today's players owe a debt of gratitude to former Arsenal, Newcastle and Stoke star

Related Topics: George Eastham, Jean-Marc Bosman

Big moments – they are what every footballer wants: to be part of glory and to leave fingerprints on the days that matter.

How George Eastham did that. With his short, blond hair and his slender shoulders, he was a beautiful player for Newcastle and Arsenal, one of the boys of that golden summer in 1966 who went onto score the goal at Wembley in 1972 that provided Stoke City with their greatest moment.

Eastham, a little box of tricks, will forever be associated with magic but it says everything about his remarkable career that winning the World Cup and League Cup are not the most important achievements in a career that spanned three decades.