Bob Wilson won the Double with Arsenal in 1971, but it is his work with the Willow Foundation that may well be his real legacy. Photo: John Lawrence for The Telegraph
“It was like a scene from The Godfather: waking up with blood all over your pillow, your ear hanging off,” says Bob Wilson, wincing as he recalls the injuries suffered as a result of being the bravest—Michael Parkinson would suggest “the most tough» — the goalkeeper of his generation.
«We beat the crap out of each other,» says Wilson. “I have scars all over my head, two artificial hips, dislocated fingers, broken ribs, torn cartilage, a dislocated shoulder, a broken elbow — but the one thing that stood out to me was the ability to throw myself head first at an attacker.” legs. This was my trademark. I played like my football hero Bert Trautmann.»
Wilson was known for his fearless approach to goal, which can be seen diving into the water here. the legs of Chelsea's Peter Osgood Photo: Getty Images
It's striking, then, to hear this icon of football's most physical era, who recognized himself as an «old school» professional long before he became best known for his stellar television career, assess the current gem wearing the Arsenal crown.
“What drives me crazy is that we have one of the best young players and if we are not careful, football will lose him when he turns 24 or 25 because Bukayo Saka will be dropped from the game,” , says Wilson.
“The referees don’t seem to see it or understand it. There are always at least two players within five yards of Saka, and often a third. If they can't stop him, they kick him.
“People say, 'What do you mean? It's too dramatic.» I say there has never been a player in the Premier League who has been kicked around more than Bukayo Saka. If he's in an attacking position and meets them, that's when I worry. I am very worried about Bukayo.”
The fear is also a consequence of how highly Wilson regards Saka, a striker he speaks of as much as Sir Stanley Matthews or any of the Arsenal Invincibles players he knew personally while part of Arsene Wenger's coaching staff. «I can see Saka being up there with the greats… if he doesn't get kicked out of the game,» Wilson says. “He's smart, dangerous and knows when to let him out. I love him on the one hand, and [Gabriel] Martinelli, with his fast tempo, on the other.» is a big fan of Bukayo Saka but is concerned Arsenal's new hero could be forced out of the game too early. Photo: Getty Images/Charlotte Wilson “It showed the class of Arsenal”
Wilson now smiles at the thought. I'm watching Mikel Arteta's best team play, but during the three hours spent together at his Dorset home, the distracting comfort that football provides can only be fleeting.
“I glad to be here, although it's a struggle right now,” he says, reflecting on the traumatic six months during which he lost Megs, his beloved wife and partner since they became boyfriend and girlfriend after winning the title. The roles of the Princess and the Woodcutter in primary school are played by 11 and 12 year olds.
They were together for exactly 70 years, and despite the still-acute grief, Wilson's determination to maintain a legacy that began some 25 years ago.
Cancer tragically claimed both their daughter Anna at the heartbreakingly young age of 31, and Mags became such a driving force behind their charity, the Willow Foundation, that Wilson initially wanted to give up his OBE in 2007 because it was not going to his wife. «I said, 'You deserve it more.' She became furious. She said, «It's not just for Willow, it's what you did in football.»
Wilson obediently turned away, but the respect with which Megs was treated was evident from her recent memorial service to a full St Albans Cathedral. Arsenal also dedicated an entire page of their matchday program to her.
“It showed the class of Arsenal,” says Wilson. “Alex [Ferguson] drove four hours, came to the service, drove back. I made sure Frank McLintock and George Graham were with him. Two days later I received a message from a close friend who said: “There were three Scottish guys standing in the row behind me, and I understand one of them is very famous.” Well, my husband and I couldn't understand a word they said! a period when the rivalry with Arsenal, whose goalkeeper coach Wilson was, was at its zenith.
“Three nights after Anna’s death, the phone rang. «Hey Bob, it's Alex.» I replied, “Alex??” He replied: “Yes, Alex Ferguson.” He talked to me, said, «You sound like you're holding your own, but where's Mags?» He then talked to her for 20 minutes. I will never forget this.”
Bob Wilson was with his wife Mags for 70 years — they were inseparable from the beginning schools. Photo: Bob Wilson 
The Wilson family — here in Highbury, 1969. – have experienced their share of tragedy over the years, along with Anna, who can be seen here front right, dying of cancer at the age of 31 in 1998. Photo: Bob Wilson
On the day of my visit, Natasha Kaplinsky, Wilson's old BBC breakfast colleague, had just made what would become a weekly phone call. Mary Nightingale and her husband Paul visited us recently, and David Seaman and his wife Frankie visited us several times.
A man of many talents
This eclectic breadth of well-wishers is a reminder of more than just how Wilson makes friends. wherever he went, but how he succeeded, often in truly unique ways, in four very different professions.
He began his working life as a physical education teacher after his father instructed him to turn down an offer Matt Busby will join Bobby Charlton, Duncan Edwards and Nobby Stiles in the Manchester United youth team. «He said, 'Son, football isn't a real job.' It broke my heart,” Wilson says.
So his career on the pitch finally began when he became the last amateur in English top-flight football, making his debut in 1963 under Billy Wright. Earlier that day, Wilson took the school football team to a match at Wormwood Scrubs. “But I couldn’t judge because I had to leave at half-time to get a taxi to Highbury,” he recalls.
The peak of his Arsenal career came when he did not miss a minute in the double-winning 1970–71 season, when he was voted the club's Player of the Year, before ending his career on the pitch in 1974 after being asked to represent new BBC show. the name Football Focus.
Wilson also hosted Match of the Day, The Stand and Sportsnight before becoming the head of ITV football in 1994. All this after working as Arsenal's goalkeeper coach for almost 30 years and mentoring the likes of Seaman, John Lukic and Pat Jennings. “Well, I liked being busy,” he says.
Wilson — here with Jim Rosenthal and Brian Moore — was a TV mainstay throughout the 1980s, 90s and early aughts on BBC and then ITV photo: PA
A typical day in the 1980s and 1990s went something like this: Alarm clock at 3.20am. In the BBC studios at 4.30 am. Airing at 6:30am is the first of three sports broadcasts he has co-hosted over the years with another good friend, Jill Dando.
Then he was gone just after 8:30 am. Arrival at Arsenal's training ground at 9.15 am. Coach goalkeepers before evening training sessions or interview for Football Focus and Grandstand before an evening match, either as a broadcaster or as Arsenal manager.
“Jimmy Hill was a law unto himself”
Despite an inevitably dwindling audience, he's glad Football Focus is still around 50 years after he first hosted the show and then spent two decades in the chair. “I was 33 years old, I had injuries all over the place, and I said, 'If I don't take this opportunity now, it won't come again,'” he says. “Motty [John Motson] came up with the name Football Focus and I love the fact that it still exists. Long may this continue. Of course I'm watching. I'm always interested to see who represents the sport and how.
“It's a tough business. You are here to be shot at — we each had our own ways of presenting ourselves. You can't be like Des Lynam with that mischievous grin. David Coleman was a really outspoken presenter — someone I greatly admired — who always thought I could do more, and he was the one who got me thinking about television. Frank Bau was instrumental in teaching me presentation techniques.
“Jimmy [Hill] was a law unto himself. He always worked with an auto signal — which is why he never represented the stand — and was unable to test his auto signal one year at Match of the Day when the clock went back.
«There was no 'L' in the word 'clock' «, so he said, «That's all from me and Bob tonight, hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to put your ass back in.» I could hear the gallery in hysterics, but by the time Jim realized the music was already playing. Jimmy was great — an amazing person. I can still see his jaw.
“I think Alex [Scott] has done very well as Football Focus' first female presenter. The great thing for Gary [Lineker] was that he started when Des moved [to ITV] and he's done amazing things since then.»
Wilson's ability to write scripts and improvise meant that he also presented live sporting events, especially the grandstand, but also the World Cup, the Olympics and, most importantly, the London Marathon, where he revolutionized the coverage of events in his tracksuit and trainers. «I said, 'Look, I'd like to run with them.' I was still pretty fit. I picked them up on the rising slope of Tower Bridge, asked: “Why are you dressed like a snowman?” or something like that, shout “Good luck, bye!”, and then go back across the bridge and take the next one. I was exhausted by the end. The best moment was when I started chatting and it was a guy from Japan. He spoke Japanese.”
One event on the podium was forever etched in his memory.
«I don't think there could be anything more difficult than sitting in a chair and working as hard as you can during the Hillsborough disaster,» Wilson says. “You developed it and we showed the World Snooker Championships – both in Sheffield. I can still hear our producer saying, “Now there are bodies outside.”
“I wasn't allowed to say it during the day — the crowd was still there and they were worried about it — and it was only when we were about to go off air that we could say that we had now heard that several people had died. It ended up being 97. It was terrible… terrible. Some of the [Tribune] team were crying. We knew it was a big, big disaster.»
Wilson's 20 years at the BBC ended when ITV offered to triple its money to provide football coverage. The BBC immediately agreed to match Wilson's financial offer, but Lynam would remain the lead football presenter. Wilson chose a new challenge with the ambitious ITV team that had acquired the rights to the Champions League and FA Cup. This meant Wilson was present when Manchester United beat Bayern Munich to become European champions in dramatic fashion in 1999, but things changed again five years later when Lynam was also poached by the BBC.
Wilson sought legal advice about the sudden end of his contractual role as «main football presenter» and continued working until 2002, but «says that was really the end of my television career.» No regrets. “I was in boxing for 28 years – Euros, World Championships and Olympics – I did well and I loved the job,” he says. “It's a tough business… Des was recognized as the best presenter in the world.”
During all this time on television, Wilson was also Arsenal's goalkeeping coach. His first gambit when Jennings arrived from Tottenham in 1977 was simply: «Pat, I can't teach you anything about goalkeeping — I idolized you — but I'm here to help.»
He was like that. the first specialist goalkeeping coach at any club, and the position would have been entirely voluntary until Wenger personally insisted that Wilson be paid for his work.
“I hit it off with Arsene straight away,” says Wilson. “He is a genius with a professorial intellect. It didn't matter what the topic was — politics, football, just something from everyday life — he had an opinion that made you think. He has an extraordinary mind and is so humble. We have a fantastic new stadium — a huge part of Arsene's legacy.»
Now 82, Wilson has the privilege of a lifetime invitation to the stadium and has no intention of missing a single game of this season's nail-biting finale, partly because he knows Mags would want him there. Then he smiles again as he talks about the greeting he always receives in the directors' lounge from one Ian Wright — «PRIMROSE!!» — in reference to his middle name, which, according to family tradition, was his mother's maiden name.
It was a fate he shared with most of his siblings, and as I leave, Wilson points to several family photographs, of which there is a poignant image of two men in military uniform hanging over the stairs.
“My heroes are two guys I never knew,” he says, pointing. “My brothers Jock and Billy. I was four months old when Jock was hit and killed in his Spitfire. He was the head boy at his school. And I was two years old when Billy died as a shooter in his Lancaster.
“My mom was so proud of them. Ultimately, Hitler and that regime were driven out, and it was thanks to hundreds of thousands of guys like Jock and Billy. Nineteen years and their lives are over. They will always be my heroes. No matter what I do, it will never come close to what these guys did.”
And now, as Wilson adjusts to this new phase of an extraordinary life, he has a special focus. “Anna was an amazing girl — she got married just a year or so after her diagnosis — and lived much longer than they expected,” he says. «It was Mags who said, 'Why don't we do something in Anna's memory so she doesn't go to waste?' The Willow Foundation runs special days for seriously ill young people aged 16 to 40. Anna taught us this quality of time. and quality of life is of paramount importance. We saw a noticeable boost — like a rush of adrenaline — whenever she had a special occasion she was looking forward to.
“The charity was built in a bedroom and we are now given up to 21,000 special days. I need to get back on the road and start fundraising. This was Anna's legacy. And now this is Mags' legacy.»
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