An industrious and hard working player, he improved match by match and when Arsene Wenger arrived in September 1996 he flourished. With his footballing brain, skill and tackling ability he gave the Arsenal midfield a quality balance. Playing alongside the likes of Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp no doubt helped. Ray left Highbury on a high note in the summer of 2004 shortly after Wenger’s ‘Invincibles’ had completed an unbeaten title campaign. He signed for Middlesbrough and remained there for two and half years until 2007 when he joined Hull City for a short period before retiring.