The story of the keeper who went from non-league to playing for Arsenal

Lee Harper went from non-league goalkeeper at Sittingbourne to understudy for David Seaman at Arsenal in 1994 - and, remarkably, he even played in the Premier League.

Playing once but never again in the top flight may seem like a failure, or at least a missed opportunity, but in our One-Game Wonders series we've spoken to many players who see it as anything but that.

Most of us grew up dreaming of running onto the pitch in front of a full house for a Premier League game, and these One-Game Wonders have actually made that dream come true. Rather than focusing on what they didn't do, we should only feel envy. It's Roy of Rovers.

This is especially true for Lee Harper. Signed by Arsenal from Sittingbourne for £150,000 aged 22 in the summer of 1994, the Londoner had always dreamed of turning professional, but the reality of the sudden change in his life came as a surprise.

"I found myself in a Roy of Rovers-type story, which was just about being in the right place at the right time," says Harper. "I started in the non-league at Eltham Town, where I later asked to sign for Sittingbourne after playing against them.

"Next thing, Arsenal were watching our centre-half, Neil Emblem, as Sittingbourne were producing a lot of footballers at the time - four left for league clubs that year.

"I remember the day Arsenal came to see me at Moor Green. Then they looked at me again at home and invited me for a trial - two games against Charlton and Crystal Palace.

"They saw enough to give me this contract, so it was an honor and a dream. I always believed I could do it and it paid off in the end."

His former Sittingbourne manager, John Ryan, was quick to speak to the press about Harper, but the young goalkeeper soon realized how much he had to learn.

However, working alongside Seaman under the legendary Bob Wilson, Harper adapted to life at the top and eventually got his chance in the Premier League against Southampton.

"The first year was pretty tough because I remember John Ryan ran an article in one of the local papers saying 'you've got one hell of a 'keeper' here and 'he can compete with Dave Seaman'", says Harper.

"I hadn't quite realized that because I had that desire and that passion and that natural will, but I hadn't had a goalkeeper coach until about six months before I signing for Arsenal. Technically, I was far from comparable to David Seaman, who was the England goalkeeper.

“That first season was really about training with him every day, watching and learning, it helped my technique endlessly. third year, I really felt like I was up there, but not having the experience is a huge thing for goalkeepers."

However, on March 15, 1997, with both Seaman and John Lukic ruled out through injury, Harper was put between the sticks by Arsene Wenger for the game at the Dell.

Harper played behind a four-man defender including Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Nigel Winterburn - not to mention Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp further up the pitch - as Arsenal won 2-0 thanks to goals from Stephen Hughes and Paul Shaw.

"I knew I was going to play because David Seaman was injured," Harper said. "John Lukic was brought in and when I spoke to Arsene about it, he said he brought him in because of the European games to add more experience.

"Lukic had started the previous week at Everton which we won, but he injured his toe so I knew he was touch and go. I think I found out on Friday that I was going to play this which allowed me to prepare for Saturday.

"I remember the close range save I had to make of Matt Le Tissier from six yards, it really couldn't have gone better, it was a fantastic game to play."< /p> Refuse a new contract

Despite his clean sheet in the win, Harper would not play for Arsenal again. Wenger offered him a new two-year deal and the promise of a No.2 ahead of Alex Manninger, but Harper decided it was time to branch out, so he joined former Gunners boss Bruce Rioch through London at QPR.

"I sat down with Arsene and he offered me another two-year contract," Harper says. "Even though I love football, I'm a fan of the club, I was never going to find myself playing a lot of games because of Dave Seaman and the club had also faced Alex Manninger.

"Arsene said I would start ahead of him, but I didn't 100% believe that was going to happen, I thought it would be better if I moved on.

"But what a great institution Arsenal is. You...