Born in Lewisham, south-east London, Rocastle, a fast, skilled, powerful outside right who won 14 caps for England, was one of three black players from the same area who played a crucial part in the Gunners' success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rocastle, the clever playmaker Paul Davis and the powerful midfielder Michael Thomas represented a new and positive trend at Highbury, following, in a sense, on the Irish "tendency", as represented by David O'Leary, Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady.

Rocastle joined Arsenal as an apprentice in August 1983, turned professional with them on December 31 1984, and remained at Highbury until, deeply against his wishes, he was transferred to Leeds United in July 1992.

He played a leading role in Arsenal's conquest of the League Championship of 1988-1989, not least in their extraordinary decisive victory over Liverpool at Anfield in the final match of the League season. It was one which they had to win to take the title, and this they did with a goal at the last gasp by Michael Thomas. A famous photograph showed Thomas and Rocastle joyfully celebrating at the final whistle. In that championship season, Rocastle played 38 games, scoring just half a dozen goals. In the 1990-91 season, when Arsenal won the championship again, he played 13 full games, made three appearances as substitute and scored a couple of goals.

One great disappointment was that he missed playing for England in the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He was one of 26 players chosen by the manager, Bobby Robson, to go to training camp before the tournament, but when push came to shove, he was one of four dropped from the official 22-man squad.

Altogether, Rocastle made 204 appearances for Arsenal in the League, plus 14 as substitute, scoring 24 goals. He helped them to win the Football League Cup in 1987 and was in the team beaten in the 1988 Final. His overall total of games in all tournaments for Arsenal was 260, with 17 appearances as substitute, scoring 34 goals. From such statistics, it will be seen that, despite a strong, right-footed shot, he specialised in making opportunities from the wing for other players. It would be wrong to call him, generically, a midfielder. He was very much in the tradition of Arsenal outside-rights, from Joe Hulme and Alf Kirchen onwards.

When Rocastle was transferred to Leeds, Paul Davis recalled: "He cried. We spoke about it quite often. He couldn't understand why they ever wanted him to go. The club's line was that he was injured, he was struggling with his weight, he'd had a knee operation. I don't think he ever recovered from the fact of leaving Arsenal, in his own mind."

Davis will always remember Rocky as "a bubbly character, lovely spirit, fantastic spirit. Really, he was an Arsenal person. I always remember when he left the club: it was one of the saddest moments for him."

From Leeds, Rocastle went on to play for Manchester City, in December 1993, moving back to London - but to Chelsea rather than Arsenal - in August 1994, where it gradually grew plain that something of the spark had gone. In January 1997, he went, for a spell, to Norwich City, signed for Hull City in October 1997 and finished his playing career in Malaysia.

Pleasant, modest and humorous, it was hard to upset him on or off the field. Alan Hansen relates that when, playing against him for Liverpool, he brought him down quite badly, Rocastle merely smiled at him and asked: "Getting old?"

He leaves a wife, Janet, and three children.

 David Rocastle, footballer, born May 2 1967; died March 31 2001