Paolo Vernazza
Paolo Andrea Pietro Vernazza (born 1 November 1979) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Vernazza started his career at Arsenal but struggled to break into the first team. His development as a player may have been hampered by injuries sustained in an incident with a burglar in his home in 2001, in which Vernazza and fellow Arsenal trainee Andrew Douglas were both stabbed. He made his first-team debut in a League Cup match against Birmingham City on 14 October 1997. He only played one league game (against Crystal Palace) as Arsenal won the 1997-98 FA Premier League, meaning he didn't qualify for a winners' medal. His performances in Arsenal's reserves resulted in him gaining a place in the England squad for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship. He had loan spells at Ipswich Town and Portsmouth, before leaving Arsenal for Watford in December 2000. He played 11 times for Arsenal, scoring one goal, in a 2–1 win over Coventry City on 16 September 2000. Vernazza spent three-and-a-half years at Watford, making 96 league appearances, before moving to Rotherham United in the summer of 2004 on a free. Paolo's time at Rotherham was largely unsuccessful, resulting