furnell immediately slotted into the arsenal first team, making his debut the day after he signed, on 23 november 1963 against blackpool; the match finished 5-3 to arsenal. furnell went on to become the long-term successor to jack kelsey, playing as arsenal's no. 1 for the next five seasons (aside from 1964-65, when he shared the spot with tony burns). under manager billy wright, however, arsenal struggled to make an impact in either the league or the cups.