He initially signed Griffiths on amateur forms in May 1957, as the youngster turned down offers of trials from both Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday.
He kept his place in the side for the rest of the season, collecting a Welsh Cup winners' medal from a 1–0 win over Cardiff City.
Unable to maintain a first-team place at Arsenal, Griffiths returned to Wrexham who paid a record fee of about £12,000 to re-sign him.
These successes also led him on to international recognition by gaining 17 full caps, the highlight of which was scoring at the Racecourse Ground against Austria in 1975, which enabled Wales to qualify for the 1976 European Football Championship finals.
Wrexham's directors had no hesitation in appointing him as Neal's replacement, and he kept faith with the same squad that had just missed out on promotion at the end of the previous season.
An abundance of unforeseen injuries affected the team's performances[specify] in the Second Division and they struggled to come to terms with a higher grade of football.