During a successful 10-year career in the National Football League, Arnett was selected five consecutive times to the Pro Bowl from 1957 to 1961 before chronic knee pain reduced his effectiveness.

[1] During his 1952 senior season, Arnett scored a total of 112 points, eclipsing the old single-season high school record of 110, in leading the Manual Arts Toilers to the Los Angeles city championship.

During his sophomore season USC was granted a bid to the 1955 Rose Bowl despite a second-place finish in the Pacific Coast Conference, owing to UCLA being ruled ineligibile.

[4] Arnett was a first team All American during his 1955 junior year at USC but was limited to only half a season of eligibility in 1956 due to NCAA penalties against the Pacific Coast Conference for recruiting violations.

[1] Arnett was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the first round of the 1957 NFL draft, the number two choice overall, one of two running backs picked ahead of legendary Syracuse fullback Jim Brown in that lottery.

[6] Largely robbed of the fluidity which made his open-field running a constant big play threat for the Rams, Arnett came to be viewed as expendable by the team in the run-up to the 1964 season.

[7] In the 3-for-1 trade the Rams received four-year starting guard Roger Davis, center Joe Wendryhoski, a veteran of the Canadian Football League, and rookie defensive back Frank Budka of Notre Dame.

[7] Legendary Bears head coach George Halas declared that the addition of the veteran Arnett helped fill a "gaping hole" for his club in the aftermath of the death of left halfback Willie Galimore.