Sammels joined Arsenal, in 1961, the club he supported as a boy, from his family home in Grundisburgh near Woodbridge in Suffolk.

He joined Arsenal soon after fellow East Anglian Peter Simpson and played alongside him for several seasons.

However, Sammels lost his first team place in the 1970–71 season, thanks to an ankle injury and the emergence of George Graham; although he played enough games to win a First Division winner's medal, he did not take part in Arsenal's' FA Cup Final win over Liverpool that completed their Double-winning season.

Under Jimmy Bloomfield, Leicester were a talented and exciting side, but the only trophy they won was the 1971 Charity Shield,[1] and they never finished above seventh in the League.

Sammels left Leicester on a free transfer in 1978, and played for the Vancouver Whitecaps in the NASL for two seasons.