A promising attacking player, either up front or on the left wing, Hayes impressed in the Arsenal youth and reserve teams, and made his first-team debut against Oxford United on 16 November 1985 at the age of 19.
With the ageing Rix starting to tire, Hayes soon established himself as Arsenal's regular left winger, and in 1986–87 he was the club's top scorer with 24 goals, 12 of them being penalties; he also played in the Gunners' League Cup-winning team that year, beating Liverpool 2–1.
However, he could not continue this form the following season, and only scored three times – one of them being the opening goal in the League Cup final against Luton Town.
He was on the pitch as a substitute in the final game of the season when Michael Thomas famously scored the title clinching goal at Anfield.
Hayes had spells in non-league football with Dover Athletic, Crawley Town, Romford, Purfleet and eventually Bishop's Stortford.
During his time at Dover Athletic, he guided the club to their greatest-ever FA Cup run, reaching the third-round proper, where they lost at Huddersfield 2–0 in January 2011, having won a memorable first-round proper game at Kent neighbours Gillingham 2–0 in the first round and beating Aldershot 2–0 at home in the second round.