Johan Cruyff, Dennis Bergkamp and Frank de Boer. These are just a few Ajax legends who have gone on to be involved with their boyhood club after their playing days. Recently there’s been talk of changes within the coaching staff at Arsenal to bring in some ex-players and why not.
Looking at a club like Ajax who constantly bring ex-players back into the club, maybe this should be the model for Arsenal. With it seeming more likely (but not certain) that Arsene Wenger will be staying for next season at least, a change in backroom staff could possibly see some change at least.
Arsenal fans have seen club legends come in to coach at the club before but not for much time at all. Last season we saw our record goal scorer Thierry Henry earn his A Licence for coaching with the Arsenal under 18’s. Despite not performing particularly well in their league, Henry seemed to enjoy coaching the under 18’s. Even offering to coach them for free before Wenger cut his coaching time short telling the Frenchman he can’t work on Sky and coach at the club at the same time.
Henry is now learning his trade from former Everton boss Roberto Martinez as assistant manager at Belgium. Working with players like Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku hopefully he can improve quickly with so much quality around him but Wenger’s stubbornness has seemed to upset again.
Another Arsenal legend who had been coaching in the youth ranks at Arsenal recently was Freddie Ljungberg. Unlike Henry, the Swede had been coaching the under 15’s this year before following Andries Jonker to Wolfsburg as assistant manager. With the two now coaching senior squads maybe this will give them a better indication of what coaching at the top level will actually be like if they were to return to Arsenal in coaching roles.
So yes, Arsenal have given some chances to ex-players but not to the extent of Ajax. Currently, the Dutch outfit have former players like Edwin Van Der Sar, Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp and Winston Bogarde involved with the club. Also having Frank de Boer manage the first team for six years. This theme of ex-players returning to Ajax is nothing new seeing as this has been happening for decades and not seeming to fail.
Seeing de Boer progressing to first team manager after being youth team coach it doesn’t seem that would be the case for Steve Bould. But it’s looking likely that if Wenger does stay somebody could be his understudy and take the managerial position when he leaves. But with Bergkamp admitting he prefers coaching than managing, maybe Patrick Vieira is a better option.
Vieira is currently managing the growing New York City FC and managed to reach the MLS Conference Semi-Finals in his first season. With the Frenchman coaching since 2011 with Manchester City’s youth squads, he has probably found his coaching methods by now. But with only one season of senior management, a year or two working under Wenger may not be the worst thing before easing him in.
However, with Bergkamp being quite experienced as a number two, this may be a better role for him if he was to return to North London. The Non-Flying Dutchman could focus mostly on coaching which he has done for almost six years at Ajax and leave the rest to Vieira. These two do seem to be the best candidates when looking around but there could also be other options.
Maybe the club could bring in club legends who actually came through the ranks at Arsenal. The likes of Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and more who know what it’s like to learn their trade at Arsenal and carry that through and win in the first team. This may be a better option as they could improve the club from youth level upwards and possibly produce a new crop of Arsenal youngsters like them or the way Ajax do so frequently.
But with none of the above players having coached or managed at a top quality standard, this may be a bit risky. Yes, it’ll be great to have legends back at the club but is that a risk worth taking. Vieira has been involved at Man City but not with the first team who have achieved in recent years. Bergkamp has six years of experience under his belt but Ajax aren’t in a league with the standard of the Premier League. Adams has managed in the Premier League but only a 16 game spell at Portsmouth which saw him pick up 16 points and a sacking.
So maybe the ex-player route isn’t right for us at this given moment but it could be in the future. One player who some may not expect to have a say in this conversation is Mikel Arteta. Learning from one of the world’s best coaches in Pep Guardiola at City the experience could only be a good thing. So yes, making an ex-player with a bit of coaching experience instrumental will not fix everything but it could be a step forward in what has been a stagnant spell for the Gunners, where they can also improve before making that big step to becoming Arsenal manager or a first team coach.
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