Arsenal sack Under 23 boss & club hero Bould after 30 years of service

Arsenal have sacked Under-23s coach Steve Bould, bringing an end to his 30-year association with the club.

The Gunners' academy manager Per Mertesacker made the decision to sack Bould after a frustrating season for the Under-23s.

Under Bould's guidance Arsenal's second-string came close to being relegated from the top division of Premier League 2 and only secured their safety on the final day of the season.

Bould enjoyed much success with Arsenal as a player between 1988 and 1999, including three league titles, two FA Cups, the League Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup.

After returning to Arsenal in 2001 as a youth coach, he eventually stepped up to coach the Under-18s and presided over the development of players such as Jack Wilshere, Serge Gnabry and Hector Bellerin. Arsenal won the FA Youth Cup in 2009 and also won two Under-18 league titles under Bould.

Between 2012 and 2019 Bould was part of the first-team coaching staff as an assistant coach, but he returned to youth football when he swapped jobs with Freddie Ljungberg.

While Ljungberg had been widely praised for his work with the Under-23s, who played in a dynamic style under him, the same couldn't be said of Bould.

With Bould in charge much of the Under-23s' play was rather rigid, and they endured some woeful results this season.

There were some mitigating circumstances, with Arsenal loaning out a host of players and new arrivals struggling to settle, but it was still a frustrating campaign, even though results aren't always of paramount importance at this level.

A decision has yet to be made regarding who the 58-year-old's successor will be.