We were informed a while ago that Steve Bould was going to be the latest victim of Arsenal’s rebuild of the club from top to botom. Bould has been a stalwart at the club for thirty years, and has been with Arsenal through some of the most successful seasons in our history, and after retiring from playing he has been on the coaching staff at all levels, including six years as assistant coach under Arsene Wenger.
But now Bould’s departure has been confirmed officially on the Gunners website, with academy manager Per Mertesacker saying: “Steve has been a fantastic servant for us on and off the pitch. His record as a player speaks for itself and he has been an inspiration to generations of young players coming through the academy.”
But Mertesacker indicated it was a management decision to let him go, as he continued: “This has been a very hard decision to make. Steve’s contribution to the under-23s and the club as a whole has been huge and he will always be an important figure in our history.”
The most reported reaction was from Jack Wilshere, who saw Bould just about every day during Jack’s ten years at Arsenal, and he didn’t seem very happy with Arsenal’s decision. He tweeted….
The latest murmuring are that Bould will be replaced as the U23s boss by Kevin Betsy, who is currently in charge of the U18s, so there will still be some continuity in the training methods.
I am sure all us old Arsenal fans will remember Bould with great affection, and thank him for his great loyalty to the club over the decades…