The big summer shake up at Arsenal has already started, with Steve Bould losing his job as Under-23s coach.
The club legend, who took over the U23s set-up from Freddie Ljungberg in 2019, has given 30 years of service in north London as a player and coach.
He has now been sacked following a difficult season for the U23s, and Goal has learned he has also been followed out of the door by Bruno Mazziotti, who has left less than a year after joining the medical and performance team from Paris Saint Germain.
Why has Bould been sacked?
Bould was sacked after a difficult season for the U23s, which saw them finish 10th in Premier League 2.
Safety from relegation was only secure right at the end of the campaign and performances on the whole were disappointing throughout the season.
While results are not viewed as the most essential aspect of football at youth level, there is a feeling around the youth set-up at Arsenal that a more modern thinking manager is needed to guide the U23s over the coming seasons.
A legend departs
Bould won three league titles with Arsenal during his playing days at the club and two FA Cups.
He was part of the legendary back four alongside Tony Adams, Lee Dixon and Nigel Winterburn and made 287 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions.
He joined the coaching staff as a youth team coach in 2001 and won the FA Youth Cup with the U18s in 2009 with a team featuring Jack Wilshere, Francis Coquelin and Henri Lansbury.
He replaced Pat Rice as Arsene Wenger’s assistant manager in 2012 and remained with the senior set-up until 2019, when he swapped roles with Ljungberg and took over the U23s.
What happens next?
Academy manager Per Mertesacker will lead the hunt for a new U23s coach.
The German has overseen huge changes within the Arsenal academy during the past two seasons, overhauling the entire scouting department at Hale End, and he will now lead the recruitment process for Bould’s replacement.
A young, forward thinking coach believed viewed as the ideal candidate to get the best out of young talent such as Charlie Patino, Omari Hutchinson and Marcelo Flores, who are all about to make a permanent step up to the U23s.
Why has Bruno Mazziotti left?
The Brazilian joined Arsenal’s medical performance department towards the end of 2020 from Paris Saint Germain.
He only signed a short-term contact when he arrived and was very close to David Luiz, who will leave the Gunners at the end of the season on a free transfer.
Goal as been told that Mazziotti will follow his compatriot out of the door in north London, with Arsenal deciding not to renew his contract.
The 43-year-old said his goodbyes to the squad at the club’s London Colney training ground on Saturday.
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