Kenny Sansom believes Wenger should promote youth team coach

Former Arsenal and England defender Kenny Sansom believes Wenger should promote youth team coach and former Gunners centre-half Steve Bould to first-team duties.

“It is clear there is a problem defensively at Arsenal and that is going to cause more problems because opponents are going to try to expose that,” Sansom said. “You have to teach the defenders how to talk to each other. Communication is massive, especially for the back four and goalkeeper.

“For me Stevie Bould was as good as Tony Adams as a player. He was very under-rated but Stevie should go in there two days a week and work with that back four on positioning, shape, communication so you know exactly where you are for 90 minutes and then you will have done your job.

“It is going to be a long, long season. There is no problem attacking-wise, we just have to sort out the defence. You can’t score three goals away from home and lose on a regular basis otherwise the club will have a tough season.”

For now, though, Premier League clubs will be queuing up to have a go at Arsenal and especially at the fretful Koscielny who still looks like someone who has gone away on holiday and realised he left the front door open.

There is much to admire about the Wenger philosophy and the way he encourages his teams to go about their business but the way they defend is embarrassing. It is time to go back to the drawing board to give the brittle Arsenal side some much-needed backbone.

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why not?

Bould was LEGEND!

I want Bould more involved in first team duties since he's a very promising coach and, in my opinion, the next in line for assistant manager. But just becasue he was a no-nonsense defender as a player doesn't mean he'd make a good defensive coach.

Arsene Wenger, Pat Rice and Boro Primorac were all defenders as players. Rice won the double with Arsenal is possibly the greatest right back in Arsenal history.

This leads me to the conclusion that being a defender as a player doesn't mean the player would make a good defensive coach.

I would want Dixon over bould tbf.

We need all the help we can get. I'm not sure why the likes of Vieira, Bergkamp, Pires, Keown are not at the club as coaches right now.

Wenger is so stubborn, even when he makes his worst start to a season.