Arsenal's new assistant manager Steve Bold knows he has big shoes to fill after the departure of Pat Rice, but believes that with a youth system behind him full of talented players, the Gunners are set for big things in both the short and long term.

The Gunners replaced Rice with Bold this month, and made the move up from the under 18's side to assisting Arsene Wenger in taking the senior squad, along with Neil Banfield.

And he has taken with him a strong belief in Arsenal's youth team and hope for a bright future for the club.

"It shows you that the youth set-up is right if the coaching staff who have been through [the Club] are deemed good enough to work with the first-team players. I think that's the way it should be," he told the official Arsenal website.

"There is a brand and philosophy that we have to play," he said. "That is No 1 whether it is youth players, reserve players or first-team players.

"All of our kids have to be technically sound and able to play and that is the basis we all work off. First and foremost is the philosophy of the football club and the manager."

Arsenal
Arsenal fans are expecting big things next season and beyond, and Steve Bold and Neil Banfield hope they can deliver.

Meanwhile, Banfield, who will look after the first team while Bold works as assistant manager for Arsenal, believes that the pair will work well together after their time with the youth side, and will be able to offer a fresh perspective to the table as the Gunners aim to end their now-seven year-long trophyless run.

"I have known Steve since he took the Under-12s - we have had some laughs and he has worked extremely hard at his coaching and is an extremely good coach," he said.

"We think the same way, and while we have our differences on things, we are very flexible. We listen and have the same coaching philosophy, the same firmness and the same direction and hopefully we can take that on together in the first team.

"When you look at someone like myself, who came in to take over the Under-14s and Steve the Under-12s, you can see the Club has a very strong coaching ethic, and that comes from the manager.

"He has always spoken about promoting from within, so you always have something to strive for. The manager has rewarded us for our hard work and we are really looking forward to it."