Banfield: New role is a dream come true

Neil Banfield says his appointment as first-team coach is a “dream come true” - and cannot wait to get started in the role. Following Pat Rice’s retirement, Steve Bould has been named as Arsène Wenger’s assistant and Banfield has stepped up from reserve-team manager. It is the culmination of more than 14 years of loyal service to the Club for Banfield, and he admits the news came as a real shock. “I am absolutely delighted, it is a dream come true,” he told Arsenal Player. “To think I am now going to be first-team coach… well I pinch myself sometimes. I am really looking forward to it. “The manager invited me into his office, and with Steve Bould going up to be assistant manager I thought that he may have pulled me in to explain his decision. To me it was a logical move anyway, but I thought it was nice of him to explain it to me. “Then he told me he wanted me to become first-team coach, and you could have knocked me over. I was a bit gobsmacked to be honest, but after the initial surprise and sense of achievement inside, I was just delighted.”