Steve Rowley

Name Steve Rowley
Position Chief Scout
Born December 2, 1958
Romford
Joined Arsenal: January 1980


Steve Rowley

Steve co-ordinates Arsenal’s vast scouting network both domestically and internationally, as the Gunners spread their wings across the continents to find the best talent.

With football a more global game than ever before, his role is particularly important. He receives reports from the Club’s 16 UK-based scouts as well as from the many others located around the world.
Another long-serving member of staff, he has been on the Club’s books for nearly 30 years and was promoted to his current position by Arsène Wenger in 1996.

Previously he worked as assistant youth development officer, a junior scout and first-team assessor, a role in which he compiled scouting reports on forthcoming opponents.

Paul Johnson

Name Paul Johnson
Position Equipment Manager
Born March 14, 1961
Hackney
Joined Arsenal: 1981


Paul Johnson

Paul is part of the furniture at Arsenal, having worked at the Club for 26 years.

The last nine of these have been spent as equipment manager, a role in which he is responsible for preparing equipment prior to training sessions as well as organising the first-team’s travel arrangements.

Prior to this, Paul worked for many years as Arsenal’s Travel Club manager.

 

Joel Harris

Name Joel Harris
Position Masseur
Born August 28, 1961
Wimbledon, London
Qualifications BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy, MSST
Joined Arsenal: Part-time in 1994, full-time 1998


Joel Harris

Joel began working for the Club in 1994 in a part-time role with the youth academy, before becoming full-time sports therapist in 1998.

His experience and ability are invaluable and he travels with the first team to all home and away matches.

In common with various other members of the Arsenal staff he also has considerable experience at international level, having worked in the past with England’s Under-18 and Under-20 squads.

John Kelly

Name John Kelly
Position Masseur
Born March 18, 1957
Barking
Qualifications Sports Therapist Diploma from the FA.
Joined Arsenal: August 2002


John Kelly

Having worked at Watford, West Ham United and Chelsea, John already had considerable experience of working in football when he joined the Gunners at the beginning of the 2002/03 season.

Primarily his role involves working on the first-team squad’s massaging requirements, and he is present at all first-team fixtures to provide any support needed on match days. Additionally, ‘JK’ is on hand at all reserve-team fixtures, home and away.

John gained his qualifications between 1993 and 1995 at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall.

Craig Gant

Name Craig Gant
Position Fitness Coach Assistant/Masseur
Born February 27, 1970
London
Qualifications BSc (Hons) Sports Science and Sports Therapy
Joined Arsenal: Part-time in 2000, full-time in 2001


Craig Gant

Craig originally joined the Club as a masseur, working with Sports Therapist Joel Harris for three years before taking up the role of assistant coach alongside Tony Colbert.

He helps Tony with the first team’s fitness and physical conditioning, also overseeing and implementing the fitness programme used by the Club’s academy players. As well as performing this role, Craig is the Club’s first-team masseur.

Tony Colbert

Name Tony Colbert
Position Fitness Coach
Born London, May 29, 1963
Paddington
Qualifications BSc/MSc Sport and Exercise Science, FA Fitness Trainer Award, Certified SAQ Trainer, Certified ACSM Health/Fitness Instructor, NCFC Teaching Certificate, Future Fit: Advanced Personal Trainer
Joined Arsenal: July 1998


Tony Colbert

The Gunners played 59 competitive games last season, and the physical demands placed on the first-team squad mean that their fitness planning and preparation needed to be finely honed.

Tony performs this crucial role, ensuring that the players are able to withstand the rigours of a hard campaign. He also works with injured players to prepare them for a return to action in the best condition possible.

A hugely experienced and highly-qualified fitness coach, Tony worked with a range of sportsmen before joining the Club and is an expert in football-specific fitness.

He has also delivered lectures and developed a range of fitness training courses for health and fitness organisations — and has managed various gyms and fitness centres.

Paul Akers

Name Paul Akers
Position Assistant Kit Manager
Born February 3, 1976
Bromley
Joined Arsenal: July 2001


Paul Akers

Paul is Vic’s son, and is in his seventh season as a full-time member of the Club’s staff.

He assists his father with matters relating to the first-team’s playing kit, training kit and boot requirements — and also helps out occasionally with the reserve-team’s kit duties.

With the playing squad’s kit demands constantly changing and increasing, Paul’s work is valuable in ensuring that they are provided for throughout the season.

Vic Akers

Name Vic Akers
Positions Kit manager
Ladies manager
Born August 24, 1946
Islington
Previous clubs Slough Town
Cambridge Utd
Watford
Joined Arsenal: 1986


Vic Akers

Vic carries out his duties as first-team kit manager in parallel with his role as Ladies first-team manager, in which he has experienced considerable success.

He has worked at the Club for 21 years, during which time he has held a variety of roles prior to his current positions — including Head of the Community Department, reserve-team physio and reserve-team kit man.

The founding father of Arsenal Ladies, Vic has led the side to 42 honours in their 20 year history, including an unprecedented League, FA Cup, League Cup and Uefa Cup quadruple last season.

His playing career saw him make 129 appearances as a left-back for Cambridge United between 1971 and 1974, scoring five goals, along with a 22-game spell for Watford in the 1974/75 season.

Colin Lewin

Name Colin Lewin
Position Assistant Physio
Born September 15, 1973
Plaistow, London
Qualifications BSc (Hons), MCSP, SRP
Joined Arsenal: June 1995


Colin Lewin

Colin is Gary Lewin’s cousin and has worked alongside him since 1995 when he completed a physiotherapy degree at the University of Brighton.

The 2007/08 season is his 13th with the Club and he has provided valuable assistance throughout that time.

He assists with all physio requirements at the training ground and also travels with the first team to all games, home and away, as well as being on duty at all training sessions.

Gary Lewin

Name Gary Lewin
Position Physiotherapist
Born May 16, 1964
East Ham, London
Previous clubs as player Arsenal
Barnet
Qualifications BSc (hons) Dip Phys, MCSP, SRP
Honours with Arsenal League Championship 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002. F.A. Cup 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005. League Cup 1987, 1993. Cup Winner's Cup 1994
Joined Arsenal: Part-time in August 1983, full-time in September 1986


Gary Lewin

A promising goalkeeper in his younger years, Gary joined the Club as an apprentice in that position in 1980.

He spent a year at Barnet but at the age of just 19 he returned to the Gunners as reserve-team physio, having taken his physiotherapy exams. His rapid rise continued as in 1986 he was promoted to the position of full-time first-team physio — with his first game in this role taking place at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on September 27 that year.

He has racked up well over 1,000 games as first-team physio, reaching this milestone in December 2004, and is a fixture in the Arsenal set-up as the man who tends to all kinds of player injuries.

Gary has also performed a similar role for the England team since 1996 and has accompanied the squad at three World Cup finals. He has worked in over 100 matches for England, adding to his remarkable set of achievements.

Gary trained at Guy’s Hospital School of Physiotherapy between 1983 and 1986

Gerry Peyton

Name Gerry Peyton
Position Goalkeeping Coach
Born May 20, 1956
Birmingham
Previous clubs as player Burnley
Fulham
Southend Utd (loan)
Bournemouth
Everton
Bolton Wanderers (loan)
Brentford
Chelsea (loan)
West Ham United
Honours as player 33 caps for Republic of Ireland
Clubs as coach: Vissel Kobe (Japan)
Jubilo Iwata (Japan)
AIK Solna (Sweden)
Fulham
Joined Arsenal: July 2003


Gerry Peyton

Gerry is now in his fifth season working with Arsenal’s goalkeepers and has enjoyed a long and varied career as player and coach, having turned out for nine clubs throughout the divisions during a playing career in which he made over 600 appearances.

He played 33 times for the Republic of Ireland and was a member of the 1990 World Cup Finals squad that made history by reaching the Quarter-Finals.
His coaching career has taken him to leading clubs in Japan and Sweden before settling at Arsenal, where he has helped the first team achieve some notable feats.

In 2003/04 the side had the best defensive record in the league, while 2005/06 saw the Gunners keep 10 consecutive Champions League clean sheets, breaking the existing record.

Neil Banfield

Name Neil Banfield
Position Coach
Born January 20, 1962
Poplar
Previous clubs as player Crystal Palace
Adelaide City (Australia)
Leyton Orient
Clubs as coach: Charlton Athletic
Joined Arsenal: June 1997


Neil Banfield

Neil has been reserve-team coach at Arsenal since 2005, having previously been part of the academy’s coaching staff during a highly successful period for the Club’s youngsters.

He helped preside over two FA Youth Cup wins, the National Academy Under-17 league title in 1999/2000 and the Regional Academy Under-19 league title in 2003/04.

His first two seasons in charge of the reserves saw consecutive third place finishes in the FA Premier Reserve League South, while a young side finished ninth in 2006/07.

As a player, Neil was a central defender and represented England at Schoolboy level before enjoying spells at Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient and Adelaide City.

Boro Primorac

Name Boro Primorac
Position First team coach
Born December 5, 1954
Mostar, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia),
Previous clubs as player Hajduk Split
Cannes
Lille
Honours as player: 18 caps for Yugoslavia
Clubs as coach: Cannes
Valenciennes
Grampus Eight
Nagoya
Honours as coach: League championship 1998, 2002, 2004. F.A. Cup 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005.
Joined Arsenal: March 1997


Boro Primorac

Highly regarded in his role as right-hand man to Arsène Wenger, Boro has worked with the Gunners’ boss for over a decade.

They first linked up at Grampus Eight Nagoya in Japan before Boro joined Arsène in North London in 1997, and the pair have enjoyed huge success ever since.

Boro was known as an uncompromising defender during a playing career that saw him star in Yugoslavia before moving to France. A former Yugoslav international who gained 18 caps, he helped his country achieve fourth place in the 1980 Olympic Games and played an important part in its qualification for the 1982 World Cup.

During his time at Velez Mostar he helped the side reach second place in the top division, the club’s highest-ever position. In France he played for Cannes and Lille, proceeding to enjoy spells coaching at the former and Valenciennes before his move to Japan.

Pat Rice

Name Pat Rice
Position Assistant Manager
Born March 17th, 1949
Belfast
Previous clubs as player Arsenal, Watford
Joined Arsenal (For the second time) July 1984
Honours as player: League Championship medal 1971. F.A. Cup winner's medal 1971, 1979. 49 caps for Northern Ireland
Clubs as coach: Arsenal
Honours as coach: F.A. Youth Cup winner 1988, 1994. League Championship 1998, 2002, 2004. F.A. Cup winners 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005.


Pat Rice

An Arsenal legend, Pat first joined the Club as an apprentice in 1964 and has over 40 years of experience at the Club.

A former Club captain who made 528 appearances for Arsenal, Pat was a distinguished right back and won three major honours with the Gunners — reaching five FA Cup Finals in total as well as a Cup Winners’ Cup Final.

Along with Bob Wilson, he holds the distinction of having been involved as player or coach in all three of Arsenal’s Double-winning seasons.

Pat returned to the Club as youth-team coach in 1984 following a stint at Watford. Spending 12 years in this role, he won two FA Youth Cups and then became Arsène Wenger’s assistant in 1996 after a brief spell as Caretaker Manager in which he won all three league matches of which he took charge. He has played an instrumental role in the Club’s considerable success since then.

At international level, Pat fell just one cap short of the 50 mark — making his Northern Ireland debut in 1968 and playing his last game in 1979.

Arsène Wenger

Name Arsène Wenger
Position Manager
Born October 22nd, 1949
Strasbourg, France
Previous clubs as player Mutzig
Mulhouse
Strasbourg
Joined Arsenal 28 September 1996
First match as manager Blackburn Rovers (a)
Premier League
October 12, 1996
Won 2-0
Clubs as manager/coach Strasbourg (youth)
Cannes (assistant)
Nancy
AS Monaco
Grampus Eight Nagoya
Honours (Monaco): French League championship 1988
French Cup winners 1991
French 'Manager of the Year' 1988
Honours (Grampus Eight): Japan's 'Manager of the Year' 1995
Emperor's Cup winner 1996
Japanese Super Cup winner 1996
Honours (Arsenal): League championship 1998, 2002, 2004
F.A. Cup winners 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005
Voted 'Manager of the Year' 1998, 2002, 200


Arsène Wenger

No Arsenal manager has presided over more matches than Arsène, and nor has any enjoyed the same amount of success.

Three League titles, four FA Cups and four Charity/Community Shields have been amassed in his 11 years at the helm, including League and Cup ‘doubles’ in 1998 and 2002.

He is the only Gunners manager to have won the FA Cup more than once and the only manager to take the Club to a Champions League Final, while he was also the first manager in English league history to complete an entire 38-game season unbeaten in 2003/04.

Renowned as a cerebral, studious coach with a rare ability to spot and develop players from around the world, Arsène has had vital input into all areas affecting the first team — from the squad’s diet and training methods to the design of the first-team dressing room at Emirates Stadium.

His calm and measured demeanour is reflected by the style of his teams, which he sends out to play attacking and attractive football.

Arsène holds an economics degree from Strasbourg University and has also been awarded an honorary DSc by the University of Herfordshire. In 2002 he received France’s highest civil honour, the Legion d’Honneur, and was presented with an honorary OBE a year later. He was awarded the Freedom of Islington in 2004 and is fluent in five languages.

On September 7, 2007, Arsène signed a three year extension to his current contract, taking hi