Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn believes Gunners legend Dennis Bergkamp could make a return to the club.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is not only in the market for reinforcements for his squad this summer but for an assistant.
Former assistant Freddie Ljungberg vacated the role on the back of last season as he looks to pursue management opportunities.
And according to Winterburn, it could be another former Gunners player who becomes Arteta's next assistant in Bergkamp, who was an assistant for Ajax for six years between 2011 and 2017.
“I’m a big advocate for players that have been successful at your club – so long as they have the right coaching credentials – to come back in to a football club, particularly one of Dennis Bergkamp’s ilk," he told Gambling.com.
“He was a wonderful player who won a lot of trophies and is well regarded within Arsenal, so if his coaching credentials match up with what Mikel Arteta wants, he could potentially come back to the club in some sort of role, whether it’s at junior level or senior.
“It’s been mooted a few times now so I think it’s something we’re going to have to watch to see if it develops into anything.”
Speaking about Ljungberg's departure, Winterburn added: "Freddie has worked with the Under-23s and has had other roles at the club, including a stint as the interim manager of the first team, and a coaching role within the first team as well.
“It probably depended on where he wants to go from here, with Mikel Arteta coming in with his own assistant perhaps a few opportunities were closed off for Freddie and he may have felt that the only way to move forward with his own career if he wants to go in to management full time was to step away from Arsenal and look at other opportunities.
"If I’m honest, it didn’t surprise me at all.”
