Former Arsenal defender Stephan Lichtsteiner has embarked on a surprising new career as a watchmaker in his native Switzerland.
The full-back spent just one season in North London after leaving Juventus on a free transfer in 2018, playing 14 games for the Gunners in Unai Emery's first season in charge at the club after Arsene Wenger's exit in the summer.
Lichtsteiner moved on to Augsburg before retiring from professional football, and has now started an internship with watchmaker Maurice de Mauriac in Zurich.
"Well yeah, first of all it's a nice experience for me because I like watches," the former Arsenal defender told Reuters.
"For all my life I've played football and now to do a new experience with a very good team - it's good for life to see new things, to see how you do the watch.
"I want to do something productive. If you are a banker, you can do that for all your life. But if you are a footballer once you hit your mid-30s, you have to find something else to do.
"I see some similarities to football. because in football if not all the team is perfect you will not win. It’s the same with a watch, if each thing is not perfectly in place the watch is not going to work."
Lichtsteiner has started a six-month internship with the Swiss-based firm, and says he is planning to build a watch and sell it for charity.
"We had lots of applications but Stephan was the most enthusiastic," said art director Leonard, with Lichtsteiner becoming their first trainee.
"We are aiming for a long-term partnership and will move step by step,” added CEO Massimo.
