New Leyton Orient manager Steve Davis is hoping to use his Arsenal connections to strengthen the team this summer.

  • Leyton Orient will play in the National League next season
  • They’ve recently come under new ownership
  • Davis hopes to get a few players on loan 

Leyton Orient were relegated to the National League last season and will be working to bounce straight back into the Football League now that they’ve sorted their ownership situation.

To achieve that, new manager Steve Davis will be hoping to make use of the contacts he’s forged with the big London clubs, including Arsenal.

“I already have contacts with clubs in London. I know [Arsenal assistant manager] Steve Bould, who was at Stoke when I played there, so I have done loan deals with Arsenal in the past, as well as Tottenham and Chelsea,” he said.

“The contacts are there and I would like to build up those relations, also with West Ham. 

“We might be able to recruit players who have been released by those Premier League clubs.

“But you have to work on those relationships and gain a level of trust — and, to me, that means going into those clubs, sitting down and talking at length. 

“We had quite a few London boys thrown at us at Crewe — Chuks Aneke, who was at Arsenal, as well as Alex Kiwomya, who was playing for Chelsea at the time. We need to make sure we use our contacts.”

As always, a number of young players were released by Arsenal this summer, and some could find their way back into football with Orient.

Likewise, a few of Arsenal’s U23 or U18 could also be sent there on loan. Playing for a decently sized club with big expectation could be a good experience for those players.