Former Arsenal academy graduate, Ömer Riza, who was most recently manager of Leyton Orient, has been talking about his love for the Gunners in a recent interview.
Riza joined Arsenal at the age of nine, and stayed with the Gunners for over a decade until he eventually made his debut for the first-team in the 1998-99 League Cup. After that, he found his opportunities limited, and ended up moving onto West Ham and Cambridge United before leaving the country for the Turkish league.
Many years later, in 2013, Riza took over as manager of non-League Cheshunt, before joining Leyton Orient. But of all the teams he’s now played for and managed, he says he loves Arsenal the most.
“I support Arsenal,” Riza told football.london. “I love Arsenal, I love the club. I still try and do as much as I can for the club in respect of charity games. Even doing these things. Obviously it’s good for yourself, but it’s also just about being part of the club still.
“I’ve tried to go back and coach while I’m still looking for a job. I’d love to be back in the academy in the older age groups. Whether that will happen I don’t know.
“I’ve coached at every level now. I’m ready to do a senior role again, but if I could go back into Arsenal and do 18s or above, for me that would be brilliant to keep learning and to get better at what I do.
“I’m 38 and I’ve had the experience of managing a first-team in League 2 and if that opportunity comes around again, then I would like to jump back in.
“But if I could return to my club then I would in a heartbeat.”
Arsenal already have a new academy manager in Per Mertesacker, and Kwame Ampadu has been with the Gunners’ youth teams for half a decade now, taking over the u18s last year.
So there’s unlikely to be an opening in those two positions anytime soon. But when there is, it’d be nice to have someone in charge who genuinely cared about the club. That’s part of the reason I think fans were so excited about Mertesacker’s appointment, because he’s someone who clearly already knows what it means to represent Arsenal. If Riza can get a bit more experience before a position opens up, he would certainly fit that bill.