Whether the Frenchman resigns in the summer or hangs on in there for the final year of his contract, I don’t think there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind that Bouldie won’t continue as assistant manager when the 68-year-old leaves.

There’s a chance he could temporarily take over Wenger’s role, but if Wenger goes, I don’t see Bould sticking around either.

The club is more likely to want a completely clean break.

Wenger promoted Bould to first team assistant from the academy because he knows the former centre-back would be a yes man. Not only would the club have been familiar with the ex-players work with the academy but they would have been aware of his demeanour.

Sure enough, according to Alan Smith recently, it seems Bouldie doesn’t actually do anything on the training ground. Mainly because Wenger is still very much in charge of the sessions and the boss doesn’t really do defending… which I’d say is pretty clear if you watch the team play.

“You can only do what you’re allowed to do on the training ground,” Smith told The Arsenal Opinion podcast.

“Bould takes some stick off some but they don’t see what goes on Monday to Friday.

“And I just think it is a criminal waste of his talents.

“He’s one of the best defenders the club has ever had and not to use his knowledge, just seems senseless to me.

“He does bits and pieces I think without really going to town on getting hold of that back four the way George Graham did.

“Arsene is still in charge of all the sessions so I do think it is a waste of someone like him because he’s not given that free hand to go out and pass on that great knowledge he’s got.”

Most fans were over the moon when he became assistant manager in 2012 because they thought some good old-fashioned defending would be taught to the Arsenal team but it seems not. In fact, Arsenal’s defending only appears to have gotten worse.