As part of a famous defence – probably the most famous in the history of Arsenal – Steve Bould was an intimidating player.

The former centre-half was tall and uncompromising, but also calm and collected enough to  influence proceedings with more than just his presence.

It is those attributes which serve him well as a coach, and Kieran Gibbs knows him better than most.

“I worked with Steve Bould in the youth team from when I was 16 so he was a big influence and now he obviously works with the first team,” the left-back told Arsenal.com. Bould was a youth coach and reserve team head coach before replacing Pat Rice as Arsène Wenger’s assistant manager back in 2012.

Since then, the 52-year-old has sat beside the Frenchman and Gibbs feels he can provide great insight into the mind of younger players.

“He’s got experience, he’s played the game in more recent years so he knows the modern game. Football’s changed a lot over the last 20 years so it’s a different game now to what it was,” Gibbs said.

“He’s good for that because he knows what’s going on in the mind of a footballer in the more recent era. That’s his biggest asset to the team.”

Some may feel Arsenal’s improved defensive record in recent years has been down to Bould, but Arsène Wenger and the players also deserve the credit.

It remains to be seen how much Bould does on the training ground, with the players working under Wenger each and every day. As opposed to having Arsenal legend Pat Rice in the dugout, the players do have someone who is arguably more in tune with the modern game.