Tony Adams believes that he could have been of service at Arsenal if Arsene Wenger had just swallowed his pride and brought him on board… but wasn’t the former centre-back already offered a role?

Adams reckons that he could have helped Arsenal in their current state but Wenger didn’t allow him to come on board.

“I think it’s sad – because I do think I could have been of service,” Adams said, reports the Islington Gazette.

“I think if Arsene swallowed a little bit of his pride – and maybe a touch of arrogance – I think we could have been a good combination, but I’m not so sure he wants that.

“Every time I’ve tried to get back to Arsenal the door’s been closed in my face – and I’ve now moved on with my life because ‘she’ doesn’t want me back.

“You’d have to ask Arsene why that is. I’m still waiting for that phone call – but I know it’s not going to come.

“Is it because he doesn’t like to be challenged? I don’t know.”

The ex-Arsenal skipper said something similar in his autobiography earlier in the year. The former defender claimed that his character was too big for Wenger to cope with.

“Arsene is so dominant that he was probably not going to like it if I said, ‘We’re conceding bad goals, I’m going to take the back four today and organise them,’” Adams wrote in his book, Sober, which was out at the beginning of June.

“Because Arsene is essentially not a coach — and that is the second reason why I believe he didn’t want me. Back in the day I said in an interview coaching wasn’t Arsene’s strong point.

“Actually in the original draft, I said he couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag. And though I modified that in the final article, it didn’t go down well.

“It all left me feeling that I would never get a chance in any capacity while Arsene was there.”

tony adams granada
GRANADA, SPAIN – APRIL 16: Head coach Tony Adams of Granada CF encourages his team during the La Liga match between Granada CF and Real Club Celta de Vigo at Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes on April 16, 2017 in Granada, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)

However, it was reported in July 2016 that the Gunners had indeed offered Adams an u18 coaching role at the club and he’d turned it down.

Instead, the 50-year-old signed a lucrative deal as head of youth development at Chinese Super League club, Chongqing Lifan. He later became Granada manager and the Spanish club got relegated.

Therefore, it doesn’t seem as if it was Arsenal or Wenger not allowing Adams to return to his former club, it was the man himself, who’s now slammed his ex-manager for not being able to swallow his pride.

The decision was obviously his to make but pretending that he was the wronged party is a little odd when we know this wasn’t the case.