Although most Arsenal fans don’t feel that Steve Bould really does much at all, except for point at people a bit on matchday, I can’t be the only one wondering what will happen to the 55-year-old when Arsene Wenger calls it a day…

Not hanging around

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.

Back to the academy?

If you look at the candidates for the Arsenal job – Diego Simeone, Carlo Ancelotti, Joachim Löw – none of them are going to keep Bould on as their assistant. These are all huge, accomplished managers who have their own team around them and who, I expect, will bring their own people with them if they were to take up a role at Arsenal.

Apart from a former player like Thierry Henry, I can’t imagine another coach coming in and keeping Bould as his assistant. Especially considering he’s so quiet.

Unlike Wenger, not all coaches just want people around them who are always going to agree with their choices. They like to be challenged and kept on their toes… Bould isn’t the man to do that.

On the other hand, it wouldn’t look good if a new manager came in and insistently sacked the poor bloke. Even though he’s not done a lot for the club since being promoted to assistant five years ago, Bouldie is still an Arsenal legend. He played in George Graham’s famous back four along with Nigel Winterburn, Tony Adams and Lee Dixon. Fans probably wouldn’t take kindly to a new person coming in and just turning him out on the street… so to speak.

Therefore, one option is that Bould will just go back to coaching the academy or help out with the youth sides.

Obviously, he won’t be head of the academy, since that’s Per Mertesacker’s new job, but that doesn’t mean he won’t take a step back from the first team while remaining at the club.

Pastures new

Before Bould signed for Arsenal as a player in 1988, he played for Stoke. It’s where the ex-defender was born and he came through the Potters’ ranks from 1978 onward.

If Bould doesn’t want to step back to Arsenal’s academy, he might prefer to move back up north to Stoke-on-Trent and take up a role at his former club. I can’t imagine they wouldn’t want him there.

In April 2013, Bould was actually named as a ‘surprise candidate’ to take over from Tony Pulis. Obviously, this never happened but the link suggests that Stoke’s board could be at least keeping an eye on him.

At the moment, Paul Lambert is in charge but considering the Potters are smack-bang in the middle of the relegation zone, a point from safety, it’s debatable whether he’ll still be at the club next season or not.

“Steve Bould is a very good coach but he’s not allowed to coach them – he doesn’t do any coaching,” Stewart Robson told talkSPORT back in 2012.

“Arsène Wenger is not doing enough on the training field. He’s not coaching the players, they have got no game strategy and, because he won’t let anyone else do it, Arsenal are going backwards and some of their players are going backwards.

“Sir Alex Ferguson is not a coach. He realises that, to get the best out of his players, he has to get the best coaches.

“He’s made sure his number two is not just a yes man, which Arsène Wenger likes to appoint. Arsène Wenger, because he has got a massive ego, because he’s a dictator when it comes to Arsenal Football Club, he’s not allowing Steve Bould to do any work.”

Bould also spent 1982 on loan at Torquay United. The National League side are second to bottom at the moment and could need a boost. Having a former player like Steve Bould come on board could provide them with just that.

He also signed for Sunderland for one season before he retired. They’re looking to get relegated again this season so could do with some help. Will Chris Coleman keep his job?

Alternatively, Bould could join any other club. A new club and fresh start could be brilliant for a coach who appears to have been wasted at Arsenal.

And now for something completely different…

Alternatively, Bould might just take a step back from football altogether.

There’s obviously the pundit route, which most of his former teammates appear to have taken up. Although Bould seems quiet because we don’t hear much from him, this could be down to Wenger’s influence more than anything.