Former Arsenal youth player and recent academy coach Colin Kazim-Richards has taken up the head coach job at Crawley Town, where the Gunners have a youngster on loan.
Colin Kazim-Richards has long had an association with the Arsenal academy, spending three years with the club as a youth player. But more recently, the former Turkey international had been working with the academy as a coach, confirming his return to the club in July 2024.
That spell is now at an end, with Kazim-Richards accepting an appointment as Crawley Town’s head coach, joining for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
“Following a thorough and highly competitive recruitment process, Colin distinguished himself as an outstanding candidate,” club owner Raphael Khalili said.
“He is a natural leader with extensive experience in the dressing room, and we firmly believe he is the right person to guide the club forward at this important time.”
Though Kazim-Richard’s initial contract is only a short one, his brief spell is of vital importance to the club.
With seven games remaining, Crawley are just one point clear of the League Two relegation zone, and a win for Barrow in their game in hand would cut that to zero points and a goal difference gap of four.
Arsenal loanee Louie Copley is also at the club to help out, but he’s had a couple of injury setbacks limiting him to just three appearances since his January move. He should be back in action soon, having returned to the training pitches already.
If Kazim-Richards and Copley can keep Crawley in League Two, the club will certainly have the Arsenal academy to thank. But nothing is guaranteed yet.
Kazim-Richards’ first game with Crawley will be at home to Gillingham on Saturday, March 28th at 15:00 GMT.