Ex-Gunner joins Crawley Town as player-coach

The 38-year-old, who made 23 first-team appearances for Arsenal, had been working at Brighton as an academy goalkeeper coach.

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone has joined Crawley Town in a dual player-coach role.

The 38-year-old will lead Crawley’s goalkeeping department, but is also being registered as part of the playing squad and available for selection despite retiring at the end of last season when his deal with Lille came to an end.

Crawley confirmed the appointment, stating: “Crawley Town Football Club is delighted to confirm the appointment of former Arsenal, Sunderland and Reading Goalkeeper Vito Mannone on a dual player-coach role.”

He was most recently been working at Brighton & Hove Albion as an academy goalkeeper coach.

Mannone joined Arsenal from Atalanta in 2005 at the age of 17, arriving as a £350,000 Arsène Wenger signing with potential. He spent much of his time in north London as a back-up goalkeeper but made 23 first-team appearances between 2006 and 2013, including clean sheets against Wigan, Fulham and Olympiakos, before leaving in search of regular football.

Following his appointment, Mannone said: “I am delighted and proud to take on this role and can’t wait to meet everyone at the club and to start working with the staff and players. I’ll give everything to the cause and hope to pass on my experiences as a player, leading into a successful season.”

Head coach Colin Kazim-Richards also welcomed the appointment, saying: “To be able to add to my coaching staff, to the club, someone of Vito’s calibre is a credit in itself. His knowledge, his footballing experiences, playing at the highest level with some of the best coaches in terms of standards, what it actually takes and ideas coming from a country that creates amazing goalkeepers, has really taken us up another level.

“Vito comes with an intensity, and it’s something I’m looking forward to in terms of creating a relationship and benefiting from his skills from a goalkeeper’s perspective, and also as a person. As soon as we spoke, I knew he was the right man, so I can’t wait to work with him.”

In total, Mannone has played for 10 clubs.

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