Rice retires to end 44-year link with Arsenal

Arsenal assistant manager Pat Rice is retiring at the end of the season after 44 years service to the Gunners, the club said in a statement on Thursday.
His last match as Arsene Wenger's No. 2 will be the Premier League season finale at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday when Arsenal will attempt to seal third place in the table.



The 63-year-old Rice, who played 49 times for Northern Ireland, first joined Arsenal as a youth player in 1964, was a member of their 1970-71 double-winning team and captained the side to FA Cup success in 1979.

He played 528 times for Arsenal over 14 seasons and after a spell at Watford in the early 1980s, returned to Arsenal in 1984 and became Wenger's right-hand man when the Frenchman joined the club in 1996.

Wenger described Rice as an "Arsenal legend".

"He has committed almost his whole life to Arsenal Football Club, which shows huge loyalty and devotion," Wenger said.

"Pat has been amazing for me over the past 16 years.

"I will always be indebted to him for his expert insight into Arsenal and football as a whole. On the training pitches and on matchdays, Pat has always been a passionate, loyal and insightful colleague, who we will all miss."

Arsenal will announce his replacement in due course with former player Steve Bould, the current chief youth-team coach, among the favourites for the position.