Neil Banfield's journey to Rangers: From coaching kids to superstars

During part one of a wide-ranging conversation, which you can read HERE, Rangers' first-team coach discusses his spell at QPR, scouting for Steven Gerrard and his journey from knowing Michael Beale as a young player at Charlton to working for him at Ibrox.

In part two, Banfield dives into the detail of working with Wenger at the elite curve of football, Arsenal's youth revolution and coaching the likes of Mesut Ozil, Robin van Persie, Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla and more.

Turning down a job offer from Arsene Wenger once is brave. Twice? A career sliding-doors moment for most.

It’s 2002 and Neil Banfield is resisting the offer of stepping away from his role as head of youth at Arsenal to become reserve team coach. Contrary to the notion of lacking ambition it’s a move that showcases his aims.

“The reserves was a prestige job within Arsenal but I’d gone from heading up the Under-17s and always wanted to be head of youth,” he tells the Rangers Review.

“There was an ambition within the youth players. I said no, explaining that the reserves had a different energy, with first-team players dropping down instead of young players trying to get somewhere. I didn’t think there was as much purpose to it.

“When Arsene asked a second time and I turned down the offer again he wanted more information. I explained my reasons to him and he agreed, adding this whole area of football required changing and said, ‘Well, what can we do’?

“I said ‘Why don’t we make an elite group that’s the bridge between the first team and the youth set-up’. We bounced ideas between us and Arsene agreed it was where he wanted the club to go. I still had a foot in with the youth camp and it worked great.”

The encounter provides a glimpse of the respect that travelled both ways between Banfield and Wenger. It was also a conversation that would help catalyse a generation of talent emergence in North London.

Banfield, 61, joined the club in 1996, the same year as Wenger showed up. Firstly he was in a part-time role before taking the Under-17 head coach role full-time in 1997 and then becoming head of youth two years later.

Arsenal’s long-heralded player development had the now Rangers first-team coach right at the heart of its revolution. All these years later Michael Beale can now count on his expertise at Ibrox.

Taking the best players from the Under-16s upwards, Arsenal moved away from the traditional reserve team model and reaped the rewards.

The role allowed Banfield to keep developing talent and doing what he loves while working ever closer with Wenger. Describing himself as honest and straight, Banfield’s claim that he tried his best for every player is evident in his tone and recollection. This was and is a coach who sees his job extending beyond training times.

“You get players coming in at 14 or 15 during their transition to men. You’re trying to give them the right values,” he continues.

“They have more contact with you than they probably would at home. You try to affect the person as well as the player. That was always my philosophy as an individual. That when they left Arsenal they were a stand-up person. I hope we did that.

PART ONE:  Neil Banfield on scouting Beale, working for Gerrard and joining Rangers

“I had Cesc [Fabregas] in his first game. Steve Bould was his manager, but I managed that game. You had players come through like Jack Wilshere and Ashley Cole, they were just on a completely different level and you could see it right away.

“If Jack hadn’t got an injury he could’ve been England captain. I saw him as an 11-year-old, I think they signed him from Luton, as soon as he kicked the ball you could see it. We had some good ones. Sometimes my son says, says 'Bloody hell Dad, that’s a few good players'.

“We were doing really well and then the Chelsea revolution started. We couldn’t match them financially but we tried to be clever. One or two we’d really go for and try to match them but then otherwise, we band our groups up. When I was there I could mention groups and not individuals. Then you had the elite group and the development group.”

Success isn’t always linear. Banfield’s focus was not only on getting players a career at Arsenal, but helping them build a life in football. He’s as proud of those who’ve played away from the Emirates, with particular mention for a certain Serge Gnabry, as he is of the likes of Wilshere.

In 2020, after Bayern Munich’s Champions League win, a package from Gnabry arrived at Banfield’s London home with a shirt from the campaign.

“I always worked with Serge and had a relationship with him. Again, at times he didn’t like what I said, but I think he would say now it was spot on. It shows when these types of things turn up.

“He was maybe a bit immature and needed to grow up but then he flourished. Ability-wise, you could see it from day one. They talk about talent. What’s talent? How do you define it?

“He had the ability and power. Sometimes it just doesn’t happen because you have people in front of you. Stevie Sidwell had Patrick Viera, Emanuel Petit and Gilberto ahead of him. You’re talking about World Cup winners.

“The last group I was involved in at the club had Bukaya Saka as the youngest one. I didn’t have much to do with him but we worked a bit together. But that team had Josh Da Silva, Chris Willock, Glen Kamara, Eddie Nketiah and Reiss Nelson. The group above them had Alex Iwobi and Chuka Akpom.

“When we brought someone into Arsenal we could see a player, not just the club. We always said we’ll give them a career. Luke Ayling, Fabrice Muamba, Seb Larson and Nicolas Bendtner all made careers away from Arsenal. I worked as hard as I could for them to give them a career in the game.”

Banfield’s journey would not stop at the elite group. In 2012 when Pat Rice retired Wenger had a first-team coach void to fill in his staff. Needless to say, there was no convincing required for Banfield when this particular job offer came around.

“It was surreal. I never, ever thought I was going to be the first-team coach. Never in my wildest dreams. I went home and said to my wife, 'You’ve got to pinch me because I’ve just been asked to be first-team coach',” Banfield continues.

“The names synonymous with that role… It was something I never dreamed of. I was really close with Arsene because of the elite group but to be on his coaching staff for the last six years of his career was special. I was with him right the way through his time at the club. Forming a technical committee with Steve Bould, Liam Brady, Ivan Gazidis and Arsene towards the end. It was a fantastic journey.

“Arsene just loved football. He wanted to talk about it all the time. A lot of the periphery stuff got in the way for him I think. When he first started he would come and sit with the youth coaches, watch the teams. He was just a really good football man. He was so free and giving and always interested in what you were doing.”

The jump from fostering budding young talents to working with some of the most established players in world football took some getting used to. Robin van Perise, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla are a few of the names that Banfield’s worked with.

“When I first took the job it was a bit daunting for me," he adds. 

"You’re working with the likes of Mesut and Robin, they knew I had a good reputation but I always said I was there to facilitate, help and develop not teach them how to play football!

“I think if I’m honest. There are great coaches out there who were probably better than me. He trusted me as a person, as well you’ve got to be bloody good at your job, I’m not saying I am! I see traits of Michael [Beale], the way he is demanding from his staff, it's a trait that all top managers have.”

Beale can now count on the expertise, experience and intuition that Wenger trusted for all those years at Arsenal and saw fit to promote during his swansong at the club, during which time three FA Cups were won.

Banfield clearly still has much to give, with his wisdom moored all those years next to one of football's truly great minds.