Arsenal legend who brought Arsene Wenger to the club visits Hastings school

The former Arsenal Vice-Chairman invited Year 10 students from the school to attend the motivational talk at the academy.

David, a businessman and football entrepreneur, was Vice-Chairman of Arsenal, Vice-Chairman of the Football association and has served on numerous UEFA and FIFA committees.

SEE ALSO Cat killer strikes in Bexhill

David was President of the Arsenal Ladies team, which has consistently been one of the best performing teams in the UK and this year won the women’s equivalent of the premier League.

He had the foresight to bring Arsene Wenger to join Arsenal and under their leadership the team won a total of 18 trophies including two cup and league Doubles.

Teacher Mrs Iglinski said: “This engaging presentation took place in our main hall, where David talked to our students about Arsenal and the founding of the Premier League; he discussed how the team wanted to be one of the best, playing in one of the best leagues.

He explained how through television rights the league has, in 26 years, become one of the most watched leagues in the world.

“Our students listened intently as David gave a brief summary of what a manager might look for in his players and team, and what a manager must be like for the team to be successful.

Pride, reputation, hard work, originality and remembering you are playing as a team, are just a number of phrases he used to motivate and encourage our students ‘to be the best.’

“David asked a student to break a single pencil in half, which he did, and then asked him to break 11 pencils which were bundled together - he tried really hard but could not break them. This task showed our students the importance of working as a team.

“David has been at the forefront of many important changes including the use and introduction of Goal Line Technology, VAR (Video Assistant Referees) and referee’s magic spray.

During the talk, he demonstrated from a number of clips how this technology is used, then, to the amusement of the boys, went on to spray lines all over the hall floor!

“It was a great privilege to have David, who has had such an influence at one of the world’s top football clubs, come in and talk to our students.

The variety of topics discussed and the way in which they were presented totally engaged our students.”

The students also enthusiastically took part in a Q & A session, asking questions ranging from ‘Who is the best footballer of all time?’ to ‘What car do you have?’