Jens Lehmann was a cult hero among Arsenal fans during his playing days so what can the Gunners expect as he returns to take up a coaching role?

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Intense, ambitious and not afraid of dishing it out to team-mates and opponents alike, 'Mad' Jens Lehmann became a cult hero during five years with Arsenal in which he experienced incredible highs and lows - from being a Premier League Invincible to a Champions League final fall guy when he was sent off against Barcelona.

Now, at the age of 47, the German is returning to the club as a goalkeeping coach, and life certainly won't be dull as Arsene Wenger looks for extra drive on the training ground 13 years after his last championship.

Lehmann had a love-hate relationship with Arsenal fans and the wider public after signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2003 at the age of 33. But the importance of his legacy has been more clearly viewed since he left, with Arsenal struggling to replicate his driven personality.

Jens Lehmann is set for a return to Arsenal as a goalkeeping coach this summer

Lehmann was part of Arsenal's unbeaten, title-winning squad in 2003-04

He was sent off in the Champions League final against Barcelona in 2006

'You can't sulk if you want to be seen as a big player,' he said of Alexis Sanchez last season in his role as a successful pundit on German television.

Now Wenger has invited him back in an official capacity, something not even afforded to other past greats like Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.

Perhaps he sees in Lehmann a character who hates losing as much as he does. 

'I argued with Wenger quite often, particularly when he took me out of the team,' smiles Lehmann.

As a goalkeeper, Lehmann did enough to show he was the right choice when Wenger eventually picked his successor to David Seaman.

He won the Premier League title unbeaten in his first season at the club and followed up by saving from Paul Scholes in the penalty shootout when Arsenal beat Manchester United to win the FA Cup in 2005.

However, a hat-trick of triumphs was denied him when he rushed from goal and was sent off against Barca in the 2006 Champions League final, which 10-man Arsenal went on to lose 2-1.

Lehmann is a colourful character and was always happy to make his opinion known

The German will add extra spirit to the coaching ranks at the Emirates Stadium

Lehmann points his finger in the face of Blackburn midfielder Robbie Savage

'I always question myself if I could have done better when I touched Samuel Eto'o and got sent off. I should have made a decision to stay in my box but for some reason I went out,' he admits.

But even more than his goalkeeping, it was Lehmann's personality that earned him cult hero status, though he drove opponents man with his theatrics.

Serious and disciplined in his preparation, Lehmann would stop at nothing to win, which saw him become a target for opponents winding him up.

When Southampton's Kevin Phillips stood on the goalkeeper's foot midway through the Invincibles 2003-04 season, Lehmann threw the ball at him in retaliation and was fined £10,000.

Even more famously, he was in goal when Ruud van Nistelrooy hit the crossbar for Manchester United with an injury-time penalty that would have ended Arsenal's unbeaten hopes.

Lehmann was in the front of the queue to protest the decision – for a push by Martin Keown on Diego Forlan – and gave van Nistelrooy a bit of sledging before he took the kick.

He lifted the FA Cup with Patrick Vieira following a penalty shootout save in 2005

Lehmann represented Germany in the Euro 2008 final, which his side lost to Spain

Lehmann had plenty of run-ins with opposing players but was something of a cult hero 

He had run-ins with Didier Drogba and Robbie Keane and was booked eight times in 2006-07 alone, a record for a goalkeeper.

Having said all that, he performed a crucial role giving Arsenal some much-needed steel when they were best known for playing beautiful football through the likes of Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires.

'He is experienced, used to playing under pressure, intelligent, speaks English and has a good personality,' said Wenger about his new keeper on arrival.

Looking back, Lehmann's own assessment on his career is: 'I wasn't strong, I became strong. There's a difference between having a good character and an absolute winning mentality.'

He enjoyed the best spell of his career deep into his thirties while an Arsenal player and having been overlooked by Germany for Oliver Kahn during his twenties, he went on to play in the final of Euro 2008. He returned to Arsenal briefly in 2011 and later took his coaching badges at the club when he trained some of the youngsters.

Now he's set to return to replace Gerry Peyton. 

'I won't just fade away quietly,' he promised when Manuel Almunia lanched a challenge to be the club's No 1.

Arsenal's training ground won't be quiet next season.

Lehmann discusses a Graham Poll decisions with Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney