Francis Coquelin and Ainsley Maitland-Niles turned their hands to coaching as they helped launch Arsenal’s new football programme with youth homeless charity Centrepoint.
The midfield duo took part in training and classroom sessions at the Arsenal Hub next door to the Emirates Stadium as part of the club’s annual members’ day on Friday.
Coquelin joined in a classroom session designed to improve the group’s employability skills before taking to the field alongside Centrepoint football coach Nathan Auguste and team-mate Maitland-Niles.
“We live in a little bubble, us footballers,” Coquelin, who grew up in the French town of Laval, told Standard Sport. “I come from a similar area to this. I know what it’s like.
“I’m always happy to come and visit these guys; it brings me back down to earth.
“What I respect and like a lot about Arsenal is that they do a lot of work in the local area with the Foundation. I’m really happy to be playing for a club that does so much for this community.”
Auguste, an Arsenal fan, added: “People aren’t aware of the work Arsenal do in the community but they should be. They’ve got a lot of projects that engage people that wouldn’t normally participate.
“To come here and work with Francis and Ainsley is a childhood dream come true.”
The programme, funded in part through a day’s wages from Arsenal’s first-team, will provide guidance and employment advice to over 100 individuals living in temporary accommodation.
It is the latest project in the long-running relationship between Arsenal and Centrepoint, for whom the Gunners raised £500,000 as their charity of the year in the 2011-12 season.
