Tag: football

Gray, who holds the U.E.F.A. A Licence coaching qualification, has most recently been a key part of Arsenal’s Academy and has varied other experiences as a coach and mentor under his belt.

Blues’ Head of Academy Coaching, Mike Scott, commented, “We had some strong coaches apply for this role.  Julian was chosen because he is a fantastic coach who shares brilliant detail, can demonstrate from a playing perspective when coaching and will add knowledge and experience to the programme.  Julian is also a fantastic mentor for young people and will be another person in the building who will support players as they progress in their journey to becoming a professional footballer. 

Also, Liam Daish, our Academy Manager (Football), myself and the staff are starting to put processes in place to support individual-specific development across the business end of the programme.  His knowledge as a forward will be valuable to players who have aspirations to follow in his footsteps and play in the Premier League for this Club in the future, like Julian did when we were previously at that level. 

For us having former players who want to come back because they have such an affinity to the Club and want to help take us forward is a real asset to the development of our young players and will continue to take this fantastic Academy and Club in a strong direction.”

Gray, from Lewisham, London, came through the Gunners Academy as a player and made a solitary senior appearance for the club, as a substitute, before a £500,000 transfer to Crystal Palace in 2000.  A left-footed, wide-attacking player, he joined Birmingham City after helping Crystal Palace to Premier League promotion via the Play-Offs in 2004.

He arrived at an exciting time as that summer Steve Bruce also added Emile Heskey, Muzzy Izzet, David Dunn, Mario Melchiot and Jesper Gronkjaer to the ranks.  Gray made 36 appearances for Blues in his first campaign and scored the second, clinching goal in a 2 – 0 win in the Second City derby in March at St. Andrew’s.

Primarily used on the wing, Gray also slotted in at left-back on numerous occasions to great effect, notably providing a memorable performance when keeping Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo quiet in a 0 – 0 home draw, and remained a consistent performer for Bruce, appearing 27 times in 2005/06 as Blues suffered relegation. 

After Birmingham won promotion from the Championship the next season Gray left Blues at the end of the campaign and headed for Coventry City.  Following two years with the Sky Blues he signed for Fulham before spells at Barnsley and Walsall, twice, sandwiching a stint in Cyprus with Nea Salamis. 

Gray rejoined Arsenal’s Academy in 2019 and spent the past three years as Assistant Coach to the Under-18’s side.