Two members of Arsenal's 'Invincibles' team have backed Jens Lehmann to have a positive impact on the club following his return as a first-team coach.
Lehmann will work with the club's goalkeepers having been brought in by Arsene Wenger as a member of the backroom staff, six years after retiring from playing in 2011.
Robert Pires and Gilberto Silva both played alongside Lehmann during their time in North London, memorably helping the club to an unbeaten Premier League campaign in 2003-04, and they believe that the former Germany international will be a valuable addition.
"It is good news. I'm very pleased for Jens, he's a good guy and a good professional. He can help the goalkeepers but not only them, the rest of the squad as well," Pires told Sky Sports News.
"You need to have a competitive side and Jens has always had that. He's a great professional. He's a German too, so he has his own rules. Sometimes he is very strict, but you need to have discipline in the dressing room and Jens is the man to bring that."
Gilberto added: "I am very pleased for Jens and for the club. He is a very professional person and a guy who is passionate for the game. I am sure it will be very important for the club to have him around because he is the kind of person who pushes the other guys when he sees something that is not right. The way he does things is in a very positive way.
"Maybe sometimes people saw him do things in the past and had a different interpretation of things but the way he was with us, sometimes we laughed. But in the end, we knew he was doing it for the benefit of the team. Sometimes you must have someone like this."
Arsenal will kick off the new Premier League season at home to Leicester City on August 11.
Barney Corkhill
