Arsenal have announced that former Gillingham and Dover striker Adam Birchall is their new under-18 head coach.

Birchall’s move from Dover to the Gills was hit by a serious injury but he’s gone onto big things in coaching, now replacing Jack Wilshere as the head coach of Arsenal’s under-18s.

Maidstone-born Birchall, now 39, started his own career in the youth ranks at Arsenal, earning a professional deal there at the age of 17, but he never made a first-team appearance and after playing for Mansfield Town and Barnet he moved to Dover under Andy Hessenthaler.

He also had loan spells with his hometown club Maidstone, along with a couple of stints at Dartford, but it was his prolific spell at Dover that he’ll be best remembered for as a player, scoring success that led Hessenthaler to take him to the Gills in the summer of 2011.

He missed the first season with an injury and was limited to just 17 appearance for the Gills, playing in the title-winning team under Martin Allen, before leaving permanently for Bromley in 2014.

Birchall moved into coaching at Arsenal. The club said he “played a key role in the development of our Under-18s since joining our Academy coaching staff over two years ago.”

He had initially joined them as an under-18s assistant coach in 2016 and has worked his way up.

His first game in charge as head coach for Arsenal under-18s will be away against Norwich City this Saturday.

The club’s academy manager, Per Mertesacker, said: “Adam has a wealth of experience at Arsenal, having worked at every phase of our academy, most recently as our under-17s head coach and under-18s assistant coach.

“He is a highly-qualified and highly-skilled individual who will transition into his new role effortlessly.

“Having played for our academy and coached here for almost 10 years, Adam is a key member of the Arsenal family.

“We are confident that Adam will lead this important age group in a forward-thinking, exciting and energetic way.”

The under-18 head coach role came up after former England midfielder Wilshere joined Norwich City in a first-team coaching role.