Richard Carr ‘was Arsenal through and through’

ARSENAL players wore black armbands for their opening fixture of the season in memory of a director who played a key role in the club’s successful academy for young hopefuls.

Richard Carr, a former Lord Mayor of London, passed away aged 87 earlier this month.

He had worked with Gunners legend Liam Brady on the youth programme.

The Hale End academy has seen the likes of Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and now Max Dowman blossom into first team stars as Arsenal mix big money signings with home grown talent.

Mr Brady said this week: “He was Arsenal through and through, with family ties going way back into our history and his passion for the development of our young players was immense.

“There aren’t many directors driving up to Sunderland midweek for an FA Youth Cup game, but Richard travelled all over the country watching our teams and loved to discuss players’ progress with their families and our coaching team, which in turn was fantastic.”

Mr Carr was the grandson of Sir Bracewell Smith, also a former Lord Mayor of London and Arsenal’s chairman from 1949 to 1962.

Mr Brady said: “If I’m honest, bringing through players in the late 90s wasn’t easy as Arsène Wenger had put together a magnificent team. Ashley Cole’s breakthrough was therefore really significant and something Richard was very proud of as he knew it would pave the way for others, which it did.”

He added: “A warm, funny, very supportive man he was also very progressive in how he thought about the academy and championed it at board level.I saw him at the Emirates towards the end of last season and, as always, enjoyed his company. He was a great Arsenal man and I’ll miss him dearly.”

Sir Bracewell Smith had been a Conservative Party politician on the old Holborn Borough Council, decades before Camden as a local authority had been imagined. He was a high profile businessman in the capital – having been behind the building of the Park Lane Hotel in 1920. The family at one stage also owned The Ritz, perhaps the country’s most famous place for high tea.

The Bracewell Smith name continued to be associated with the ownership at Arsenal until Lady Nina Bracewell Smith, who had been the first female board member in the club’s history, sold her 15 per cent stake to Stan Kroenke in 2011.

She later said she regretted selling to US sports investors, whose empire includes the Colorado Rapids soccer club, the Denver Nuggets basketball club and the Los Angeles Rams in American football.

While the Kroenke operation at Arsenal has at times seen protests outside the stadium, fans have been revelling in the transfer market spending this summer which has seen a host of new faces join including Viktor Gyokeres and Eberachi Eze.

In a message welcoming fans to the new season published in Saturday’s matchday programme for the game against Leeds United, Josh Kroenke, Stan’s son, made special mention of Mr Carr.

“Richard was a much-loved member of the Arsenal family and right up to the final home game of last season was a familiar and joyful presence in the directors’ box,” he said.

“His devotion to the club and his passion – particularly to the academy – means his presence, impact and legacy will never feel far away.”

Mr Kroenke also told in his matchday notes how the club was mourning stadium facilities manager Mark Pearce who had worked for Arsenal since 1997 and was described as “kind, committed and calm under pressure.”