England and Arsenal legend Sol Campbell calls time on his career as a manager

An Arsenal and England icon has officially quit management despite once claiming he was 'one of the greatest minds in football'.

He built a career as a Premier League winner and was a regular for his country but did not reach the same heights in the dugout.

His second and last managerial job ended in 2020, when he was sacked at a beleaguered then-League One club.

Oxford United turned him down for his first job in 2018, prompting him to announce that he was 'one of the greatest minds in football' and 'wasted because of a lack of experience'.

He was outspoken in calling for a culture change to allow more black coaches to be given management opportunities, a worthy cause which he put his weight behind.

The individual in question is Sol Campbell, who managed Macclesfield Town and Southend United but has been out of a management job for more than three years.

They were two of the most challenging jobs in the Football League, both at severely embattled teams - Macclesfield were wound up in 2020 and Southend United have dropped into the National League and have been beset with financial issues.

While he still loves coaching and wants to stay in the world of developing footballers, Campbell will not be applying for more management jobs.

He told PA: 'For me, it is about getting opportunities to fail.

'Some of my peers have had jobs and it's not worked out and then they have had opportunities again straight away, they've always had a lifeline.

'That is a nice position to be in. I am not in that position, I would love to be, but those situations are not coming to me. I would love to be involved in football and have chances, but that is not happening.

'You have to look at football in a different way and that is what I am going to start doing