Lee Smelt profile
Name
Lee Smelt
Position
Academy Goalkeeping Coach
Born
March 13, 1958, Edmonton
Previous clubs as player
Colchester United, Nott'm Forest, Peterborough United, Halifax Town, Cardiif City, Exeter City
Previous clubs as coach
Charlton Athletic, Cardiff City
Joined Arsenal
July 2010
This is Lee’s second season in his role at Arsenal – he joined the Club in the summer of 2010 after completing a 12-year stint coaching Charlton Athletic’s young goalkeepers.
His coaching career has also included a spell at Cardiff City’s academy and several managerial roles on the non-league circuit.
As a player, he began with Colchester United before becoming Peter Shilton’s understudy in a highly-successful Nottingham Forest team. He also represented Halifax Town and Cardiff before retiring at 30.
As a youngster, he had been capped by England at Under-18 level. Lee is a lifelong Arsenal fan, having grown up within seconds of the site of Emirates Stadium on Hornsey Road.
He has also worked with the first team’s goalkeepers, Wojciech Szczesny putting the improvement in his kicking partly down to Lee last season.
