Forgotten former Arsenal keeper, 38, forced off on league debut for Crawley as League Two side in bonkers opening day

FORMER Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone was forced out of his league debut for Crawley Town due to injury. The Italian, who made 23 appearances for the Gunners in seven seasons, joined the League Two side in June as a player-coach. Former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone joined Crawley Town this summer Credit: GETTY The Italian joined the the League Two outfit as a player-coach Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK Mannone, 38, made his league bow for the Red Devils in their opening-day clash with Crewe Alexandra on Saturday afternoon. But the veteran stopper lasted only 46 minutes before injury forced him off. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! Mannone began struggling in the 20th minute and promptly received treatment. He toiled again in the 45th minute, prompting head coach Colin Kazim-Richards to haul him off. Kazim-Richards replaced Mannone with Blackburn Rovers loanee and England Under-19s international Nicholas Michalski.. The severity of Mannone’s injury is currently unknown. Mannone joined Crawley following a stint at Brighton as an academy goalkeeping coach. Upon his arrival, he said: “I am delighted and proud to take on this role and can’t wait to meet everyone at the club and to start working with the staff and players. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS Vito Mannone joined Crawley following a stint as an academy coach at Brighton Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK Crawley are manager by former Premier League star Colin Kazim-Richards Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK “I’ll give everything to the cause and hope to pass on my experiences as a player, leading into a successful season.” Kazim-Richards said: ” To be able to add to my coaching staff, to the club, someone of Vito’s calibre is a credit in itself. “His knowledge, his footballing experiences, playing at the highest level with some of the best coaches in terms of standards, what it actually takes and ideas coming from a country that creates amazing goalkeepers, has really taken us up another level. “Vito comes with an intensity, and it’s something I’m looking forward to in terms of creating a relationship and benefiting from his skills from a goalkeeper’s perspective, and also as a person. “As soon as we spoke, I knew he was the right man, so I can’t wait to work with him.” Comment now