Don Howe, Former West Brom and Arsenal Right-Back, Dies at 80

Longtime West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal and England right-back Don Howe has died at the age of 80.

The news was confirmed by a statement on the Gunners' official website.

In his playing career, Howe was best known for his time with the Baggies. He made 379 appearances for Albion, according to the club's official site.

Per the FA, England manager Roy Hodgson paid a lengthy and touching tribute to Howe, describing him as a "friend, coach and mentor." He said:

"Today I lost a person who was all of those things to me and friends of my generation. I found myself privileged to say he befriended me and I think it is a great loss and I am very sad. I can only pass on my deepest condolences to his family."

He added:

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He was absolutely one of the very best coaches I have ever come across in my life and, certainly in my opinion, one of the very best coaches England ever had. 

...

I shall miss him and he will always be remembered by people within the game as one of the true greats, one of the true legendary coaches. He was ahead of his time.

He wasn’t just a great coach, he was a great human being.

"

Howe's affiliation with Arsenal was marked more by his excellent contributions at the coaching level. In particular, his place alongside manager Bertie Mee brought the Gunners tremendous success. The highlight was undoubtedly the league and cup double to culminate the 1970/71 season.

BOB DEAR/Associated Press

Arsenal captured the First Division championship at the home of north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, courtesy of a Ray Kennedy goal. Then Howe and Mee saw their team outlast Liverpool at Wembley with Charlie George's famous strike sealing the double.

After a brief foray into senior management with old club West Brom, Howe came back to Arsenal. The club's official site detailed how he worked alongside Terry Neill at the helm of a staff that helped guide the Gunners to a trio of FA Cup finals in the late '70s.

The same report also showed how Howe's legacy at Arsenal went beyond trophies and final appearances. He had a lasting impact on the future of the club, thanks to his work developing young players:

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Appointed permanent Arsenal manager in April 1984, he spent two years at the helm and was instrumental in the development of numerous stars of the future, giving David Rocastle, Martin Keown, Michael Thomas, Niall Quinn and Martin Hayes their debuts - among many others.

...

Don then enjoyed a very successful six seasons developing the talents of Arsenal’s young players, leading the team to FA Youth Cup wins in 2000 and 2001, before retiring at the end of the 2002/03 season.

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Howe was also in the dugout for another Wembley final, when Wimbledon won the FA Cup in 1988, again stunning Liverpool. His coaching work even included stints with the England national team, where he worked alongside Bobby Robson and Terry Venables.

BBC Sport's Phil McNulty is among those who have expressed sadness:

Amy Lawrence of the Guardian did the same:

Meanwhile, West Brom's official Twitter feed confirmed the club will pay its own tribute before each of their upcoming Premier League clashes against Swansea City and Newcastle United, respectively:

Albion also confirmed they will dedicate a section of their pre-match programme to a retrospective of Howe's career, ahead of the January 2 clash with Stoke City:

In their statement, Arsenal Football Club sent their thoughts to Howe's family.