After wringing everything out of a Premier League and international football career that once seemed like it might never happen, Harry Arter has earned a restful retirement.
He moved to Dubai earlier this year with exactly that in mind. But it is not panning out quite as planned.
Instead, he is back playing – as frequently as his body permits – for Precision Football in the third tier of the UAE league structure. And he has an exacting day job, too.
He has a role with Wasserman, the agency who looked after his own interests when he was a player, as well as the likes of Steven Gerrard, John Stones and Federico Valverde.
It took him to Saudi Arabia twice last week. The return trip on the second commute was a red-eye flight, and he needed the caffeine jolt of a cortado to revive him on arrival at Precision’s training centre at Ibn Battuta Mall.
Clearly, the work ethic that characterised the tough-tackling midfielder’s playing style is carrying over into his career after the pro game.
“There’s a lot of good agents,” Arter, 34, said. “There’s a lot of really bad agents, and people that work within football. I’ve seen so many that can have a positive and a negative influence.
“That side of football is my interest, and over the last four or five years I’ve been studying and looking at ways of trying to develop.”
A keenness to carry on playing, a willingness to help mould aspiring pros, plus an enviable contacts book, made Arter an obvious recruit for the Precision mission.
In admittedly very different spheres, the goal of Precision is similar to that Arter once faced with Bournemouth. Namely, to make it to the top league and compete, to play in continental competition, all from a humble starting point.
Precision began as an innovative community football hub, on a car park in a shopping mall. Then Sonny Cobbs, the founder and CEO, was persuaded to start a senior team.
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Harry Arter, a former Premier League footballer, now combines a career with Wasserman with playing in the third tier of UAE football with Precision Football. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Harry Arter now lives in Dubai and plays for Precision Football in the UAE's third tier. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Harry Arter at Precision Football's training centre at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Harry Arter, who played Premier League football with Bournemouth, now lives in Dubai. Antonie Robertson/The National -
Manager Eddie Howe, right, with midfielder Harry Arter during their time together at Bournemouth. PA -
Eddie Howe, manager of Bournemouth, embraces Harry Arter as they stand in the technical area during a Premier League match against Manchester United at Vitality Stadium on December 12, 2015. Getty Images -
Chelsea's Eden Hazard, right, in action with Bournemouth's Adam Smith and Harry Arter. Reuters -
Harry Arter warming up during a loan spell with Charlton Athletic.
They won promotion in their first season and, perhaps unsurprisingly given their playing squad, are well placed to do similar this season. Arter is playing in the same XI as other ex-Premier League players like Ravel Morrison and Matty Lowton, as well as some talented youngsters.
“It’s a club that is really on the rise,” Arter said. “Sonny’s great. He is really positive and wants to improve as well. The club is going to face moments where there are going to be decisions that are tough because it is such a new club.
“I’ve really enjoyed it, and it's worked really well with what I'm doing away from the pitch. It coincides with what I hope to do in the future.”
Cobbs is glad to have people of Arter’s pedigree on board. “The lads that I have in are a great fit in terms of they want to give back,” Cobbs said.
“They want to help the younger players. These young players, they want to try to move on, and these players are kind of coming to the end of their career and could offer them guidance.”
The project has reunited Arter and Cobbs, 15 years after they played non-league football together at Welling United.
The East London club was in the fifth tier of the English pyramid at the time, and both players aspired to careers in the pro game. Now, each have reached the same point via contrasting routes.
Cobbs called time aged just 23 on a pro career that took in stints at Brighton and Southampton, as well as a brief but eventful spell as an overseas player in Lebanon.
While he set about building a career in coaching that has led to the creation of Precision, Arter went on to play over 200 times for Bournemouth, and get 19 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
All of which is quite the achievement for someone who faced serious injury as a teenager, and had to drop out of league football before bouncing back.
“I played through the majority of the leagues growing up,” Arter said. “I took a big drop down to non-league and that’s where you learn about people.
“It’s not easy because you are kind of cut adrift. That is a difficult journey, even for older players. They can experience injuries or getting released or disappointments later on in their career.
“It’s not easy to deal with sometimes. Even with some of the young lads here, they’ve had journeys where they’ve been at good clubs in England, and they’ve had to drop down levels.
“It is difficult, firstly with confidence. There’s no denying that takes a bit of a hit when you face disappointment and adversity. I feel like I can help players and share my experience. It’s something I really feel strongly about.”
Arter credits Eddie Howe, the now Newcastle United manager who oversaw Bournemouth’s rise through the divisions, for so much of the career he had.
“He was not the person or the manager he is now, but he really had a similar ambition to me in terms of wanting to get to the top,” Arter said of their first meeting in 2010.
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Precision Football player Ravel Morrison during a training session with his new club at Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai on November 12, 2024. All photos: Ahmed Ramzan for The National -
Ravel Morrison during training with his club Precision Football. -
Ravel Morrison of UAE Second Division club Precision Football. -
Precision Football founder and coach Sonny Cobbs leads training. -
Precision Football players take part in a training session. -
Sonny Cobbs during an interview with The National. -
Sonny Cobbs urges his players on at training. -
Sonny Cobbs during Precision Football training at Ibn Battuta Mall. -
Precision Football players train. -
Precision Football founder and coach Sonny Cobbs.
“Even though Bournemouth were in [third-tier] League 1, I still had aspirations to get in the Premier League. I shared that with him in what was like an interview. I shared my goals, and his goals and dreams reflected that.
“It was a perfect match. He is someone that was really hard working and had a real passion to develop players. He is someone who shaped my career, who shaped my personality as a person, and someone I’m really grateful to have worked with.”
Arter acknowledges that when he told Howe he foresaw a future in the Premier League, he did not have it in mind that would be with Bournemouth.
But the club went on an unforeseen rise which now sees them sitting comfortably in the top half of England’s top flight.
“The philosophy at the club, particularly then, was for young players to do well and then they sell them to keep the club afloat,” Arter said.
“My ambition was always to get into the team and do well and ultimately get sold, but the club's journey and the club’s rise really matched me personally at the time.
“We rose from League 1 to the Premier League really quickly, so thankfully I didn’t have to leave. It was just an incredible journey.
“A small club like Bournemouth to get to the Premier League without huge finances is so rare. The chances of it happening again are slim, particularly with a group of players that had no Premier League experience.”
