Arnold admitted he was a very different coach from when he was last in the green and gold hot seat after taking over from Guus Hiddink in the wake of the 2006 World Cup.

"If there's one thing I am half decent at, it is learning from mistakes," he said today. "I can sit here today and say to you in 2007 I wasn't a coach.

"I inherited a job that I didn't deserve – and I do feel that I've walked away from that a much better coach after making the mistakes I made.

"I can sit down and talk to those guys I coached and I'm actually embarrassed to say I coached them because I didn't coach them in the right way.

"And especially in trying to replace Guus Hiddink – that's like going from the top to the bottom in one go!"

But he added: "I've gone away into clubland here in the A-League and I've worked extremely hard.

"I've learned a lot of lessons by my mistakes and I do feel I deserve this this opportunity. I'm ready for this opportunity and I can't wait..."

He has been reunited with two backroom staff from Sydney FC in strength and conditioning coach Andrew Clark and analyst Doug Kors as well as physio Phil Coles and former Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen.

Arnold insisted he had nothing but respect for the work done by his predecessor Ange Postecoglou – despite claims Postecoglou was forced out by supporters backing Arnold.

But he said he was somewhere between Postecoglou's attacking philosophy and World Cup caretaker coach Bert van Marwijk's more defensive mentality.

He added: "I'm a winning coach.

"I think I showed that at Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners and I expect that with a great culture, great winning mentality, the players will do a great job for us.

"It's about getting the players in the right areas to score and playing a style that suits the players. I know these players so well – I've either coached them or coached against them.

"We need to play the Australian way and that is being brave and going out to win every game and expecting to win every game."

He said he had talked to members of the 2006 World Cup Golden Generation recently and they  told him one of the most important times in their career was when they were playing in both the Olyroos and Socceroos which prompted him to take charge of both sides.

"I rang at least 10 of them and spoke to them about the most important period of their development and when they felt that they went from being a great talent to a great footballer or feeling that they had a great career ahead of them," revealed Arnold.

"And it was in and around working with the same coaching staff, working in an international program that went from the under 20 national team to the under 23s that coincided with the Socceroos.

"We looked at the stats – Brett Emerton, by the time he was 23 had played 76 International games for the national terms compared to the 2018 squad where Mathew Leckie was the highest at 41.

"It's something that I'm very very passionate about."

But Arnold was keen to stress the added workload of the Olyroos would not overwhelm him.

"I love this game of football," he said. "It's a job that will not distract my focus and my I'm very clear that my full focus is on the Socceroos.

"But I do feel that being able to do both teams will inject a lot of new young blood, young talent into the Socceroos quickly and I do believe that is what we need right now."

He particularly identified Jamie Maclaren and Daniel Arzani as players likely to see more game time under his leadership as he looks to bring more youth into the senior side.

But he admitted there may be a mental issue that could be limiting Australia's ability to score from open play.

"I do know that we have those players," he said. "The kids are coming. They're coming through, we have to believe it. Those kids will come through and we'll be going to the next World Cup expecting to win games.

"They have to have belief in themselves first and foremost. Just talking to Jamie McLaren on the phone the other day, you can tell that kid really believes in himself.

"It's my job to give them that belief on the field and to do what he does best.

"I know that they can score – they've shown it before. So you know when you have the quality and and you've shown that you can do it in the past, then it can be the mental aspect and it's one that we work hard on the fix."

He added: "[Arzani] is a very intelligent kid – he knows what his plan is, he knows what his goal is and he's got good people around him to advise him.

"The most important thing – and he's clear about that – is that wherever he goes, he has to play.

"He believes in himself a lot which is great. He believes that by going to Celtic, he will get to play more games in Scotland and be part of the Champions League squad, than he probably would here in Australia

"It's good to hear a kid have that confidence and belief in himself and I'm sure that he will do exceptionally well."

In the short term, Arnold revealed the FFA are lining up two friendlies in September – including a farewell for retired Socceroos legend Tim Cahill – and another in October ahead of the Asian Cup.

"My main goal is obviously the Asian Cup and we are current champions," he said.

"You saw how well Japan and South Korea  did at the World Cup so it's gonna be a wonderful challenge. 

"And it's about exposing people to that opportunity to play at the Asian Cup.

"In a lot of ways that is short term but for me I've always been a person that looks at the long term and I'm just excited to work with this group of players."

The relaxed coach even found time for a joke about his old club Central Coast Mariners trialling Usain Bolt.

He added: "Everyone says I need a goalscorer and Usain hasn't been capped yet by Jamaica so he might be a possibility..."

But he quickly added: "Okay, that was a joke!"