Old coward follows quiet child around arena (2,6,7)
I believe the answer is:
no spring chicken
'old' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.
'coward follows quiet child around arena' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'coward' could be 'chicken' (similar in meaning) and 'chicken' is found within the answer.
'quiet' could be 'p' (music symbol for 'piano', ie soft or quiet) and 'p' is found in the answer.
'around' could be 'o' (a round letter) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'arena' could be 'ring' (eg a boxing ring) and 'ring' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for no spring chicken that I've seen before include "not young any more" , "Mature" , "unseasoned meat, might you say?" , "One who's seasoned" , "Veteran" .)