Without any experience, Per Mertesacker took over Arsenal’s offspring after his career ended. The ex-national player is consistently rebuilding the Hale End Academy.
The step came as a surprise and it was quite daring! In the summer of 2017, Arsenal FC announced that Mertesacker would become the new head of the junior academy a year later. The German was still a Gunners player at the time and was going into his final season as a professional. He had no experience in dealing with talent, apart from a few units as a substitute coach during injury breaks. Mertesacker has now been in office for three and a half years, he has turned the youth work of the traditional club inside out – and the first successes are emerging.
“Per is extremely popular and a former top player. You can’t fool him and he knows what a player needs to make the transition from youth to top football,” says someone who regularly competes with the world champion at Arsenal 2014 has to do with talking to SPOX and GOAL.
“Since taking up the post, he has developed an understanding of the importance of training young players every day.” The three-time FA Cup winner Mertesacker enjoys “the greatest respect” from the kickers and their families.
Arsenal: Per Mertesacker brought in a new coach for the U23
Just as determined and straightforward as Mertesacker once acted as a defender on the pitch, he began to reform Arsenal’s academy shortly after taking office. He replaced ex-professional Steve Morrow on the post of chief scout by Lee Herron, who came from Reading. This was followed by the recruitment of four more new scouts for different age groups. Arsenal promptly goes to work more aggressively in recruiting outstanding talent. Last summer, Tim Akinola (Huddersfield), Jonathan Dinzeyi (Tottenham), Joel Ideho and Nikolai Möller (both Ajax), Amani Richards from Chelsea and Hertha’s Omar Rekik were signed up.
Even greater than the changes in the field of talent scouts are the cuts that have been and are in the field of coaches. Mertesacker decided to part with U23 coach Steven Bould after last season. Whose team had only prevented relegation from the Premier League 2 with a bang. Mertesacker had a more successful and, above all, more offensive style in mind for the young reserve team.
The 37-year-old examined numerous candidates for the coaching position and finally brought England’s previous U18 coach Kevin Betsy to Hale End. This turns out to be a stroke of luck. Betsy has built a powerful troupe around the jewels Charlie Patino, Omari Hutchinson, Kido Taylor-Hart and Zane Monlouis. Arsenal is currently the leader of the table and has the best offensive in the league with 32 goals in 11 games.
Ex-Arsenal star Jack Wilshere raves about Per Mertesacker
The U18s now also have a new trainer in the form of the former U16 national coach Dan Micciche, and numerous other adjustments have been made in this area. There is also someone responsible for the goalkeepers at the academy and a new head for sports science and medicine has also been hired.
One person who is well versed in Arsenal’s academy is Jack Wilshere. The former super talent is currently without a club and has stayed fit with the Gunners in recent months. With Mertesacker, he attends his ex-club’s youth games, most recently the U21 game in the EFL Trophy against Newport County.
at SPOX and GOAL enthuses Wilshere about the work of his former teammate: “It’s a tough job for someone with no experience. (…) But he has brought in good coaches and takes care of everything. He is not afraid to make big decisions and he’s right. “
“Everyone has to remember that the most important thing is the players. It’s about getting the best out of them. You need good coaches and good staff for that. Per does an excellent job in this,” continued the former international. Wilshere himself is on the way to getting his coaching license and, with Mertesacker’s permission, is also sniffing Arsenal’s U23s.
Since Mertesacker has wielded the scepter in Arsenal’s academy, the club has been focusing more clearly on lending young players. Ben Knapper previously worked as an analyst for the North London company, and Mertesacker made him the new “Loan Manager” in early 2019.
Chelsea as a role model for Arsenal
The strategy of the “Loan Army” at city rivals FC Chelsea serves as a model for Knapper. Talents who have not (yet) made it into Arsenal’s professional squad should gain playing experience in the senior sector significantly more often than before at other clubs and thus develop as best as possible. Not all of them have the prospect of making it to Gunners manager Mikel Arteta at some point. However, they should then at least be developed in such a way that they generate transfer revenues. After all, the considerable investments in the junior division under Mertesacker have to be made up again.
“A very clear focus is now being placed on the transition from the youth to the senior sector,” adds an insider SPOX and GOAL off. “It’s about producing players for your own team – or just selling them. That’s how top clubs do it, and this thinking now also prevails at Arsenal. Ben and Per are the key figures.”
Daniel Ballard is a positive example. The 22-year-old was a key player in Blackpool’s promotion to the championship a year ago, is now an international player for Northern Ireland and is now playing on loan at Millwall. For him, a decent transfer should be achieved on the island, should Arsenal decide to sell at some point.
Mertesacker recently spoke about his work in Arsenal’s Matchday Magazine. He said: “There are still various areas in which I expect our academy to make progress. After three years in this job, however, I realize how big this project really is. It is not completed quickly, it is for a longer period of time Cycle designed. “
Arsenal: good mood among talents thanks to Mertesacker
He also pointed out that Arsenal’s youth work had always been a bargaining chip for the club, “but now it’s about developing. That’s my job. I don’t want to mess everything up. But I want for every player and every employee make a difference in our academy. “
So far he has succeeded. Numerous young hopes have signed new contracts with Arsenal in the recent past. And according to information from GOAL and SPOX, the atmosphere within the youth center, between the different age groups and the different coaching staff is better than it has been for a long time.
This suggests that the decision of the former club bosses Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger to place Arsenal’s youth work in the hands of Mertesackers was quite risky, but absolutely right.
