Arteta credits Mertesacker for 'incredible' work with Arsenal academy

Martin Macdonald

18 Sept 2021 14:45 BST
5 min read

Per Mertesacker, Mikel Arteta, Arsenal — © ProShots

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has praised Per Mertesacker for doing "incredible" work with the club's academy.

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The pair played together at the Emirates and both would ultimately return after their respective playing careers, with Arteta coming back as first team manager and Mertesacker as academy manager.

Things haven't been easy on the pitch for Arsenal over the past year as in the 2020/21 season they failed to qualify for Europe for the first time in 25 years, while in the current campaign they have lost three out of their opening four games.

One positive has been the emergence of young players Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka, and there are other gems in the academy too such as Charlie Patino.

Though Arteta wouldn't mention any players specifically, he mentioned that some wonderkids are flourishing under Mertesacker.

"We have a few more coming up," the Spaniard said.

"I don't want to give any specific names.

"Per is doing an incredible amount of work. The seeds that he planted we're now starting to see."

Mertesacker's vision

In 2019, Mertesacker outlined his vision for how the Arsenal academy should be run and how young people should be treated.

"It's sometimes easy to talk about respect as a behaviour and standard but for me it's very important in terms of how kids and parents treat staff, how staff treat kids," Mertesacker explained to Football London.

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"If someone has not been able to deliver on that front, of being respectful, that would be an issue for me moving forward.

"If that's on the discipline front, is he putting in the hard work? Does he turn up on time?

"There is a factor of humility. However good you are, are you willing to learn and improve.

"So, I would say these three words: respect, discipline and humility play a big part in what we are trying to achieve, and are the foundation for me to have an impact and be strong about it."