How a pair of trolley-dash signings are now shaping Arsenal's future
GERMAN EFFICIENCY: Arsenal's Academy Director Mertesacker
ARSENE WENGER was mocked after signing five players in a 48-hour transfer deadline flurry for Arsenal, in August 2011. The spending seemed more like a chaotic trolley dash than long-term husbandry for a squad that had not long shipped eight goals against Manchester United. Korean Park Chu-young, Brazilian defender Andre Santos and Israeli stalwart Yossi Benayoun all came and went pretty much without trace.
A decade or so later and perhaps it was a sliding doors moment that is making Arsenal a true force once again. Two of those apparently inconsequential signings, Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker, are now the driving forces behind the revival in London N5.
However the finale to this crazy season pans out, it is hard to dispute Premier League leaders Arsenal are again a creditable force in domestic and European football. From boys to men, to girls and women, the club is back in the conversation for multiple trophies at the business end of the campaign.
Tuesday night marks the start of the biggest week in their recent history as they host the FA Youth Cup final against West Ham, just 24 hours before the first team's 'title decider' away to Manchester City before culminating in the women's European Cup semi-final second leg against Wolfsburg next Monday.
Mertesacker, Arsenal's BFG (Big Friendly German), is first on the trophy trail as Wenger's appointment to head of the youth academy five years ago. A 104-time capped World Cup winner for his country, he lifted three FA Cups for Arsenal, but rarely has he been so excited about a seven-day period in his career.
“I’m quite buzzing, thinking about where we are and where we can go,” he says, unable to stop smiling, legs jiggling with unquenchable energy as his 38-year-old brain almost visibly fizzes with energy. He has so much to say his words run into each other as he bids to share every thought and emotion about what is happening at Arsenal. He wonders aloud if this is the first time he has felt such excitement in the five years since he stopped playing.
“Clearly, the first team vibes, women’s and men’s, rubs off on the youth and the academy as well. Mikel changed the direction of the club in terms of the change from Arsene into new management. Everyone knew it would take some time but he’s taken us into a wonderful position; fighting for the league title.
“It sends a message to the rest of the organisation, to myself, that we have to be spot on in developing young individuals who can cope with challenges who can cope with pressure. I like that. We want to align with that. It all comes down from him – if an academy player does something wrong I can say to them 'do you think Mikel would tolerate that in the first team? They immediately know from what they have seen.”
"The first team coaches are watching the 18s games, the 21s games and they think about can this player make an impact in our first team in the next couple of years? And sometimes these are lucky situations. I remember Alex Iwobi was just a player that was left here and couldn’t go to a Youth Cup game. Arsene Wenger saw him because he was here at the training ground and he was straight away interested after one training session.
"You have multiple opportunities where you are watched and you have to be on your toes every day and take every opportunity because it’s real, not something ‘oh, now we have to wait for the next five years’. Yes, it will be tougher, but I think it will create more resilience around the players. Youngsters have multiple opportunities now to impress and show they can be trusted. Just keep working hard and keep getting the right people to work with those kids to make them more resilient on a daily basis."
Mertesacker chats for an hour or so at the club's Shenley training ground, soon after dropping in on a session with coach Jack Wilshere's Youth Cup hopefuls. Taking a punt on the former Arsenal midfielder to nurture Arsenal's next generation was Mertesacker's call. He also advised the board to get Arteta back as manager ahead of Unai Emery when Wenger was eased out of the club. It was Arteta, tellingly, who urged Arsenal to find a role for his German team-mate.
Mertesacker takes up the story: “Hopefully that day we both signed for the club will prove to be significant. We saved a few Champions League seasons, a few FA Cups, that was ok, but not outstanding. But we want to build something now that is more successful for the future of the club. That is what excites me.
“We couldn’t get it done in terms of league titles when we were here. Hopefully, we can be more successful in terms of trophies and major titles and hopefully build up the next generation of players and people who can make a difference on the pitch.”
A long-term coaching future was naturally not their objective back in 2011. "When we came in we had the feeling that we were two senior players who could step up and take responsibility. I was always thinking short-term, I was never thinking ‘I am going to be Academy manager and you are going to be the manager’.
“What we have are traits of taking responsibility and wanting to take people with us. When Mikel left us, he left Ivan Gazidis (Arsenal's then chief exec) a note saying ‘you can’t lose this guy [Per]’. In terms of ‘you are losing me now, you are asking me too late [to stay]’ because he had promised to go to City. He told Ivan 'you can’t lose this guy too.'
“That was kind of the start and we kept tabs. And then between him and Unai, I put a good word in for him, without knowing how good he was as a coach. I knew how good he was as a human being and how much I trusted him. He called me when he didn’t get the job to say ‘thank you, I know you put my name forward.’
“A year and a half after, when he then arrived, and we appointed Edu [as sporting director], it felt like the right time. From there it has been a feeling of trust, that we both do the best for the club and it is pretty much aligned. It is a brilliant feeling that we have around this place, that we are creating. It is based on the past we had together and it is really powerful.”
The BFG is equally passionate when discussing the importance of his young charges developing as educated, respectful, high-achieving, caring people as well as top footballers for Arsenal, or wherever their career takes them. He talks about the ten-year cycle which starts when boys join Arsenal aged nine.
It is a path known only too well by Wilshere, 32, who will be calling the shots as the club seek a ninth Youth Cup and first in 14 years on Tuesday night. Mertesacker had some doubts about a charismatic player who failed to fulfil his immense potential in a career pockmarked by injuries, but quickly changed his mind after seeing Wilshere training and working with the kids.
Wilshere's name came to prominence as Edu, Arteta and Mertesacker sacrificed holidays to reassess the club's long-term playing future last summer following the departure of both under-18 and under-21 lead coaches. They promoted from within with Mehmet Ali for the under-21s and Wilshere did not let a nervous Mertesacker down when he blew away the powers that be with an impressive interview presentation and a philosophy in alignment with Arsenal's DNA.
One of the reasons Mertesacker embraces his role so wholeheartedly is the “shock to the system” he felt when acting as Freddie Ljungberg''s right-hand man when the Swede was caretaker manager between Emery's departure and Arteta's appointment at the end of 2018. He has assured Wilshere he does not need to feel the pressure of a 'win or bust' nature to Tuesday's final, which is expected to be attended by around 40,000 at the Arsenal stadium.
“How important would it be to win? Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe lost in it five years ago so the answer is pretty short. I would love for the club to win it. They have put themselves in the position and worked really hard.
“If it’s not the case, do we still believe in them? Yes! Because we have seen other players fail in those moments - not winning and still being successful in their lives. So, it is a great moment for the whole academy basically, one we are embracing, celebrating, with the fans. The more who go to the game, the better the experience will be for the boys and everyone involved so this is a celebration for the academy. We embrace it and we will deal with the outcome."
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