Arsenal have produced some of the most talked about and exciting young players of their generation. Max Dauman will be the face of Arsenal and English football for the next ten years and is destined to be a future superstar.
They have also brought in some great talent such as Ethan Nwaneri and Marli Salmon, which shows that Arsenal are doing great work in terms of scouting, youth development and coaching. Arsenal still values tradition, history and integrity.
However, if the likes of Manchester City or Chelsea steal the march from Arsenal, there are obvious problems:
City and Chelsea are famous for having the best academies producing young players on an industry scale, and it’s also a huge money-making operation.
Twenty years ago, academies were all about getting players into the first team, but the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan was also about giving players a good career and promoting them.
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read more: Declan Rice says he didn’t like Paul Scholes’ behavior after Tottenham’s winread more: “I saw Ethan Nwaneri at Marseille – Arsenal will regret letting him go.”
This is in no way a criticism of City or Chelsea, in fact they are helping young players enjoy big careers, which should be good for football and the players involved.
However, doing so will also maximize revenue and help the club’s finances, and we feel it is more important than ever to meet the demands of profit and sustainability regulations.
Compared to Arsenal’s £112m (figures according to FootballTransfers.com), Chelsea earn a staggering £393.5m, making them best-in-class and exemplary.
City have made £256m from academy sales over the past five years, and that doesn’t even include a sell-on clause. And you may have even forgotten that Jeremy Frimpong started there when he was nine years old. Morgan Rogers also passed through City.
Manchester City sell Cole Palmer to Chelsea for £42.5 million after just 19 Premier League appearances (Image: (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images))
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It has become a brilliant conveyor belt of talent that operates almost independently of the first team (as it should in the eyes of many scouts) and has become a shining light in the development of young people.
And this is where Arsenal need to recover. And further proof of that is Arsenal’s results, which have been disappointing or inconsistent depending on your point of view.
With coach Per Mertesacker stepping down as academy director at the end of the season, two unrelated things are happening.
Mertesacker, who recently defended Arsenal’s disappointing result in the UEFA Youth League, is a great figurehead, beloved by players’ families and scouts alike.
However, he stepped down after eight years in the role, while James Ellis also resigned as the club’s technical director last week. Mertesacker’s departure was expected, but Ellis’ departure came as a shock.
Per Mertesacker to step down as Arsenal academy manager at the end of this season (Image: Getty Images)
Ellis previously worked with former technical director Edu, who focused on the first team and player recruitment. Following Edu’s departure, Andrea Berta took over as sporting director and Ellis was appointed shortly after to oversee a complete overhaul of the academy structure.
Ellis needed to put together a business plan to develop young players, as well as find a new academy director.
Ellis was known as a passionate and emotional person, and he poured his heart and soul into new projects. He divided opinion among some people, but that’s true for everyone in football. This is because this village is a village with many notorious factions.
However, his departure suggests that a new academy director (former Chelsea player Jim Fraser has also been rumored) will actually report to Berta, who has clearly expanded his power base at Arsenal.
Jayden Dixon’s £3m move from Stoke signals change at Arsenal
It is also a sign of a major change in direction. They haven’t had much success in terms of sales, marketing, terms. That’s the core of the problem.
Aiden Haven has moved to Manchester United, but it is unclear whether he will be able to make it at Old Trafford. Chido Obi-Martin has attracted plenty of headlines, but the young striker has not made much of an impact in the first team at United following his defection from Arsenal.
A better example is Mika Bielet, a young Danish striker who developed at Arsenal, joined Sturm Graz for £4m, and was sold to Monaco for £12m. That’s what Arsenal want. However, it is the size of City and Chelsea.
They also did something interesting when they paid Ajax’s Tommy Thetford £1 million as a teenager. They also paid around £3m to sign Jayden Dixon from Stoke in the January window. You need to invest in improving and developing.
It is vitally important that Arsenal move forward as a club. They are behind on this part of the plan. But now there is a clear determination to gain ground and still have to put the right people in place to get them where they need to be.
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