Per Mertesacker will leave his long-time football home Arsenal and hand over his position as head of the youth department at the end of the season.
“Arsenal is and remains a very special club for me, so it was a difficult decision”said Mertesacker in a statement distributed by the club. He is very grateful for the trust Arsenal have given him: “Now it’s time to take on new challenges and develop myself further.”
Nothing is known about where the 2014 world champion is headed. Last year, Mertesacker was still considered a possible candidate for the post of new sports director in the British media after the separation from Edu was decided.
Mertesacker had spent most of his career at Arsenal. He came to North London as a player in 2011 and took over the management of the youth center after his playing career ended in 2018.
He stays”fully focused“until his last day of work at the”Gunners“, said the former Bremer, who received a lot of praise from club boss Richard Garlick. “We support Per’s decision to try something new, but we will be very sad if he leaves us at the end of the season”said Garlick.
Careers of Saka, Nwaneri and Lewis-Skelly also merit Mertesacker
The rise of the “Gunners“, which has become a serious contender for the title again in recent seasons, is also considered a credit to Mertesacker’s work: The “Big Fucking German“, as he is affectionately called by fans, had successfully introduced a new philosophy in the Gunners-Academy installed. Homegrown people like Bukayo Saka or most recently Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis Skelly successfully made the jump to the professional team.