How Arsenal overhauled their academy to produce a new wave of world-class Hale End talent: The two experts leading aggressive recruitment, the Folarin Balogun template and fighting back when rivals poach their top young stars

It’s all change in the Arsenal academy after a period of flux.

Per Mertesacker left the top job over the summer after eight years to become the German FA's managing director, a role he starts in January. Following the former Arsenal captain out of the door was Under 21s head coach Max Porter, who was appointed Stoke City assistant manager.

That left a void in the heart of Hale End, at a time when academy production lines are more important than ever in a world of pure profit and homegrown talent.

But now, with a new hierarchy in place headed up by Mertesacker's replacement Pascal de Maesschalck, the Gunners are looking to reassert their status as an academy goldmine.

Hale End’s proud history stands strong, having produced the likes of Tony Adams, Ashley Cole and Jack Wilshere over the years.

The most recent gems, Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman, have all shone in Mikel Arteta's first team, where they join the jewel in Hale End's crown, Bukayo Saka.

But the output masked problems within. The Under 21s won just eight of their 21 matches last season in the Premier League 2 competition, including a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool in January.

When the Under 19s beat Bayern Munich 4-2 in the UEFA Youth League in November 2025 – helped by Dowman dropping back down to that level and scoring twice after already making a handful of first-team appearances – it snapped a 16-game winless streak across the Under 18s, 19s and 21s.

And while the academy teams foundered with uncertainty over who would replace Mertesacker, rivals took advantage. 

First, Manchester City hijacked a move for promising Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga, whom Arsenal had been close to signing. Then, Tottenham beat the Gunners to West Ham’s Under 15s midfield star Isaac Allen. Talented youngsters such as Kyran Thompson and Mishel Nduka chose to continue their careers elsewhere, at Newcastle United and Manchester City respectively.

But in recent weeks, the balance has been wrestled back under new academy director De Maesschalck, the 52-year-old Belgian who was previously technical director at Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg, following ten years as Club Brugge academy head and three years leading Monaco's youth development.

Each of those clubs is renowned across the continent for producing world-class talents. At Brugge he became highly regarded for making academy players ready for the first team, while at Monaco he brought through golden boys such as Eliesse Ben Seghir, Maghnes Akliouche and Soungoutou Magassa, who all became first-team stars before earning the club sizeable sums when joining Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain and West Ham respectively.

And it’s understood that he’s been tasked at Arsenal to make the academy more aggressive in recruitment and recoup more money in player sales. 

That drive is already in effect. Arsenal have previously brought in players under 18 from Scotland and Ireland, like Callan Hamill, Evan Mooney and Ceadach O’Neill.

And of late, there’s been a push to raid other clubs across England for their best talent. Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta hinted towards this in his quotes around the appointment, praising De Maesschalck's knack for ‘identifying the best emerging talent to join Arsenal on a journey towards professional football’.

Defender Elijah Upson, 18, the son of ex-Arsenal centre-back Matt, joined from Spurs. Midfielder Axel Donczew, 16, has signed from Cardiff City, while Crystal Palace’s Mylo Bernard, 16, has also joined, and Arsenal are also set to beat multiple clubs to the signature of highly rated Blackburn Rovers striker Igor Tyjon, 18.

And then on the selling front, there’s been a move under Pascal to have produce more cases like Mika Biereth and Folarin Balogun who, while not quite good enough for an Arsenal team pushing to be the best in Europe, help out on the financial side.

London-born Denmark striker Biereth was snapped up from Fulham's academy in 20212 and sold to Sturm Graz for £4million three years later. The Austrian side then sold Biereth to Monaco in January 2025 for £12.8million, earning Arsenal more money as a result of their 30 per cent sell-on clause.

Balogun, meanwhile, was sold to Monaco for £34.3million in August 2023 after not quite making it in Arteta's first team. After a breakout World Cup with the US national team, he has been linked to the likes of Tottenham, and has a 17.5 per cent sell-on clause. Arsenal want more of this to continue during De Maesschalck's reign.

There’s been change in the coaching setup, too. David Horseman has stepped up from his roles as Under 19s manager and Under 21s assistant to replace Porter as Under 21s head coach, in an appointment overseen by Arteta, assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg and De Maesschalck.

It’s understood they liked Horseman's balance of having extensive academy experience, as well as both managing and coaching in the Football League, specialising in player development.

Just two years younger than Arteta, Horseman has already spent nearly 15 years working in professional academies. He started at Bristol City, spending eight years across different positions including Under 18 manager, head of academy coaching and academy manager.

His forays into senior management and coaching have been more challenging. In July 2023, Horseman was appointed head coach of Forest Green Rovers but lasted just six months, winning only two of his first seven matches. He returned to Bristol City as caretaker manager alongside Lee Cattermole after Matt Taylor was sacked in December 2024, but the team were relegated at the end of the season and Horseman left.

But it’s academy expertise which the Gunners are tapping into. Before joining Arsenal in September, he had a short spell at Manchester United as a professional development phase coach. That gave him an insight into how another enormous academy operates from the inside.

For Arsenal, the overall aim is clear: produce more first-team players by raiding their English rivals, while ensuring those who don’t make the first-team grade are of the quality to be sold for worthwhile sums.

After a period of uncertainty, the academy is entering a new era under De Maesschalck with the Gunners determined to stand above the rest.