Per Mertesacker explains value of under-8 transfers at Arsenal in bid to find next Ethan Nwaneri

Millions of children grow up wanting to become professional footballers. Some may even have the skills to do it. For Per Mertesacker though, that is not enough.

“Talent gets you in the building,” he says. “Character sets the ceiling.”

It’s this ethos that has been front and centre since the German took over the Arsenal academy in 2018. Mertesacker views his job as creating Strong Young Gunners in every sense of the word.

It has not always been easy. After a self-confessed “tough few years” in which first opportunities were few and far between things are on the up for the Arsenal academy. After a summer in which 12 players were called up to join the first team’s pre-season tour of America, seven Hale Enders were involved in the 5-1 win over Bolton last month.

“To see them be decisive and effective that was brilliant to see for everyone that has worked with them,” Mertesacker says as he recalls that night fondly. “For the new recruits at Under-8s to inspire them, for the parents that have been involved, it was a really inspirational night. We want to build on that.”

That job for Mertesacker is two-fold. His immediate focus is making sure those involved against Bolton stay on track in their development instead of falling by the wayside. This again is where the focus on character comes into play.

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“A lot of players have to perform and we’re dealing with the aftermath,” he says. “All of a sudden you’re on the pitch at the Emirates and then you’re back playing with the Under-18s and you might have a bad game and make a couple of mistakes. We need to understand that’s part of the programme, part of the process. Just because someone plays in the first team that doesn’t mean that you will never make any mistakes again. Part of their learning is managing the highs and the lows, managing the emotions, managing 60,000!

“What’s so good here is that there are certain routines that will get you back into your rhythm quite quickly. Some people get back straight away, some people will need some distance to deal with that. I’m more interested in the weeks and months after that.”

That is a big enough job in itself, but Mertesacker must also concern himself with the group he describes as the “most important every year” - the Under-9s.

This may sound incredibly young, but it is a crucial stage in youth development. Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are among a host of recent first teamers to have joined Arsenal at that age or below.

“Obviously it is early,” Mertesacker says. "At that age you make it fun: you make it playtime, you make it music. It’s a foundation phase, where they need to express themselves as much as possible.

“But still there are traits. You see the player’s behaviour, you see the parents. You want to build a really positive and inclusive environment there. But under-9 really builds the foundation of your team going forward.”

Being based in London means that Arsenal have access to some of the best talents in the country. With so many top tier academies based in the capital though, the battle is fierce.

“I would not call it under-8 transfer market, but it is probably close to that,” Mertesacker says. “At that stage when you are under-8, you might have offers from five or six clubs in London. Obviously that makes you feel like 'I am the man'. It is important to understand there are no guarantees, it’s not a 50:50 chance. That is why we create the environment we want to create, to build on the personal skills to make a player, to have the best chance to become a professional.”

This market has become increasingly important in recent years. There is recognition of this from the top down at Arsenal. Mertesacker works closely with Edu and a budget has been set aside for the younger levels of the academy, with a view to reaping the rewards in the future.

“The club is very conscious of how important the academy is,” Mertesacker explains. “I get the sense we are investing in talent, so they see that as an investment. Edu was quite clear with me on that, so he supports it. It’s him I work with on a day-to-day and we’re that close that if there are opportunities, he knows about it and gives his okay.

“The more we get exposed to that market, the more he’s clear on what it needs and what it takes, but the club sees it as a vital investment for the future. It’s shown in the transfer market, how important talent from our academy is (with summer sales of the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe) and how many opportunities we give them, but also what it allows us to invest after in the first team.”

For all the support though, a lot rests on Mertesacker’s pitch to families at a younger level. While many academies will promise the earth in order to gain an edge in the battle for signatures, the German is determined to be as up front as possible.

“There are multiple opportunities for talented eight year olds, you have to get it right within the system then,” he says. “Not to promise them too much.

“I need to present to parents and tell them about the 1% that make it. I am not going to say 'you are going to make it, you are going to be the next Bukayo'. We use that as inspiration but there is an element of reality also.”

Mertesacker’s sales pitch is being made easier by the heavy involvement of academy players in Mikel Arteta’s first team this season. Of that group the standouts have been Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri.

Both have been with the club since that crucial Under-9s phase and stand for Mertesacker as exemplars of what can be achieved with the character based approach.

“If you look at Myles and Ethan there are a lot of similarities where they have been exposed to different experiences in the academy which started at the start when they were at Under-9s,” he says. “They’ve been with us for 10 years. There might be different journeys, but the majority of players start their journey where their exposure in a human and footballing sense is huge.

“We’re big on respect and humility just to make sure people understand, you’re here to respect yourself and make yourself better, but you have to respect others and the environment as well. Respect, humility and discipline - those are three key traits to be a decent human being first and foremost. But there is also the foundation that you will 100% become a better player if you’ve got those traits.

“Then by doing that you put yourself in with the best chance of becoming a professional footballer. But there are no guarantees, the numbers going to professional football is quite small. We try to build up the person and the player.”

This character has been on display for both this season. Nwaneri had the personality to risk the ire of his teammates and take the shot on himself to score his second goal against Bolton in the last round of the Carabao Cup, while Lewis-Skelly wasted no time in squaring up to Erling Haaland on his debut in September’s ill-tempered clash with Manchester City. For Mertesacker the latter is a point of pride.

“He wants to be the best team-mate he can be,” the German says of Lewis-Skelly. “It is simply coming from those traits — how can he include himself and integrate himself into the first-team, how can he protect and be around his team-mates?

“That is what he probably did there, first and foremost. He wasn’t looking at it [like] 'I am facing this guy, it’s 'Gabriel is my team-mate, I want to do anything to protect him'. Not that you necessarily need to do that on your debut, you don’t need to get booked before your debut!

“But he wants to bring something to the table. He’s not saying 'show me love first and then I will bring something'. He is proactive in his pursuit of being the best team-mate he can be.”

While Mertesacker will stay close to Lewis-Skelly and Nwaneri, he takes pride in seeing them make their step up to the first team. “To enter this minefield in terms of the last percentages, they put themselves right up there in the best possible position,” he says. “Now they’re knocking on the door. Now they can earn their right to make the next step.”

Their journey is likely to continue in Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup tie with Preston North End. For Mertesacker it’s off to Hale End to focus on the next generation of talent in to the building and ensuring their ceiling is as high as possible.

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