After a successful season at academy level for Arsenal, Per Mertesacker did not head into the summer expecting to make new coaching appointments. But when Crawley Town swept in to take under-23s coach Kevin Betsy and under-18s coach Dan Micciche to be their new manager and assistant coach, plans changed very quickly.
A lengthy recruitment process in which Mikel Arteta and Edu were heavily involved began as Arsenal took their time over making two appointments that were going to be crucial to the continuation of the club's much talked about long-term project. The culmination was the return of Jack Wilshere to be the new under-18s coach, and the promotion of Mehmet Ali to become the Gunners' new under-21s head coach.
Ali came into the position as an immensely respected coach having spent over a decade with the Tottenham academy and three years with Reading's under-23s side, as well as half a season as Betsy's assistant coach with the u23s at Arsenal. Still though taking over from the abundantly popular former England youth coach is no mean feat. Nearly two months into the job however, Ali is relishing the challenge of putting his own stamp on to the Gunners young team.
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"Kev did some great work last year and the principles are very similar in terms of dominating the ball, dominating possession to hurt the opposition and being aggressive without the ball," he tells football.london. "Of course as a head coach you’ll have your own little bits that you want to tweak, but I’m very respectful and mindful of what the first team are doing and what Per and Luke’s vision is within the academy and trying to bring that all together."
Thus far finding that balance has seen Arsenal's under-21s line up largely in a fluid 4-3-3 shape which is a slight departure from the 5-3-2 they played for much of last season. Despite the tweak in formation though, the principles with which the Gunners want to play are clear.
In possession they are confident and threatening, while out of it they are aggressive and intense in their desire to win the ball back quickly. This could be seen in Saturday's clash with Manchester United under-21s where a host of nicely worked forward moves saw them overturn a one goal deficit within the space of nine minutes either side of half time, while the high pressing of the likes of Khayon Edwards in particular created enough opportunities for them to score comfortably more than the three goals they ended up with on the day. For Ali, the clarity of playing style across the club has helped him manage this transition.
"Kevin was outstanding at giving the players a real licence and freedom to express themselves within a team structure," he says. "That was one of his biggest strengths along with linking the academy and what Mikel was looking for.
"Before I even got the role, I had the opportunity to speak to first team staff as well as academy staff and really get an understanding of what they wanted from the under-21s football this year. It could change throughout the season, but we try to be a fluid 4-3-3, be aggressive without the ball, try and get into dangerous areas to dominate the game."
Ali's settling in period has of course also been made easier by the relationships he already has with people at Arsenal. The players in the under-23s side are familiar with him as a coach and sources at the club have spoken highly of his openness and his methods on the training ground.
While so many things remaining similar has ensured the transition between coaches has gone well, there are of course things that Ali is still adjusting to. "It’s definitely different," he says. "When I first came to the club there were outstanding staff in place and my job was to listen and support what they wanted to the best of my ability.
"When you’re the assistant, you actually have more time on the grass with the players to really develop every individual. When you are the head coach, you’re in the pressure cooker, so there’s that slight difference. I’m really big on gathering all staff’s knowledge and expertise and then going with decisions based on what I feel and then all staff supporting that."
The decisions Ali has been making so far have helped to ensure the mood around the Arsenal academy has stayed positive after an impressive season last time out. Despite this though, he does not want things to be plain sailing.
As much as bringing players into line with the tactical vision of the first team is part of his job, when speaking to Ali what comes across most is his desire to create players who are ready for the first team in every sense. This means exposing them to challenging situations to ensure they are psychologically prepared to make the step up. As he prepares for the upcoming season across multiple competitions in the Premier League 2, Premier League Cup and Papa John's Trophy, it is this that he sees as fundamental to ensuring the growth of the players at his disposal.
"There’s gonna be times this season when we’re gonna have those situations and we’re gonna have a really young team and it’s gonna be difficult and we’re not gonna have momentum," he says. "For me that’s gonna be really important because you’re gonna test the players' character, you’re gonna test their resilience.
"You don’t wanna have be dominating every game - of course we want to win every game - but you want to have that adversity for them to push through those moments.
"Our job in the 21s is to produce players for Mikel. No one’s gonna remember in 10 years time where we finish in the PL2. Of course, part of playing for Mikel is being competitive and winning football matches, but our main goal is to help these lads collectively and individually with their careers."
Managing the departure of Betsy from the under-21s side was never going to be easy, but during his short time in charge so far, Ali has ensured that the transition has gone off largely without a hitch. Equipped with a clear style of play and desire to psychologically prepare the young players for a step up to the first team, Arsenal will be hopeful that they are well placed to continue the success their academy has had in recent years.
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