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.
