Per Mertesacker will become Arsenal’s new academy director at the end of the season. He’s a good choice too.

The Arsenal fans received a pleasant surprise when the club announced that Mertesacker would be retiring at the end of the 2017/18 season to become the club’s new academy director.

The role is one of the most important at the club. Arsenal pride themselves on producing homegrown talent, and Mertesacker will be responsible for ensuring that the club’s various youth teams are running smoothly.

Leadership qualities

Handing the role to someone straight out of his playing days does seem risky. However, there’s something about Mertesacker that makes him well-suited to the role.

Whether it’s the leadership qualities he demonstrates as captain, or the intelligence and maturity that comes across whenever he speaks in interviews, Mertesacker seems the most likely to adapt to a non-playing role at the club.

Most significantly, young players have spoken of Mertesacker’s influence and how much of a role model he is. Someone who young players can look up to seems ideal.

Former players have a lot to offer Arsenal

From a fan’s perspective, there’s always a demand to see former players remain involved with the club. A recent criticism of Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager is the low number of ex-players amongst the non-playing staff.

The likes of Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp have gone on to coach elsewhere, while no Arsenal player has yet to be involved at board level. This is in stark contrast to the likes of Bayern Munich and Ajax, who have ex-players involved at every level.

While any club should seek to hire the most capable person for any role, there are a number of benefits that come with using ex-players. One is that they understand the ethos of the club and what it means to play for them.

Mertesacker will have been at Arsenal for eight years by the time he starts his new role. He is someone who knows full well what it takes and what it means to play for the club. People will feel more confident that the club’s standards and philosophy are being passed on to the younger generation.

It will take some time before we see how well Mertesacker is doing as academy director. However, his knowledge of the club and its inner-workings should give him a head start.

Unlike Andries Jonker, who had to learn the Arsenal way and what the club expected from him, Mertesacker should know it. On a personal level, Mertesacker is a very likeable player, and one I hope to see around the club for a very long time.