Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker believes hard work is more important than just having natural talent, something he will be paying close attention to as Head of Academy next season.

Mertesacker talked to Arsenal.com about his experiences so far with the young players and what he thinks can be improved and focused on when he takes over. The 32-year-old believes while talent is what many people consider the most thing about a player, his focus is on bringing that out with hard work.

Mertesacker also stressed how helpful pre-season has been to get people involved, which has continued now that they’re back.

“It’s good for me to see these youngsters on a daily basis. Some went with us on tour and now they’ll keep training with us, which is really important. It’s not only one or two weeks where you show up and show your skills, or in one or two games. If there’s anything I can help with, they need to understand that they can talk, there is no need to hide.

It’s certainly important to make sure that the academy players know their place in the setup and that they don’t feel like they’re caught between two worlds. The German centre-back notes that this can happen, since the players aren’t in the first-team dressing room but join them for training sessions and may not know where they stand.