Arsenal are terminating the contracts of 10 part-time youth scouts, at least temporarily, as a result of the current financial situation.

Joe Willock of Arsenal battles for possession with Marcus Harness of Portsmouth FC during the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Portsmouth FC and Arsenal FC at Fratton Park on March 02, 2020 in Portsmouth, England.
PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND: Joe Willock of Arsenal battles for possession with Marcus Harness of Portsmouth FC on March 02, 2020. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The Mirror report that Arsenal are terminating the contracts of 10 part-time scouts on June 30th. Academy bosses Lee Herron and Steve Brown spoke to them about the decision after an email from the club’s human resources department.

The hope is that they’ll all get their jobs back from September 1st. Although they’ll have to reapply and go through safeguarding checks again. Arsenal pointed out that the decision was due to the fact that no academy football is currently going on.

All youth competitions halted at the same time as the senior leagues, but they won’t return behind-closed-doors next month.

Instead, the season is off, which is particularly disappointing for the Arsenal u23s in the PL International Cup semi-final and the Arsenal u16s in the final of the Premier League Cup.

You’d like to think when youth football returns, so will the youth scouts. But there are no guarantees, which must be worrying for the people involved.

You could hardly blame them if they took another scouting job elsewhere, though it’s hard to imagine anyone is hiring youth scouts right now. Regardless, it’s another sign of the cost-cutting measures going on at Arsenal.