Ryan Garry is set to leave his role as Arsenal u23 assistant manager to take over at the England u18s, the position Kevin Betsy left to join Arsenal.

Earlier in the summer, Ryan Garry took over as Arsenal’s interim u23 head coach, while the club searched for a replacement. Eventually, they settled on Kevin Betsy, who left his role as coach of the England u18s to take the permanent Arsenal u23 position.

As a result, Garry stepped down to act as Betsy’s assistant. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to last long, with Garry instead taking up a new job – Betsy’s old one.

The Athletic report that Garry has his own ambitions of becoming a head coach, and it’s expected that his departure from Arsenal and arrival as England’s new u18 head coach will soon be confirmed.

Currently, Paul Williams is in charge of the England u18s and set to lead their September training camp in Wales.

Garry was well regarded at Arsenal, despite the club eventually picking Betsy over him to lead the u23s. It’s obviously a shame to lose him.

The upside is that Arsenal will have a link to the England youth setup. For example, Garry has regularly worked with Brooke Norton-Cuffy this year, who has just received an England u18 call-up.

They’ll know each other well and that will help smooth the transition back and forth between club and country. The same will be true for plenty of other Arsenal academy players who end up receiving England call-ups.

So it’s disappointing for Arsenal to lose Garry, but they can only stick by their decision to appoint Betsy and hope they maintain a good relationship with the departing u23 assistant coach.