Ryan Garry has completed his move from the Arsenal academy to the head coach position with the England u18s.

England announced on Monday that their u18 team now has a permanent head coach, with former Arsenal u23 interim coach Ryan Garry stepping into the position.

Garry will take charge of the u18s for the first time against Norway and Russia in Spain on the 7th and 11th of October. His first squad will be named this Friday, 1st October.

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 The Athletic reported that Garry has his own ambitions of becoming a head coach.

It was expected that his departure from Arsenal and arrival as England’s new u18 head coach would be confirmed soon afterwards. It’s taken almost a month, but we now have that confirmation.

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.

At the same time, Betsy is doing a great job with the u23s so far, with wins over Spurs, Manchester United, and Chelsea, as well as a draw with PL2 Champions Manchester City.

So if Betsy can keep that going, and Garry can be similarly successful with England, it’s worked out well for everyone.