Arsenal in talks with new leading candidate for academy manager job

Pascal De Maesschalck is a leading candidate to take over from Per Mertesacker as Arsenal’s new academy manager, according to a report.

James McNicholas reports for The Athletic that Arsenal have held talks with Pascal De Maesschalck over their vacant academy manager position, with Per Mertesacker departing the club this summer.

De Maesschalck currently works as Strasbourg’s technical director, but he’s emerged as a strong candidate for Arsenal’s academy role. McNicholas adds that the process remains ongoing, so nothing is done yet.

As well as his role at Strasbourg, De Maesschalck has worked as the academy manager at Club Brugge and AS Monaco. So he doesn’t lack experience in the position.

Arsenal do need to make an appointment in the academy manager position, as the vacant position could cause problems this summer, and it may already be doing so.

The likes of Emerson Nwaneri (younger brother of Ethan) and Kyran Thompson look set to leave as Arsenal struggle to agree contract extensions with them, and the u21 head coach position is vacant after Max Porter’s departure.

Porter’s u21 team weren’t particularly impressive in 2025/26, so that was a necessary change anyway. But a club with no academy manager and no u21 head coach isn’t in a great position to extend contracts and lure top talents.

The pursuit of De Maesschalck is a positive sign on that front, and Arsenal will look to complete an appointment as soon as possible.

Arsenal are reportedly also bringing in Javier Alonso from Spanish Segunda Division club Granada CF to work alongside Andrea Berta, with Maurizio Micheli already joining from Napoli earlier this year.

That’s in addition to the changes in the medical team, with Real Betis’ Eneko Angulo reportedly joining Aston Villa’s Arnaldo Abrantes in filling the unexpected gap left by Zafar Iqbal’s departure.

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