Arsenal have officially confirmed the appointment of David Horseman as their new u21 head coach, deciding on an internal promotion to fill the position.
Arsenal’s u21 head coach job has been vacant throughout the summer, with Max Porter departing the club for Stoke City.
The Gunners held interviews for the position, and the club’s Elite Player Development Coach David Horseman stepped up to fill the spot on an interim basis during pre-season.
Horseman was clearly one of the contenders to get the job full-time, and Arsenal have now confirmed that they’ve appointed him to the head coach job permanently.
“I’m absolutely delighted and privileged to be appointed Arsenal under-21s head coach, following in the footsteps of so many outstanding coaches who have held this position before me,” Horseman said.
“It’s a huge honour to contribute to the continued success of an academy with such a proud history of developing players for our first team and the wider game.
“A special thank you to Mikel [Arteta], Albert [Stuivenberg], Pascal [De Maesschalck], Luke [Hobbs] and Ken [Gillard] for their support, trust and belief in me throughout the process. I’m incredibly grateful and excited for what lies ahead.”
Horseman will quickly get his first official competitive game in his new position, with the Arsenal u21s taking on Barnet in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday night.
The u21s then kick off their Premier League 2 campaign against Crystal Palace on Saturday, the day after the first team get their Premier League season underway.
As mentioned, Horseman was already working as an academy coach with Arsenal last season, in a role that involved managing the u21s exclusively in the EFL Trophy, and the u19s in the UEFA Youth League. So technically, Tuesday won’t be the first time he’s managed the u21s in this competition.
But Horseman previously wasn’t responsible for u21 games in the Premier League 2, so Saturday will be his competition debut with the Arsenal academy.
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