Arsenal appoint new academy director after Mertesacker exit
· Yahoo Sports
The 52-year-old brings experience from Club Brugge, AS Monaco and Strasbourg as Arsenal reshape a key part of their football structure.
Arsenal have appointed Pascal De Maesschalck as their new academy director, with the Belgian set to succeed Per Mertesacker after his eight years in the role came to an end last season.
De Maesschalck will officially join Arsenal on August 1 from Strasbourg, where he has served as technical director since 2024.
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His arrival gives the club an experienced academy specialist with a long record of working across European youth systems and developing players for first-team football.
The 52-year-old spent around 14 years at Club Brugge, where he started as head of the youth department in 2007 before later becoming academy manager. During that period he was closely involved in the development of players including Charles De Ketelaere and Lois Openda.
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He then moved to AS Monaco in 2021 as academy manager and director of youth development, helping bring through talents such as Eliesse Ben Seghir (now at Bayer Leverkusen), Maghnes Akliouche and Soungoutou Magassa (now at West Ham).
De Maesschalck joined Strasbourg in 2024 as technical director within the BlueCo multi-club network, which also owns Chelsea, and will now move to north London as Arsenal continue to reshape the structure beneath the first team.
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Andrea Berta, Arsenal’s sporting director, said: “We are delighted to welcome Pascal to Arsenal. He brings extensive experience from some of Europe’s leading football clubs and has an outstanding track record in youth development.
“We are excited to have him with us as we continue to build for the future, developing young players and identifying the best emerging talent to join Arsenal on a journey towards professional football.”
Photo via OfficialArsenalAcademy on Instagram