| Full name | Arsenal Football Club (Under-21s and Academy) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Hale End | |||
| Founded | 1887; 138 years ago (1887) | |||
| Ground | Meadow Park | |||
| Capacity | 4,502 | |||
| Academy Manager | Per Mertesacker | |||
| League | Professional Development League (Division 1) | |||
Arsenal Football Club Academy, metonymically known asHale End, is theyouth system ofArsenal Football Club based inHale End,London, England.[1][2][3] The academy teams play in theProfessional Development League, the highest level of youthfootball in England. The club also competes in theFA Youth Cup andUEFA Youth League competitions. Former playerPer Mertesacker is the current academy manager.[4]
Arsenal Under-21s, previously referred to as theReserves, is the highest level squad within the setup. They train at theArsenal Training Centre and play the majority of their home games atMeadow Park,[5] which is the home ofBoreham Wood FC. On occasion they also play at Arsenal'sEmirates Stadium. Senior players occasionally play in the reserve side, as in the case when they are recovering from injury.
Arsenal's Academy is one of England's most successful, winning sevenFA Youth Cups together with sixPremier Academy League titles altogether.[6][7][8] Numerous international players have graduated from the academy and reserve teams.
Since Arsenal were based inPlumstead as Royal Arsenal F.C., they had a reserve side which was at first set up in 1887. The club initially played friendlies and cup competitions, winning the1889–90Kent Junior Cup. In1895–96, the club which was renamed Woolwich Arsenal in 1891, had their reserves join theKent League, winning the title the next season but leaving circa 1900.[9] They later joined theLondon League where they won three titles during the 1900s.
From1900–01 to1902–03, the reserves played in theWest Kent League, winning the league title in every season they featured within such.[10] As they were at a level higher than their local opponents, in 1903 the team moved to South Eastern League, playing there until1914–15 when football was suspended due to the First World War. Concurrent to this period, the reserves also entered in theLondon League First Division in the1906–07,1907–08,1908–09,1913–14 and1914–15 seasons. The club went on to omit the "Woolwich" from their title in 1913, so as to be known only as "Arsenal".
Following the end of World War I in 1918, Arsenal Reserves took the first team's place in theLondon Combination league which was renamed the Football Combination in the summer of 1939.[11] For the1926–27 season, the competition was expanded to include teams as far afield as Portsmouth, Swansea, Southend and Leicester. During the inter-war period Arsenal's reserves matched the first team's success, winning the League South A title of 1940 and 1943 as well as being the London league champions of 1942.[11] Additionally, from 1931 onwards the club's reserves were entered into theLondon Challenge Cup, winning it twice in1933–34 and as well in1935–36.[12]
To give opportunities to younger players, Arsenal created an 'A' team in 1929. Initially the 'A' team entered the London Professional Mid-Week League and were champions in1931–32.[10] They then competed in the league until the1933–34 footballing season. Wherein, during the summer of 1934, Arsenal had taken on Kent sideMargate as their nursery team. Arsenal had agreed to send promising youngsters to Margate to give them experience in theSouthern Football League and were given first choice on any Margate players. The two clubs thus enjoyed being within this relationship which had lasted for four years before Arsenal broke it off in 1938.[13][14] Afterwards, Arsenal entered the reserve team in the Southern League in its own right with home games being played atEnfield F.C.'s stadium atSouthbury Road.[15] The club eventually finished in 6th place in theleague season of 1938–39.[citation needed]
At the start of the 1939–40 season the reserves played two Football Combination games and one Southern League game before football was partly suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War.[11]
For the1946–47 season, the Football Combination resumed but the league was split into two divisions with the winners of each division playing in a final to decide the champions. A new competition was introduced – theFootball Combination Cup. This was the same teams that played in the Football Combination but divided into 4 groups with the winners of each group playing in semi-finals and a final. This format continued until the end of the1954–55 season. From1955–56 the Football Combination continued generally as a normal league format, occasionally consisting of two divisions with promotion and relegation. The Football Combination Cup was discontinued but re-instated for seasons1965–66 to1969–70 inclusive and1996–97. The reserves continued to be entered in the London FA Challenge Cup until the1973–74 season, with the exception of1961–62 when the first team were entered.
The 'A' team was resurrected at the start of the1948–49 season when a team was entered in theEastern Counties League, Eastern Counties League Cup and East Anglian Cup, winning the Eastern Counties League in 1954–55, after which they left the league (stating that it was so strong that they needed to enter a more competitive team, which would be more expensive),[16] but continued to play in the East Anglian Cup for the next two seasons. In addition, the 'A' team was also entered in the London Professional Mid-Week League from1949–50 to1957–58, winning a second time in1952–53. During the summer of 1958, the 'A' team was entered into theMetropolitan League, Metropolitan League Cup and Metropolitan League Professional Cup. This proved a very successful venture until the mid-1960s. Towards the end of the 1960s, the 'A' team struggled against strong amateur teams and the club declined to enter a team after the close of the1968–69 season.
In 1999 they left the Combination to become founding members of thePremier Reserve League.[17] They never won the competition, although they did finish as runners-up in the2001–02 and 2010–11 seasons. At the end of the2011–12 season they finished 3rd in Reserve League South, in what would be the competition's final season. Players from the reserve team have also been used extensively in theLeague Cup since the1997–98 season. At the beginning of the2012–13 season Arsenal's reserve and academy structure received a major overhaul. The reserve team left thePremier Reserve League and joined theProfessional Development League for the competition's inaugural season. Fundamentally, replacing the reserves with an Under-21 team that has the allowance of three over-age outfield players and one goalkeeper per match day.
At the beginning of the2014–15 season Arsenal's academy coaching structure received a major change withAndries Jonker being appointed as head of academy on 1 July 2014,[18] along with several key changes with in key coaching roles throughout the academy.[19] In his time in charge of the academy, he instigated many changes, such as changes to the way the players were educated within the club, therefore helping them spend more time on site with their fellow players. He was also a key part in the new Hale End facility being built,[20] with three pitches for the academy teams to make use of. In 2016 with the rebranding of thePremier League the reserve team continued to play in theProfessional Development League, but it would now be named the Premier League 2. On 27 February 2017, it was announced the Andries Jonker would leave his role as head of academy to joinVfL Wolfsburg as head coach, alongside former Arsenal playerFreddie Ljungberg as assistant coach.[21]
Arsenal have occasionally operated a youth team as far back as1893–94, and there had been an established third team known as Arsenal 'A' for young players from 1929 to 1969.
The club have played in theFA Youth Cup since the1954–55 season and then entered into theSouth East Counties Youth Football League simultaneously. The following season the league competition was renamed as the South East Counties League.[22] Arsenal also featured from1955 into another tournament known as the South East Counties League Cup wherein they stayed within while excluding the1968 and1969 seasons to the1997–98 English footballing season. Arsenal's Academy altogether was victorious in the Counties League in 1956, 1965, 1972 and 1991. Arsenal's youths also played in the London Minor FA Challenge Cup from1955 to1956. In1960 they rejoined the competition where they stayed until1967 and was also successful in the Southern Junior Floodlit Cup which they won in1956,1972,1975 and1999.[6][23]
Arsenal thus became, of youth teams in the country, the winners of seven South East Counties League titles and six South East Counties League Cups of which included three "doubles".[23]
The youth team became founder members of theFA Premier Youth League in1997–98. The league was initially a single division and Arsenal won the inaugural title. The following season this was renamed the Premier Academy League and split into Under-19 and Under-17 sections, with the new FA Academy system formally changing Arsenal's youth team to Academy status. Arsenal entered teams in both sections, winning the U17 title in1999–00 and the U19 title in2001–02 as well as two more FA Youth Cups in2000 and2001.[6]
Since2004–05, the FA Premier Academy League has consisted of only a single section for Under-18s, although an Under-16 section is played with no league table being recorded. Arsenal U18s have won their division group (Group A) three times, in2007–08,2008–09 and2009–10. They went on to win the academy play-off semi-final and final in 2008–09 and 2009–10 to becomePremier Academy League champions. In 2009 they completed their first double by also winning the2008–09 FA Youth Cup, having beaten Liverpool 6–2 on aggregate in the final.[6]
Arsenal got to fourth place of theNextGen Series in2013[24] and got to the quarterfinals of the newly createdUEFA Youth League in2014.[25][26] In 2016, Arsenal's U21s won the semifinal of theProfessional Development League's Division 2 playoffs 2–1 againstBlackburn Rovers.[27] In the final Arsenal beatAston Villa by 3 goals to 1 at theEmirates Stadium so as to become playoff champions.[28]
In April 2017, Arsenal's Under 13 team defeatedSunderland to lift the inaugural Premier League National Cup as champions.[29] As well, in June 2017, Arsenal's Under-14s won the 2016-17Premier League Albert Phelan Cup.[30] On 7 July 2017, it was announced thatPer Mertesacker, who retired from football at the end of the 2017–18 season, would take up the role of Arsenal Academy's manager thereafter.[31]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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These players can also play with the Under-21s and thesenior squad.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Head Coaches:
 Per Mertesacker | Academy Manager |
 Luke Hobbs | Head of Coaching |
| Max Porter | U21 Head Coach |
 Adam Birchall | U18 Head Coach |
| Adam Pilling | U17 Head Coach |
| Michael Donaldson | U16 Head Coach |
| Craig Smith | U15 Head Coach |
| Simon Copley | U14 Head Coach |
 Josh Hinckson | U13 Head Coach |
| Kieron Lewis | U12 Head Coach |
| Lewis Goater | U11 Head Coach |
| Jhovan Bruce de Rouche | U10 Head Coach |
| Jack Kennedy | U9 Head Coach |
Staff:
| Will Oldham | Operations Manager |
| John Boca | Senior Operations Officer |
| Paul Wilson | Kit Manager |
| Matt Henly | Head of Education |
| Perry Stewart | Head of Performance |
| Kate Green | Head of Personal Development and Psychology |
| Jordan McCann | Academy Model Lead and Technical Coach |
 Matt Joseph | Coach Developer |
 Ken Gillard | Professional Development Phase Lead Coach |
| Josh Smith | U18 Assistant Coach |
| Dominic May | Lead U21 Strength & Conditioning Coach |
| Terry Mason | Head of Goalkeeping |
 Chris Terpcou | Goalkeeping Coach (U18) |
| Matt Doyle | Goalkeeping Lead Coach (U9-U18) |
| Reece Ottley | Goalkeeping Lead Coach (U12-U16) |
| Lee Herron | Head of Talent ID |
| Steve Brown | Lead Talent ID Coordinator (U8-U16) |
| Chris Perkins | Head of Emerging Talent (U17-21) |
| Conan Watson | Lead Talent ID Coordinator (U15-U16) |
| Phil Antwi | Lead Talent ID Coordinator (U12-U14) |
| Ayo Durojaiye | Lead Talent ID Coordinator (U9-U11) |
 Niall O'Connor | Lead Analyst |
| Josh Brimacombe-Wiard | Academy Analyst & Coach |
| Sam Moore | Analyst |
 Athikhun Pinthong | U9-16 Analyst |
| Zenon Backhouse | U18 Analyst |
This is a list of former Arsenal F.C. academy or Arsenal 'A' graduates who have gone on to represent their country at full international level since theSecond World War. Players who are still at Arsenal, or play at another club on loan from Arsenal, are highlighted in bold.
Anton BlackwoodNeil Kilkenny
Georgios EfremValentinos Sielis
Peggy Lokando
Nicklas BendtnerDavid BentleyJay BothroydKieran GibbsHarry KaneJack Wilshere
Ingi Højsted
Quincy Owusu-Abeyie
Keanu Marsh-Brown
Carlos VelaDean Shiels
Håvard Nordtveit
Wojciech SzczęsnyKeith FaheyAnthony Stokes
Armand Traoré
Albert Jarrett
Cesc Fàbregas
Sebastian Larsson
Johan Djourou
Gilles Sunu
Gavin HoyteJustin Hoyte
Colin Kazim-Richards
Frank SimekJames LawrenceHal Robson-Kanu
Ismaël Bennacer
Emiliano Martínez
Samuel Galindo
Nico Yennaris
Ian PovedaKostas PileasBenik AfobeEberechi EzeAinsley Maitland-NilesEddie NketiahBukayo SakaEmile Smith Rowe
Glen KamaraSerge GnabryEmmanuel FrimpongRegan Charles-CookReice Charles-CookAnthony JeffreyBayli Spencer-Adams
Isaac Hayden
Alban Bunjaku
Jernade Meade
Donyell Malen
Semi AjayiAlex IwobiKelechi NwakaliNathan TellaDaniel Ballard
Dejan IlievKrystian Bielik
Vlad Dragomir
Alfred MugaboHéctor BellerínKristopher Da GracaKristoffer OlssonOğuzhan ÖzyakupYunus MusahGeneral
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