Arsenal have appointed 52-year-old Belgian administrator Pascal De Maesschalck as their new academy director to lead a major restructuring of youth operations at Hale End following several key staff departures.
De Maesschalck replaces former Arsenal club captain Per Mertesacker, who stepped down over the summer after eight years managing the academy to become the German Football Association's managing director in January.
Max Porter also departed his position as Under-21 head coach to become assistant manager at English Football League side Stoke City. Their departures created a leadership void at Hale End at a time when developing home-grown talent and securing pure profit from academy sales have become essential under financial regulations.
The new leadership hierarchy at Hale End, headed by De Maesschalck alongside academy operations manager Lee Herron, aims to re-establish Arsenal's reputation as a premier youth development goldmine. Hale End boasts a rich history of producing elite talent, including former club captain Tony Adams, former England defender Ashley Cole, and former midfielder Jack Wilshere.
In recent seasons, winger Bukayo Saka has established himself as the jewel in Hale End's crown within Mikel Arteta's first team, where he has been joined by emerging academy graduates Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly, and Max Dowman.
However, recent first-team breakthroughs masked growing underlying problems within the youth setup. Arsenal's Under-21 team won just eight of their 21 matches last season in Premier League 2, England's top tier for youth development, a campaign that included a heavy 7-0 defeat against Liverpool in January.
In November 2025, Arsenal's Under-19 squad secured a 4-2 win over Bayern Munich in the UEFA Youth League, helped by Dowman dropping back down to youth level to score twice after making several first-team appearances. That victory ended a 16-game winless run across the club's Under-18, Under-19, and Under-21 age groups.
Rival clubs poach top young talent
During the period of uncertainty surrounding Mertesacker's replacement, rival Premier League clubs took advantage of Hale End's transition to sign transfer targets and poach top prospects.
Manchester City hijacked Arsenal's move for Leicester City winger Jeremy Monga when the Gunners were close to completing a deal. Tottenham Hotspur also beat Arsenal to the signature of West Ham United Under-15 midfielder Isaac Allen.
Furthermore, two of Arsenal's own highly rated academy players decided to move elsewhere, with midfielder Kyran Thompson signing for Newcastle United and Mishel Nduka joining Manchester City.
Aggressive new recruitment strategy
Arsenal restored stability by hiring De Maesschalck, who previously worked as technical director at Strasbourg, the French Ligue 1 club owned by Chelsea's parent company, BlueCo. Prior to his spell in France, De Maesschalck spent ten years as academy head at Belgian side Club Brugge and three years leading youth development at French club Monaco.
Across his previous roles in European football, De Maesschalck established a reputation for preparing young players for senior football. At Brugge, he built direct pathways into the first team, while at Monaco he helped nurture Eliesse Ben Seghir, Maghnes Akliouche, and Soungoutou Magassa, all of whom became senior regulars before being sold for significant transfer fees to Bayer Leverkusen, Paris Saint-Germain, and West Ham United respectively.
At Arsenal, De Maesschalck has been tasked with driving an aggressive recruitment policy and increasing revenue from player sales. Sporting director Andrea Berta praised De Maesschalck's talent for identifying emerging prospects to join Arsenal on a path toward professional football.
Arsenal previously targeted young players from Scotland and Ireland under the age of 18, bringing in Callan Hamill, Evan Mooney, and Ceadach O'Neill. Under De Maesschalck, the club has expanded its focus to raid domestic English rivals for top academy talent.
Arsenal recently completed the signing of 18-year-old defender Elijah Upson, the son of former Arsenal and England centre-back Matt Upson, from north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The Gunners also signed 16-year-old midfielder Axel Donczew from Cardiff City and 16-year-old Mylo Bernard from Crystal Palace, while positioning themselves to beat multiple rival clubs to 18-year-old Blackburn Rovers striker Igor Tyjon.
Selling model and profit targets
Alongside recruitment, De Maesschalck is charged with developing Arsenal's player sales template, taking inspiration from the profitable departures of former academy forwards Mika Biereth and Folarin Balogun.
London-born Denmark striker Biereth joined Arsenal from Fulham's academy in 2021 before being sold to Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz for £4 million three years later without making a first-team appearance. In January 2025, Sturm Graz resold Biereth to Monaco for £12.8 million, generating additional income for Arsenal through a 30 per cent sell-on clause.
Similarly, United States international striker Balogun was sold to Monaco for £34.3 million in August 2023 after failing to secure a regular starting spot under Arteta. Following a breakout World Cup campaign with the US national team, Balogun has been linked with a potential transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, and Arsenal retain a 17.5 per cent sell-on clause in his contract.
New coaching setup under David Horseman
To replace Porter as Under-21 head coach, Arsenal promoted David Horseman from his dual role as Under-19 manager and Under-21 assistant. The appointment was overseen by manager Mikel Arteta, assistant manager Albert Stuivenberg, and De Maesschalck.
Horseman, who is two years younger than Arteta, brings nearly 15 years of academy coaching experience. He spent eight years at Bristol City across various roles, including Under-18 manager, head of academy coaching, and academy manager.
Horseman also has senior coaching experience in the Football League. He was appointed head coach of Forest Green Rovers in July 2023, lasting six months after winning two of his initial seven matches. In December 2024, he served as joint caretaker manager at Bristol City alongside Lee Cattermole following Matt Taylor's dismissal, though the team suffered relegation at the end of the season.
Before joining Arsenal in September, Horseman had a brief spell as a professional development phase coach at Manchester United. Arsenal executives valued his combination of extensive academy experience, Football League management, and insight into how another top-tier academy operates.
Under De Maesschalck's leadership, Arsenal's clear objective is to construct an academy that regularly feeds talent into Arteta's first team while ensuring players who do not reach that level command valuable transfer fees in the market.
