Arsenal confirmed this week that U21s coach Mehmet Ali has left the club to become part of the first-team coaching staff at Brentford.
After initially joining as assistant to Kevin Betsy, Ali took charge of the team himself in the summer of 2022 and was coach for over 100 matches.
Ali also previously managed Arsenal’s U19 team in the UEFA Youth League and he will now get the opportunity to work in a first-team coaching environment.
Following Ali’s departure Arsenal announced that Max Porter and Ken Gillard will take joint interim charge of the U21 team while the search for a successor continues.
There have been many occasions previously when Arsenal have promoted youth coaches from within and that could well prove to be the case again, especially regarding Porter.
A former player for clubs including Barnet and AFC Wimbledon, Porter initially joined Arsenal’s coaching setup in 2019 as coach of the U13s.
He has worked his way up by coaching at various levels and was appointed as Ali’s assistant in 2022. Porter also coached the U19 team in the UEFA Youth League last season.
There have been occasions when the 38-year-old has implemented impressive tactical switches to ensure that Arsenal are switched on defensively.
Gillard, meanwhile, has been at Arsenal since 2016 and was the coach of the Gunners’ U18 team the last time that they won the southern section title in the 2018-19 season. In recent seasons he has worked with the club’s loan players.
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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird