Second coaching change at Arsenal confirmed as Gunners man leaves for another EPL club
The head coach of the Arsenal under-21s Mehmet Ali has left the club to join the backroom staff of new Brentford manager Keith Andrews, according to The Athletic.
It is the second coaching change at the North London club since the end of the season after former first-team coach Carlos Cuesta left to become Parma’s manager after five years of working with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta.
Ali took over the Arsenal under-21s in 2022, succeeding Kevin Betsy, and he played a major role in the development of Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Both have established themselves as regulars in the first-team, with the latter becoming a senior England international and signing a long-term deal with his boyhood club a couple of days ago.
Ali has been working in youth football for over ten years, with Tottenham Hotspur and Reading some of his former employers after spending time within their youth ranks before joining the Gunners.
Like most coaches, the 38-year-old dreams of becoming a first-team manager one day, and the move to Brentford takes him further to his goal as he will be working as one of the assistants to Andrews.
The Arsenal under-21s reached the Premier League 2 play-off quarter-finals last term before they were knocked out in extra-time by their Manchester City counterparts, and they will be needing a new head coach as soon as possible.
Their assistant head coach Max Porter, who also doubles as the head coach of the Arsenal under-19s playing in the UEFA Youth League, could be in frame for the job having been at the club since 2019.
Porter started with the Arsenal under-13 team before becoming the under-14 head coach and lead phase.
He became the professional development phase under-18 assistant coach and under-17s head coach afterwards, resuming his current role to work with Ali in July 2022.
The under-18s head coach Adam Birchall could also be an option for the now-vacant role.
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