David Horseman appointed Head Coach of Arsenal under-21s
Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of David Horseman as head coach of the under-21s following Max Porter’s departure earlier this summer.
Horseman joined the Gunners a year ago as an Elite Player Development Coach and spent last season overseeing the club’s under-19s in the UEFA Youth League, as well as leading the under-21s in the EFL Trophy.
His promotion comes at an important time for the academy. After the under-21s finished a disappointing 14th in Premier League 2 last season, new Academy Director Pascal de Maesschalck will be hoping Horseman can help raise standards while continuing Arsenal’s long-standing focus on producing first-team talent.
The Belgian, who succeeded Per Mertesacker earlier this month, is confident he has found the right man for the job.
“We are extremely pleased to appoint David as our under-21s head coach,” he said.
“He has consistently demonstrated a clear understanding of how to manage our talented young players, both as individuals and as a team.
“With his experience, positive mindset and drive, he will continue to help create the perfect environment to realise our objectives and help our young players to succeed.”
Many of the players Horseman will work with this season have spent much of the summer training alongside Mikel Arteta’s first-team squad, helping fill the gaps left by senior internationals at the World Cup.
The new under-21s boss believes that exposure can only benefit their development ahead of the new campaign, which begins against Crystal Palace in five days’ time.
“Our academy players are some of the luckiest in the world, they get to train and learn alongside the best team in the Premier League,” he said.
“What I saw from our boys in pre-season filled me with immense pride. In one game we had eight or so Hale End players all on the pitch at the same time.
“When they’ve come back to our training, they’ve been phenomenal. We know players will go into the first team regularly; we just need to make sure that when we are together, we have a close unit and are ready to tackle every challenge.
“Our job is not only to win games but also to produce the best possible players for our first team.”
Horseman becomes Arsenal’s seventh under-21s head coach since Arsene Wenger left the club in 2018. By comparison, there were only seven incumbents across the previous 32 years between 1986 and the Frenchman’s departure, highlighting just how much the role has evolved in recent times.
He succeeds Porter, who has joined Stoke City in a first-team coaching role. Before him, the position was held by Mehmet Ali, Kevin Betsy, Steve Bould, Freddie Ljungberg and Steve Gatting.
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