New academy chief De Maesschalck: 'I have no idea how they ended up with me'
Pascal De Maesschalck has admitted he was surprised to be appointed Arsenal's academy director, revealing he went into the interview process simply viewing it as a learning opportunity rather than expecting to land the job.
The Belgian began work at Arsenal in the summer, arriving from Strasbourg where he had been technical director since 2024. He takes over from Per Mertesacker, who left at the end of last season after eight years in the role overseeing the Gunners' academy programme.
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Speaking to Belgian outlet Sporza, De Maesschalck described his reaction to getting the role at Hale End.
“I actually still have no idea how they ended up with me,” he said. “I have always learned to do your job as well as possible, and then opportunities arise. Don't think in advance, 'I want to do that'. In my case, a club of Arsenal's calibre came along, which is a completely different dimension than where I was able to work before. I walked out with a good feeling. I said, 'even if I don't get the job, I still learned a lot in the past two hours'. Our ideas aligned well.”
Arteta's message to the new academy boss
Arsenal's academy production line has become increasingly important to the first team in recent years, with Bukayo Saka and Myles Lewis-Skelly both coming through Hale End to establish themselves under Mikel Arteta. Max Dowman and Marli Salmon have also been handed opportunities with the senior squad.
De Maesschalck says he has already had direct conversations with Arteta about the pathway between the academy and the first team.
“Arteta wants to collaborate, he also wants to give the youngsters a chance,” De Maesschalck said. “He has expressed his support for that very clearly. Our ambition is to write the development story of England.”
He also outlined his own approach to the job, emphasising relationships and recruitment as the foundations of his work at the club.
“I watch a lot of matches. I also build relationships with the players and their parents, because I think it is important to know the players personally. It remains a people's business. And recruitment, of course. That is the most important thing. You can have the best facilities or operations, but with the wrong players, it won't work.”
De Maesschalck's comments, first reported by The Standard, give an early insight into how he plans to run the academy setup that produced Saka and continues to feed talent like Dowman into Arteta's squad. His focus on maintaining a close relationship with the first team suggests continuity with the approach established under Mertesacker, even as Arsenal look to keep developing young players capable of making the step up.
