Arsenal Need A British Core Again: Per Mertesacker

Arsenal have failed to register a single player in the senior England squad in decades and that is a big deal, according to Per Mertesacker.

The Gunners Academy boss wants to change that by building a strong British core.

“I was shocked,” Mertesacker told The Athletic. “No senior England players. That’s unacceptable. That’s a failure.

“When you look at the England squad, you see players from Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea… They all have players there – and not one. Two or three. That’s what we need.

“We used to joke about having a ‘British core’ – Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Aaron Ramsey – but that’s essentially what we need.

“It’s for everyone. It’s for the club. It helps create the energy and the bigger belief in what we do. It allows the fans to connect with the team. The British core ensures the English language is first, it creates the culture. It’s important.”

Arsenal have a chance of registering senior internationals in the next generation of players but for now, it might be a long shot. Joe Willock and Reis Nelson have broken through to the senior team this season while Ainsley Maitland-Niles continues to operate on the right-back post in Hector Bellerin’s absence.

Emile Smith-Rowe is very close to being called up soon enough, just like last term while Eddie Nketiah is impressing while out on loan. Arsenal do have a strong bunch of locally grown youth talent coming up through the ranks – Bukayo Saka, Folarin Balogun and Tyreece John-Jules.