“Werder Bremen has a very good youth system and with Thomas someone who brings in new structures,” Mertesacker told Bild. “I talked to him and thought about what we can do together as far as players are concerned.”
“We exchanged views. The contact with Werder is still so good that you like to drop by for two days, talk about promoting talent together and bring along colleagues from London.
“Also in the future, this idea should continue to flourish. At various levels, connections between Arsenal and Werder are conceivable. Thomas is the technical director responsible for coach education in the Werder centre of excellence, it can be useful for us in London. We could send coaches to Bremen and vice versa. Ultimately, both clubs benefit from it.”
“In our U23s you will be introduced to the men’s area as well as in Bremen. However, you play only against peers at an average age of 18 or 19.”
“Although you have good opponents, duels with men’s teams does not exist. In Germany you are challenged in the regional league or even better in the third league. Therefore, the step from our U23 into the first team is even bigger, because the next higher level is the Premier League.”
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