Arsenal
Training Ground
Bell Lane, London Colney, Shenley, Radlett, AL2 1DR
020 7619 5003
Academy
U16s and above are at Colney. Younger ages at Hale End Academy: 99 Wadham Rd, London E17 4LU
Per Mertesacker (Academy Manager)
020 7619 5003
U16s and above are at Colney.
Younger than that at:
Hale End Academy,
99 Wadham Rd,
London
E17 4LU
Academy Info
Academy Category: One
Academy Manager: Per Mertesacker.
Position in 2024/25 Academy Productivity Rankings: 2nd
Under-21s Head Coach: Max Porter
Football Executives
Italian
Andrea Berta
Sporting Director
Made his name during a decade with Atletico Madrid. Joined them in 2013 as Technical Director, before being promoted to Sporting Director in 2017. During his time there, Atletico won two La Liga titles, the Europa League and were twice runners-up in the Champions League. Joined Arsenal at the end of March 2025.
English
James King
Director of Football Operations
Joined from the PFA in November 2024. Previously worked for the Gunners from 2016 to 2022, initially supporting Partnerships, Business Development, Retail, Marketing, Premium Sales, Ticketing and Community, before moving to the Football Operations side of the club.
Coaching
Spanish
Mikel Arteta
Manager
Spent five seasons as a player at Arsenal after stints with Rangers and Everton. Brought to Manchester City by Pep Guardiola in the summer of 2016. Was appointed Arsenal manager on December 20th 2019, having previously been interviewed for the job when Unai Emery was chosen.
Dutch
Albert Stuivenberg
Assistant
Was number two to Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United and also managed Genk in Belgium. Was assistant coach for the Wales national team from 2019 to 2021.
Argentine
Gabriel Heinze
First-team coach
Former Man Utd defender joined Gunners in July 2025. Was a team-mate of Arteta’s at PSG in 2001/02. Has held managerial roles at Argentine top-flight side Godoy Cruz, MLS club Atlanta United and Newell’s Old Boys, the club where he started his career.
Spanish
Miguel Molina
Tactical Assistant Coach
Hired from Atletico Madrid. An expert at integrating the physical and mental elements of the game into training sessions.
Spanish
Inaki Cana Pavon
Goalkeeper Coach
Joined from Brentford, where he had worked since the summer of 2018, in December 2019. Prior to the Bees, he was with FC Nordsjælland in Denmark.
English
Terry Mason
Assistant Goalkeeper Coach
First joined the club in June 2021 as Head of Academy Goalkeeping. Was previously first-team keeper coach at Southend United and has also worked for the Football Association. Promoted to first-team duties at the end of 2022/23.
French
Nicolas Jover
Set Piece Specialist
Joined Arsenal in July 2021, replacing Andreas Georgson. Had spent the previous two seasons at Manchester City and made a big impact as their first set piece coach. Previously worked for Brentford, Croatia and Montpellier.
Performance
English
Tom Allen
Head of Sports Science and Performance
Joined the Gunners from Aston Villa in August 2017. Had started with Villa in 2011 as an intern, working his way up to lead sports scientist. Promoted to Head of Sport Science in summer of 2022 after departure of Head of Performance Shad Forsythe.
English
Lee Stafford
Sports Scientist
Joined the Gunners as U21 Academy Sports Scientist in January 2024 after seven-and-a-half years at Watford. Promoted to current role in January 2026.
English
Sam Wilson
Lead Physical Performance Coach
Joined Arsenal in 2014. Promoted to the first team as S&C Coach at the start of 2018/19 and then to current role in July 2022.
English
Barry Solan
Lead Strength and Conditioning Coach
Worked with the Polish national team before joining Arsenal in July 2015.
English
Toby Griffiths
Physical Performance Coach
Joined the Gunners from London rivals West Ham in August 2024 as U21s Physical Performance Coach. Promoted to current position in December 2025.
Irish
Eoin Clarkin
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Joined in April 2019 as Lead S&C Coach with Arsenal Women. Previously Head of Performance for the Republic of Ireland U21s. Promoted to current role in July 2024.
English
Darren Taylor
Executive Chef
Joined Arsenal in 2016 after nine years with Chelsea. Has explained: “Before each trip I liaise with the hotels, source top-quality produce and conduct a series of meetings in order to create a harmonious environment for my players, management and technical team.”
English
Anna West
Sleep and Well-Being Consultant
Has worked as a consultant with Arsenal since July 2022. Works in the same role with Brentford, and has done since 2016. Delivered an excellent presentation at TGG’s Recovery Webinar in April 2021.
Medical
English
Zafar Iqbal
Head of Sports Medicine and Performance
One of the most experienced practitioners in English football. Was Academy Doctor and First Team Doctor at Tottenham from 2007 to 2010, before joining Liverpool as their Head of Sports Medicine. Spent five years with the Reds before becoming Head of Sports Medicine at Crystal Palace in 2015. Joined Arsenal in summer of 2024 following exit of Gary O’Driscoll to Manchester United the previous season.
English
Simon Murphy
Head Physio
Studied physiotherapy at University of Nottingham before embarking on a career in football with Derby, Mansfield and, for seven years, Leicester City. Progressed to become Head Physio with the Foxes. Joined Gunners as Senior Physio at start of 2021/22. Promoted to Head Physio ahead of 2024/25 season.
English
Elliott Clarke
Senior Physio
Spent more than eight years at Harlequins FC in Academy and senior rehab roles, before joining Arsenal in January 2023.
English
Isaac Leckie
Lead Rehab Physio
Academy Physio at Birmingham City for two-and-a-half years before joining first-team set-up at Wycombe for four years. With West Ham for two years before moving to the Gunners in November 2024. Promoted to current role in January 2026.
English
Ricky O'Donoghue
Physio
Joined from Crystal Palace in summer of 2020 when Paulo Barreira departed.
Japanese
Takahiro Yamamoto
Soft Tissue Therapist
Made name in Italy and worked with Sam Allardyce at Bolton/ West Ham. Moved to the Gunners in July 2015.
Analysis
English
Ben Chadwick
Head of Analysis/ Coach Analysis
Previously worked with Arteta at Manchester City, where he was Elite Development Squad (U23s) Analyst. Joined Gunners in March 2022 as First Team Analyst and promoted to current role in July 2023.
English
Jonathan Kaye
Positional Recruitment Analyst
Arrived at Southampton from Cambridge United, where he was first-team performance analyst, in May 2021. Joined Arsenal in November 2024.
English
Darren Rogerson
First Team Football Analyst
Rogerson worked as a performance analyst in the Academies of Sheffield United, Rangers, Derby County, and Manchester City, the latter of which he left in October 2024. Then joined Arsenal soon afterwards.
English
Niall O'Connor
First Team Football Analyst
Has been at Arsenal for over 13 years, starting as a video scout and has worked his way up to his current position, where he’s been since July 2024.
English
Jordan Nathan
Performance Analyst
At Arsenal since November 2024. Started as an intern at Burnley in September 2022 and became permanent in May 2023.
Data Science
American
Chris Dove
Head of Software and Analytics
Appointed in July 2021, having spent the previous six years with StatDNA, Arsenal’s data science arm. Had worked as a software engineer with Microsoft for a decade prior to that. Replaced the long-serving Sarah Rudd at Arsenal.
Russian
Mikhail Zhilkin
Data Scientist
May have seemed a left-field appointment, but potentially a very important one. Launched two of the most successful Candy Crush games while at King.com and is a master of science in physics and maths. Darren Burgess hopes his insights can help enhance training and reduce injuries.
Spanish
Susana Ferreras
Data Scientist
Worked as a Data Scientist for communications companies Telefonica and Vodafone, specialising in “social network analysis, churn reduction, customer acquisition, influence spreading and predictive modelling”, before joining Arsenal in October 2018.
Indian
Karun Singh
Data Scientist
Joined in October 2022, having previously worked for Grammarly and Facebook in the United States. First full-time job in football, although he has been influencing the sport for a while. Helped to develop the metric of Expected Threat, which was invented by Sarah Rudd, and has spoken at several football conferences.
Loans
English
Sam Hayball
Loans Co-Ordinator
Joined Arsenal straight from University in February 2014 as junior Academy analyst. Promoted to the first team as assistant analyst in June 2016 and then to analyst in March 2019. In January 2021 he was promoted again, to Loans Co-Ordinator.
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