Mehmet Ali is delighted taking charge of Arsenal's U21 squad.

Ali originally moved to Arsenal in January from Reading and replaces Kevin Betsy.

"When I had an interview for the role and I had a one-to-one with Per (Mertesacker) before I took the job on, I was blown away," he said.

"His morals, his values and beliefs and his vision to try and push this academy to be the best academy possible, to be a world-class academy, to try help players to get in Arsenal's first team, that was something that really struck me having that one-to-one with him.

"I've been fortunate enough to be at the club for six months already, so I've got a good understanding of the players and it definitely helps a smoother transition to the position that I'm in now."