Per Mertesacker has warned the young players in the Arsenal side that talent means nothing without hard work.

Mertesacker is set to take over on a coaching capacity at Arsenal once he hangs up his boots at the end of the current Premier League campaign and the World Cup winner has already gone on to deliver some important words of advice to the youngsters currently plying their trade for the Gunners.

Mertesacker said: "They need to feel welcome because they've done a lot for us, they've contributed. To do that on a consistent level, because they're not in the first-team dressing room at the moment, it creates a little bit of a gap. That can mean they don't know wherethey are. Are they under-23s, under-19s or first team?

"It's important that we keep in touch, communicate well. They've got huge potential and have high levels of skill, but it's what you make of it. That's something I'm going to address in the next couple of years.

"I respect them highly but the only ones who will make it are the ones who make the most of their potential. Talent means nothing to me, it's all about hard work. I put the emphasis in that they're not told how talented they are too much. Talent is what you make of it."