Arsenal's new U21 coach Mehmet Ali says he was "blown away" by academy director Per Mertesacker.

Ali, who joined us from Reading in January, has been promoted from assistant after serving under former head coach Kevin Betsy.

"When I had an interview for the role and I had a one-to-one with Per 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."