Arsenal Sack Head Youth Scout Steve Morrow as Per Mertersacker Overhauls Academy

​Arsenal have parted ways with head of youth scouting Steve Morrow as they look to overhaul their current academy structure.

A former academy graduate himself, Morrow had spent more than a decade as part of the staff at Arsenal, but has now been relieved of his duties.

The news was confirmed by the ​Daily Mail, who revealed that academy director Per Mertesacker and technical director Edu were behind the decision to part ways with highly rated Morrow, with ​Arsenal eager to reshuffle their youth setup.


The decision has been met with some confusion. Morrow was under consideration for several promotions, including the positions currently held by Mertesacker and Edu, but has now suddenly been released.


Behind the scenes, it is said that many at Arsenal were left shocked by the decision to sack Morrow, who has been contacted by the English FA over the possibility of contributing to their scouting system.

Per Mertesacker

Seven other staff members are believed to have left the club as well, including Kevin Beadell, Dan Rice, David Lee, Jay Leffe and Joe Sutton.


The Gunners are trying to bolster their youth setup to increase the quality of players coming through to the first team. Club coach Freddie Ljungberg moved from the Under-23 setup to the senior side in an attempt to aid the transition for players, but it appears as though Arsenal want to take more drastic measures.

Freddie Ljungberg

When ​promoting Ljungberg, club head of football Raul Sanllehi proclaimed that the Gunners wanted to focus on developing youth, and it seems they believe parting with Morrow is one of the steps on their path to achieving their goals.


This season, both Joe Willock and Bukayo Saka have blossomed, while the likes of Emile Smith-Rowe and Reiss Nelson are both pushing for spots in Unai Emery's starting lineup.


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Source : 90min