Pascal De Maesschalck has shared his surprise over joining Arsenal and talked up his challenges and goals with the Premier League winners. 

The Belgian started his career as Club Brugge’s youth team director in 2007. In July 2011, he made his way as the academy manager and left them for AS Monaco the following month.

In July 2024, RC Strasbourg appointed him as their technical director. He left the Ligue 1 side to join Arsenal in August as their academy director.

At the north London club, his role will see him focus on their academy program, oversee the youngsters’ development and recruit young talents.

Positive feeling after talks with Arsenal

Sporza in Belgium interviewed the 52-year-old to discuss his move to Arsenal, his role, Mikel Arteta and other topics.

The outlet labels him as an ‘architect’ of Club Brugge academy. He was in shock when the Gunners hired him and explained the hiring process.

“I actually still have no idea how they ended up with me,” he said.

“I have always learned to do your job as well as possible, and then opportunities arise. Don’t think in advance: ‘I want to do that’.”

“In my case, a club of Arsenal’s calibre came along, which is a completely different dimension than where I was able to work before. I walked out with a good feeling. I said: even if I don’t get the job, I still learned a lot in the past two hours. Our ideas aligned well.”

The challenges Pascal De Maesschalck faces at the Emirates are different when compared to his former clubs because of Brexit. Non-British youngsters have to wait until 18 years of age to move to the UK.

“After last season, you can say that it is the best club in Europe. If you win the Premier League, which is quite a tough competition, and you play in the Champions League final, then you are in the top 3 in Europe,” De Maesschalck explained.

“That is the challenge for me now. Does my approach work at the very highest level? Don’t forget, working in the Premier League is completely different from Belgium or France. You have the Brexit story, the rules are completely different…”

ARSENAL ACADEMY GRADUATES

50+ Arsenal first-team appearances in the past decade

Player	Position	Arsenal senior debut
Héctor Bellerín	Right-back	2013
Ainsley Maitland-Niles	Midfielder / full-back	2014
Alex Iwobi	Midfielder / winger	2015
Reiss Nelson	Winger	2017
Eddie Nketiah	Striker	2017
Joe Willock	Central midfielder	2017
Emile Smith Rowe	Attacking midfielder	2018
Bukayo Saka	Winger	2018
Ethan Nwaneri	Attacking midfielder / winger	2022
Myles Lewis-Skelly	Left-back / midfielder	2024
QUALIFYING ACADEMY GRADUATES		10

Qualification: Developed in Arsenal’s youth system and made at least 50 competitive Arsenal men’s first-team appearances during 2 November 2016–2 November 2026. Starts and substitute appearances count. Includes domestic cups, European competitions and the Community Shield; excludes youth games, friendlies and appearances for other clubs.
Academy definition: Includes players recruited from another academy who played in Arsenal’s youth system before progressing to the first team, such as Héctor Bellerín.
Order: Arsenal senior debut year, then surname.
Sources:
Arsenal,
Soccerbase and individual player career records.
Updated: 2 November 2026.

SPORT WITNESS

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal’s ambition 

Pascal De Maesschalck clearly lays out the Premier League winners’ ambition to establish themselves as one of the best academies. This can also open the first team door for some of the young talents from the academy.