He will replace Steve Bould, who was sacked in June, after his 33-year long stint with the North London club.
Betsy’s coaching career started at Fulham, but it was with the England youth teams that he got recognition. The 43-year-old was appointed as the manager of the England U15 team in 2016. He rose through the ranks and managed the English U16, U17 and U18 teams. Prior to his appointment by Arsenal, he was working with the U18 English squad.
Before becoming a coach, Betsy spent most of his successful days as a player with Woking. He also had memorable stints with Barnsley and Wycombe Wanderers. While Betsy will manage the U23 team, Dan Micciche, who was previously coaching the Arsenal U15 side, has been given charge of the U18 team.
“It’s an honour and privilege to be joining Arsenal as Under-23s head coach. Arsenal is of course an iconic club in world football with such a rich history,”
“My work starts here and together with the talented people at this club, we aim to continue the strong work of providing the pipeline of talent to support the first team, whilst at the same time instilling the values and traditions of this football club, so that young players are ready for life as well as football,” he further added.
said Betsy, as per quotes in Daily Mail.
Per Metresacker, manager of Arsenal academy, said about this appointment
”We are extremely delighted that we have recruited through our interview process such a high profile candidate as Kevin Betsy.”
Arsenal’s gain, FA’s loss
While many expect Betsy to have a successful stint at Arsenal, given his record with England’s youth teams, his departure is likely to create a void at the Football Association.
The FA recently lost Justin Cochrane, former England U17 head coach, to Manchester United. Cochrane has joined the Red Devils in the capacity of the Head of Academy Player Development and Coaching.
