Arsenal academy chief Mertesacker reveals current transfer strategy 'not sustainable' | OneFootball

Arsenal academy director Per Mertesacker says the club's transfer strategy is "not sustainable" and they must rely on youth players moving into the first-team.

The Gunners spent £140million on new signings last summer, with Ben White, Albert Sambi Lokonga, Nuno Tavares, Martin Odegaard, Aaron Ramsdale and Takehiro Tomiyasu joining the club.

Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka are two recent academy graduates who have become first-team regulars, and Mertesacker says the club cannot rely on spending money every transfer window.

"You can't always predict [who will make the step up]. I think Emile and Bukayo got their chances and performed really well," Mertesacker told the Arsenal Supporters' Trust Christmas Event.

"We won against Chelsea and then a couple of games so these are the moments you have to take advantage of.

"But which player is then able to and has prepared himself for that moment to come? To play well enough for the manager to say, "Listen, he's ready and he can make the step up, he's part of the first team, we don't need to buy a player for 30 or 40 million", which is not sustainable.

"Edu and Mikel have done a lot last summer, but that's not sustainable for us as a football club.

"We're not going to do that on a consistent basis so we need to make sure that the flow of top players from the academy is constantly there so they don't need to look to the market.

"We made a big effort, but that's not sustainable for us in the future."