Arsene Wenger believes the future of English football is
bright - but insists he will be too old to take charge of the
national side by the time the youngsters make it
through.
Wenger claims that English football finally has the systems in
place to provide youngsters with a strong football education, and
thinks the England side will feel the full benefit in the next
seven or eight years.
But the Arsenal boss says he will be too old to take on the England
job by then.
"The best time to be England manager will be in the middle of the
next decade," he told The Mirror.
"But I will have a beard and a walking stick by then."
Academies
"All the work has been done in the clubs' academies now. Children
under 12 are playing four or five times a week.
"After 12, they work five times a week up to 16. We have
16-year-old players now at Arsenal who are ready to compete.
"That is the first time I have seen that since I have been in
England in terms of quality.
"If you look at English national teams under 17, they are starting
to make results. The academy system is a success. It takes 10
years.
"When I arrived in England, there was no correct youth team
development.
"You take the blood of any Englishman and it is no different from
the blood of a Frenchman or a Brazilian. They are not less gifted.
It is education."