Arsenal confirm shock departure of Kevin Betsy and Dan Micciche to join Crawley Town

Arsenal have confirmed that under-23s coach Kevin Betsy will leave the club along with under-18s boss Dan Micciche. Betsy will take up the position of first-team manager at League One side Crawley Town ahead of the upcoming season, with Micciche set to join him as his assistant at The Broadfield Stadium.

Betsy - who previously worked with the England under-15s, 16s, 17s and 18s - joined the Gunners last summer as a replacement for Steve Bould who was sacked after a two-year stint in charge of the under-23s. Having taken over a side that only just avoided relegation on the final day of last season Betsy guided his side to third in Premier League 2 this campaign. The 44-year-also saw his side to the quarter-finals in the Papa John's Trophy this season, which was the furthest of any Premier League academy side this campaign and the longest run Arsenal have had in the competition's history.

Micciche meanwhile helped Arsenal to finish fourth in the under-18 Premier League south. He was also responsible for helping impressive talents like Marcelo Flores and Khayon Edwards make their step up to 23s level.

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“We’re grateful for the work Kevin and Dan have done to manage and develop our under-23s and under-18s," said academy manager Per Mertesacker. "Both have shown outstanding coaching ability so it’s no surprise they’re heading into first-team management in the EFL.

"This is a great opportunity for them, and on behalf of everyone at Arsenal, I’d like to thank them for their service and wish them the very best of luck in the future.”

Betsy will replace John Yems, who left Crawley last month by what the club described as mutual consent