Per Mertesacker is staying at Arsenal for the foreseeable future -- as the club's new academy director.
It was announced on Friday that the club captain will retire next summer and take over the youth setup, filling a vacancy that has been open since Andries Jonker left earlier this year.
While it might seem like a big step for a player to take, it's a move that seems to make great sense for both Mertesacker and Arsenal. Here are five reasons why:
1. Experience and mentoring ability
Mertesacker does not have any coaching experience, but he is one of the most experienced defenders in the world with more than 500 club appearances, 104 Germany caps and a World Cup title to his name.
He also has the intelligence and mentoring ability to make sure young players can learn from that experience. Centre-back teammates Rob Holding and Calum Chambers have already talked up the value of Mertesacker's teachings and this appointment allows the entire academy to benefit in similar fashion.
2. Defensive focus
Arsenal's academy has a long history of producing talented attacking midfielders, wingers and forwards. Defenders, not so much. But Mertesacker could change that
Hector Bellerin and Kieran Gibbs are both former wingers who were re-schooled as full-backs and one has to look all the way back to Martin Keown and Tony Adams to find a top-class centre-back who came out of Arsenal's academy. Young defenders must focus more on actually defending and not just playing it out of the back.
3. Club connection
Arsenal have been criticised for not doing enough to keep former players; Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp have taken up coaching jobs elsewhere, while former captain Mikel Arteta opted to join Pep Guardiola's staff at Manchester City after retiring last summer.
Mertesacker's appointment is a sign the club have learnt their lesson and are even being proactive in finding suitable roles for players.
4. Respected by players
Mertesacker has been the butt of a few jokes in the media because of his lack of speed and the fact he hardly played last season after being named captain. But there's no doubt he's a hugely respected figure in the dressing room -- including among the youth-team players.
That level of respect, plus the fact that he's already familiar with the current crop of academy products, should help give him a running start in his new job.
5. Future manager
Jonker left to take a head coaching job at Wolfsburg and it's easy to imagine the Arsenal captain following a similar path. If Mertesacker has managerial aspirations, then the experience of managing a top club's academy should be just as valuable as being an assistant somewhere -- especially as he can still learn from Arsene Wenger.
And who knows, perhaps Wenger has already earmarked Mertesacker as his eventual successor the day he does decide to leave the Arsenal job.