Kwame Ampadu has left his position as Arsenal U18s coach to become part of Thierry Henry’s coaching staff at Monaco.

Arsenal will now have to turn their attention to appointing a replacement for Ampadu, who deserves much credit for the work that he has done over the past two years.

Having previously coached Arsenal at schoolboy level, Ampadu stepped up to oversee the U18s and helped the team to perform consistently in the league, something which they had struggled to do for several years prior to his arrival.

Ampadu oversaw the development of players including Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock and also gave opportunities to the likes of Xavier Amaechii, Tyreece John-Jules and Bukayo Saka, all of whom have proceeded to impress at U23 level.

Under Ampadu the U18s became slightly more resilient defensively in the league but they were still vulnerable in that regard in the FA Youth Cup.

In the 2016/17 season Arsenal suffered a surprise exit from the competition against Blackburn Rovers, with Reiss Nelson being sent off.

Last season Ampadu’s side made it all the way to the final, but they were comprehensively beaten by Chelsea over two legs, with the coach making some bizarre tactical decisions.

Overall, though, Ampadu’s tenure was largely positive as he helped to oversee a steady production line of players into the U23 side.

Trevor Bumstead the current Arsenal U16 coach who previously worked for West Ham United, is the leading candidate to succeed Ampadu, although a decision on the matter has yet to be made.

Ampadu deserves much credit for the work that he did in bringing some much-needed stability to the U18s.

Now it is time for a new chapter and hopefully one that will be successful for the U18s both in terms of bringing players through and results.

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Jeorge Bird is the author of www.arsenalyouth.wordpress.com Follow him on Twitter @jeorgebird