Per Mertesacker has been speaking about the possibility of Arsenal sending more of their top talent abroad to continue their development on loan.
The Gunners currently have two of their best young players out in Germany, with Reiss Nelson at Hoffenheim until the end of the season and Emile Smith Rowe with RB Leipzig.
And Mertesacker says more could follow, with Arsenal's academy manager admitting that a year playing in the Bundesliga could be far more beneficial than spending the season with the Under-23s in England.
"In our U23s you will be introduced to the men's area," said Mertesacker. "However, you play only against peers at an average age of 18 or 19.
"Although you have good opponents, duels with men's teams does not exist. In Germany you are challenged in the regional league or even better in the third league. Therefore, the step from our U23 into the first team is even bigger, because the next higher level is the Premier League.
"Therefore, for us at Arsenal loans in the Bundesliga are very attractive."
And those comments from the German sum up perfectly why Arsenal are facing a real challenge this summer keeping hold of their top young talent.
In England now, U23s football is not enough to keep the best teenagers in the country happy. They want more.
Young talent, who would have perhaps been patient and waited for a chance with the first-team are now open to moving abroad where they believe they have a far greater opportunity at getting the regular game time they crave in senior football.
Per Mertesacker hints at partnership between Arsenal and Bundesliga club and speaks out on loans
Jadon Sancho is the flag bearer and the stunning success he has achieved since ditching Manchester City and signing for Borussia Dortmund has tempted others to follow suit.
At Arsenal, the likes of Xavier Amaechi, Bukayo Saka and Tyreece John-Jules are generating huge amounts of interest from across Europe, with Bayern Munich amongst the clubs interested.
Both Amaechi and Saka are out of contract at the end of next season and Arsenal are going to find it difficult to get both to agree to new deals.
If they do extend, it won’t be about money, it will be about being sold on a clear sporting plan, a clear pathway to senior football - just as it was with Sancho, who took a pay cut to join Dortmund.
These players already believe - with some justification - that they are too good for U23s football, that another season playing at that level will do no good whatsoever for their development.
Mertesacker's comments back that up, he knows that U23s football in this country isn't enough to satisfy the growing desire of England's top young talent to compete at the top level.
But the big issue that Arsenal also face, especially with the likes of John-Jules and Amaechi, is that a loan move to Germany might also not be enough.
For Arsenal, a loan to the Bundesliga may be attractive, but for the player they could view it as the club just using the loan market as a way of avoiding the issue for another year.
Arsenal must match Granit Xhaka's ambitions to bring Unai Emery's ambitious vision to life
What happens when Smith Rowe and Nelson return from their spells in Germany will be watched with interest by a number of their young teammates in north London.
Will they come back and be integrated into the first-team? Or will they just go back to Freddie Ljungberg’s U23s set-up? If it’s the latter, then those who may have been tempted by a loan switch could find it far more appealing to leave on a permanent basis to try and develop elsewhere.
Contract talks between Arsenal, Amaechi and John-Jules are planned for later in the season and if the teenagers are to be convinced to stay, the offer of more U23s football will not be enough. And it's unlikely that a promise a year in Germany will either.
The two Arsenal players that the fans think should not be part of Unai Emery's plans
Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android.
Available to download from the App Store and Google Play.
