'Previously players were forgotten about' - Inside Arsenal's impressive new loan system

It’s never long before Jordi Osei-Tutu’s phone rings after a game.

The Arsenal defender may be spending the season on loan in Germany with VfL Bochum, but it’s certainly not a case of out of sight, out of mind.

In fact, it is the complete opposite.

“I’m pretty much in touch with Arsenal every single day to be honest,” Osei-Tutu tells Goal during an exclusive interview. “They also fly out quite a lot to watch my games.

“I’m always in contact with them.”

This is all part of Arsenal’s new approach to the loan system.

In days gone by it may have been that players were left to their own devices while they were away from north London, but that is not the case anymore.

Every detail of their loan is now tracked back in London, with Ben Knapper the man in charge of ensuring every player out on loan makes the most of their time away.

Knapper, who first joined Arsenal from statistical analysis firm Prozone in 2010, was appointed the club’s first ever loan manager in February 2018 and he is certainly making his mark.

“Ben’s been magnificent to be fair,” said Osei-Tutu. “For someone who has just come into the role he’s been perfect.

“He calls me, I call him. He always messages me as well to see how training is going.

“When I play a match, he’ll sit down and watch the game and call me afterwards to give me a summary of how he thought I played, which helps me a lot.

“Previously I heard a lot of players were forgotten about when they went on loan. That’s why they’ve brought Ben into place and I think the system now is working better.”

And Knapper is not the only person at Arsenal who has been in contact with Osei-Tutu since he made the move to Germany in the summer.

“I’ve spoken to Freddie [Ljungberg] quite a bit,” the 20-year-old added. “I spoke to him the other week actually, he watched my game against Nuremberg and gave me a call to speak about it.

“Even Per [Mertesacker] has been in touch quite a lot as well. It’s good to see.”

The way players are looked after while they are away is not the only thing Arsenal have changed in the past couple of years when it comes to the loan market.

The method behind selecting the club that youngsters are sent to has also become far more detailed.

When Eddie Nketiah moved to Leeds in the summer, the deal only came about after a stringent process which saw several potential suitors whittled down to just three.

Representatives from those clubs were all then invited to London Colney and asked to produce a presentation detailing exactly how they planned to use the striker. It was only then that Leeds won the race.

And the process behind Osei-Tutu’s move to Bochum was similar.

“My agent went to meet the clubs and then the clubs had to meet up with Arsenal and talk to them,” revealed the right-back.

“Arsenal had to see what they had in place for me and then it was just about picking who the right one was.

“I had clubs from England, France and Germany interested, but I wanted to be at a place where I would play consistently so I thought Bochum was the right club for that.”

Osei-Tutu moved to Germany in June, but not before extending his contract with Arsenal until 2023.

He started the season in the side, but when manager Robin Dutt was sacked and replaced by Thomas Reis, the defender was dropped.

Things have improved in recent weeks, however, with Osei-Tutu featuring in Bochum’s last four games - starting the draws against St Pauli and Osnabruck either side of the international break.

“Obviously I started off playing and then I was out of the team for a bit under the new manager,” he said. “But now I’m back and I think I’ve done well in the games I’ve played.

“I had to prove to him [Reis] that I was good enough to get into the team. So it was all about working hard in training to get back into the side and, when I got my chance, to make sure I played well so I would stay there.”

Osei-Tutu is living on his own while in Bochum, a city in western Germany that sits 50 miles away from Cologne.

For someone who is used to the bright lights of London, it’s a whole new experience and one he admits was difficult to adjust to at first.

But when he’s not training he now spends his time watching Netflix, playing on his Playstation and enjoying films at his local cinema. He also does his best to make sure he keeps fully up to date with what is going on back at Arsenal.

“I watch the matches on my phone or laptop,” he said.

“Joe [Willock], Bukayo [Saka], Emile [Smith Rowe] and Reiss [Nelson] are my team-mates so it makes me really happy to see them doing so well and playing in the first-team.

“I think the way Arsenal have built their youth system has been incredible and now the hard work they have done is paying off.

“My plan is to break into the first-team as well. Hopefully this loan move will help me mature as a player on and off the pitch and I can show the boss how good I am and show him that he can trust me to play.”

One thing that could help with that ambition is Ljungberg’s role within the first-team coaching set-up.

Before his promotion in the summer, the Swede was Osei-Tutu’s manager with the Under-23s and the pair have formed a strong bond - something highlighted by Ljungberg taking such a keen interest in the defender’s loan spell.

“Freddie is a fantastic coach and more so a fantastic person,” said Osei-Tutu.

“You can talk to him about anything and that helps me a lot. After training he will come and talk to you, he helps you develop on the pitch.

“I was injured for a while last season and he helped me a lot. It’s good to see him with the first-team now helping all the young players who have broken through.”