Arsene Wenger has welcomed Gedion Zelalem's decision to play his international football for the United States and said it is a "fantastic" chance for the midfielder to learn from Jurgen Klinsmann.
The 18-year-old Arsenal midfielder has played for Germany at Under-15, Under-16 and Under-17 level but FIFA have permitted him to represent the United States and he has been added to their squad for the Under-20 World Cup.
Zelalem, who is of Ethiopian heritage, was born in Berlin but emigrated to the United States in 2006, and finally became a U.S citizen last year, although he now resides in England.
"I leave the freedom to the players to play for the country where their heart is," Wenger explained in his news conference. "More and more people have been educated in two or three different countries. He is an interesting case.
"He has been educated until the age of nine or 10 in Germany and after from 10 to 15 in the States. That is maybe the age you grow out of the family and start to have friends at 10-15 and he felt he wanted to play for the States."
Wenger coached Klinsmann at Monaco in the 1990s and is an admirer of the 1990 World Cup-winning German, who managed his native country when they came third in the 2006 tournament and then led the United States into the last 16 in Brazil in 2014.
"Jurgen has all the knowledge that is needed at the top level," Wenger added. "He has good experience as a coach as well and it will be fantastic for him."
Zelalem has only made two appearances for Arsenal's first team and Wenger will consider letting him go out on loan next season.
"It is possible," he said. "I always test the players in preseason and after I make an assessment on how close they are to the first team. If he is not close, he needs to play something."