34-year-old Mertesacker became the manager of Arsenal's academy in the summer, and wants to help more English talent break through in the Premier League.
He is a believer that youngsters may have to take risks to prove their ability - like Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho has this season.
The German remarked: "We are finding the talent, but how can we make them cope with the league and cope with all of the money and madness that comes in?
"We have to get rid of the feeling that we have everything in England and we don't need to assess other countries. It is just wrong. Sometimes we can send them away from home, and away from their comfort zone.
"I am now responsible for giving them the right ingredients so they can cope with that and can cope with going away."