"I rang at least 10 of them and spoke to them about the most important period of their development and when they felt that they went from being a great talent to a great footballer or feeling that they had a great career ahead of them," revealed Arnold.

"And it was in and around working with the same coaching staff, working in an international program that went from the under 20 national team to the under 23s that coincided with the Socceroos.

"We looked at the stats – Brett Emerton, by the time he was 23 had played 76 International games for the national terms compared to the 2018 squad where Mathew Leckie was the highest at 41.

"It's something that I'm very very passionate about."

But Arnold was keen to stress the added workload of the Olyroos would not overwhelm him.

"I love this game of football," he said. "It's a job that will not distract my focus and my I'm very clear that my full focus is on the Socceroos.

"But I do feel that being able to do both teams will inject a lot of new young blood, young talent into the Socceroos quickly and I do believe that is what we need right now."

He particularly identified Jamie Maclaren and Daniel Arzani as players likely to see more game time under his leadership as he looks to bring more youth into the senior side.

But he admitted there may be a mental issue that could be limiting Australia's ability to score from open play.

"I do know that we have those players," he said. "The kids are coming. They're coming through, we have to believe it. Those kids will come through and we'll be going to the next World Cup expecting to win games.