March 11 – Misfiring on the pitch, Arsenal have set their sights on a new sporting director in the hope of finding the elusive ingredient to win the Premier League, with Andrea Berta, formerly of Atlético Madrid, the favourite to fill the vacancy.
The Gunners, who have been without a sporting director since Edu resigned from the position last November, have been conducting a recruitment process and have considered a number of replacements.
Berta, 53, has now emerged as the number one candidate. The Italian was in Madrid for 12 years, overseeing the Diego Simeone revolution and a sustained period of excellence, including UEFA Champions League final appearances and a LaLiga title.
He had been linked to a return to his homeland, as AC Milan were rumoured to be interested in his services. However, the lure of the Premier League could not be ignored.
He has experience in dealing with the power and wealth of the Premier League, having overseen the transfers of Julián Alvarez and Conor Gallagher from Manchester City and Chelsea respectively, worth a combined £94m.
While he has had success in the transfer market, there have been some high-profile misses in the form of João Felix (€126m from Benfica in 2019), Thomas Lemar (€60m from Monaco in 2018), Álvaro Morata (€58m from Chelsea in 2020) and Diego Costa (€55m also from Chelsea in 2017).
With Arsenal’s need for a striker clear for all to see, his top job will be to find replacements for Gabriel Jesus, who ruptured his ACL, and Kai Havertz, who has failed to prove that he is a productive number nine. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins was considered in the January sales but was deemed too expensive.
Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has found himself increasingly under pressure to win a trophy despite successive second-place finishes in the Premier League. His relationship with the Italian will be crucial if his team are to make the leap to winners.
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