The jury is still out on whether Unai Emery has improved Arsenal since his appointment as manager last summer.
Certain signings from the Spaniard have gone down well with the Gooners fanbase, namely Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira, and Arsenal are well in the mix for a top four finish, granting Champions League qualification for next season after two years out.
Extremely well-regarded sporting director Ramon Rodriguez Verdejo, aka ‘Monchi’ could also be at the Emirates next season, after it was reported by Marca that he could be leaving Serie A outfit Roma after a two-year spell with the North London club interested.
In the summer 2018 transfer window, Monchi gained further attention when he was front and centre to vent amid the transfer debacle involving the former Monaco player Malcom, who was set to move to the Italian capital before swiftly pulling a hand-brake turn and heading to Barcelona.
Monchi is extremely highly sought after, with behemoths Chelsea, Barcelona, and Manchester United mooted to be sniffing around the Spaniard.
At Arsenal however, he’ll be reunited with his former manager Emery, with whom he spent three years at the tail-end of his 28-year association with La Liga side Sevilla.
Monchi stayed with the club after taking up the position of director of football at the start of the millennium after ending his player career. After their rise up from the Segunda Division to the Spanish top tier, Europa League success was forthcoming in consecutive years with former Spurs boss Juande Ramos.
With Emery in control of the team set-up from 2013, and Monchi behind the scenes, Sevilla won three more back-to-back Europa League titles before Emery moved on to Paris Saint-Germain for a two-year stint.
Overseeing the Sevilla cantera, the youth academy, Monchi helped process such players as Jose Antonio Reyes, Jesus Navas, and Sergio Ramos. He also helped spot Ivan Rakitic, a World Cup runner-up and highly decorated club player at Barcelona, and Rakitic’s former teammate Dani Alves who he pounced for Los Rojiblancos in 2002.
After 17 years in the role, Mochi left for Roma in 2017 having helped Sevilla win 11 trophies.
Best of all, Monchi would cost Arsenal a relatively paltry €3million with his contract at Roma having two more years left to run. With proven results and a keen eye for talent - some of whom have gone on to become some of the best in the game - this could be Arsenal’s best signing this summer.
