In the last 20 years the phrase ‘Arsene who?’ has slowly morphed to ‘Who else but Arsene?’ and the transition has brought with it all manner of emotion. Taking into account all the brilliance and the stubbornness, there is one thing all Arsenal fans can agree on, this won't last forever.
Whilst much of the focus has surrounded the manager over the past years the argument is perhaps that for the club to progress, it needs an overhaul from within. Now with the end in sight, it seems that the North London club are finally taking action.
From Guy Roux at Auxerre, to the well know tale of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and even with the International scene back when Vittorio Pozzo coached Italy, there has always been a problem for the next man following. Especially in the era of Pozzo, when the cult of the manager was in its infancy, it was incredibly difficult to follow on from one’s predecessor as the cult of personality was often so strong that it helped formulate what the club represented.
With Arsene Wenger now omnipotent at Arsenal, he is perhaps one of the last bastions of this tradition. Replacing him will be more than replacing just one man, it will need to see a re-structure of the club and it is to this in which The Gunners are embarking, Ivan Gazidis is eventually getting his way. He has not found it easy to bring in new faces but now the club has backed him, and these are the men now in place.
Darren Burgess (Fitness and conditioning) ex-Australian Rules Football & Liverpool
Arsenal have had a long-standing issue with injuries and the likes of Tomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby have gone down in Arsenal folk law. It is to this end that Wenger sanctioned the appointment of Burgess as the new Director of High performance back in June so that he could oversee the pre-season.
The North London club have seen the results as injuries have been few and far between and the man who has worked with Port Adelaide and Liverpool has lived up to his reputation. Described by his ex-Adelaide colleagues as ‘a genius’ he specialised in medicine, fitness, psychology and performance analysis, with the first team and the academy and is working alongside Shad Forsythe.
Huss Fahmy (Commercial and Business affairs Director) Team Sky
If the Gunners were accused of failing in the medical department then their contract negotiations were also up there on the list of issues. It is to this end that team Sky’s Huss Fahmy has been employed as legal and commercial expert. Fahmy will work side by side with Gazidis and Sanllehi and will focusing on closing the negotiations with players and renewing contracts. The qualified lawyer will add strength to the team and has been in the role since June.
Raul Sanllehi (Director of Football) ex-FC Barcelona
Raul Sanllehi has arrived from Barcelona where he has been for 14 years and will become the new Head of Football Relations. He will work alongside Fahmy and Gazidis as mentioned but will help the club with player recruitment and more importantly supporting the club with international and domestic governing bodies. It is hoped that his contacts will help the Gunners in securing some of their most desired talent. He will replace Dick Law as Chief negotiator and the contracts of Mesut Ozil and Alexi Sanchez will be high on is agenda.
Sven Mislintat (Chief Scout) ex-Borussia Dortmund
If all is in place to help negotiate, secure and get deals over the line then perhaps the biggest coup Arsenal have made is the recent signing of new Chief Talent Spotter, Sven Mislintat, from Borussia Dortmund. He left his current club after feeling aggrieved at the way he was treated after a dispute with ex-coach Thomas Tuchel.
His database and expertise has seen him earn the nickname ‘The Diamond Eye’ and he has helped his old club source the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The 45-year-old will replace Steve Rowley as head coach and it is hoped that he will be able to implement the same approach to developing rough stones and turning them into gems as he did at Dortmund. He is also famous for overseeing Borussia’s famous ‘Footbonaut’ and training machine that innovatively shoots balls at players at different angles and speeds in an effort to further improve reaction time control and their touch.
The future is looking bright at Arsenal and the elements are being put in place that once Arsene Wenger decides it is time to walk away. The hope is that when this happens, the Emirates will still be fully operational, with all the correct checks, processes and innovations in place.
