Arsenal’s Sven Mislintat will resign from his post of Head of Recruitment on 8th Feb, less than 14 months of his appointment was announced this week. Prior to the announcement there had been a lot of speculation regarding Sven’s post as he surprisingly revealed that his future lay away from the Emirates and one man being touted as a potential replacement is AS Roma’s sporting director Monchi.
The German was appointed by Arsenal in November 2017 after 10 years of scouting for German club Borussia Dortmund.
Earlier reports suggested former Arsenal midfielder Edu was was in line for the job. But recent reports have indicated that Roma’s sporting director Monchi is the leading candidate to replace him.
Monchi, who had previously worked with Umai Emery is apparently very flattered to be linked with Gunners saying :
‘I know my name is being associated with Arsenal but I am concentrating on my job with Roma.
However it is a pleasure being linked with a club like Arsenal – but it is not first time that happens.’
Emery and the Arsenal board are on the same page about convincing Monchi to come to Arsenal. Monchi, currently has two years left on his contract at Roma. However his contract at Roma has a release clause included in it which would make it easier for the Gunners to approach him.
The 50 year old was previously linked with a similar job at FC Barcelona earlier in the season. Monchi has been successfully pulling the strings at Roma for 2 years now and was heavily credited for the signing of Patrick Kluivert among others.
Could Monchi be on his way to Arsenal?
- Monchi was director of football at Sevilla from 2000 until 2017, playing a crucial part in discovering a number of impressive and exciting players.
- The 50-year-old worked with Unai Emery at Sevilla between 2013 and 2016, which resulted in impressive results for the club and both of them getting key recognition for their work.
- Emery guided the club to three straight Europa League titles, with Monchi calling him a ‘perfect fit’.
- It has been announced Arsenal’s head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, will leave the club next month, barely more than a year after his much acclaimed arrival from Dortmund.
- This has led to reports of Monchi being linked with a reunion with Emery, with the Spaniard describing the reports as ‘a pleasure’.
Arsenal are in no hurry to replace Sven as there are no pending transfers to be completed this month. Emery earlier in the month has clarified that Arsenal won’t make any permanent signings in the January transfer window. So, Arsenal can slowly but steadily restructure their next season targets.
