Arsenal: Arsene Wenger needs Sporting Director before January

Arsenal have never had a Sporting Director in the Arsene Wenger era, which has hurt them. Is this the year they will finally hire one?

Arsène Wenger has made some incredible signings in the past that made Arsenal into the colossal club it is today. Players like Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry, and Robert Pirès were all great signings made by him.

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David Dein

Wenger did not act alone when signing these players, as he had the help of David Dein, who helped with transfer negotiations and player contracts. He was the vice-chairman until 2007 when he sold his shares.

Many players were furious when Dein left, and even Wenger thought about leaving North London due to the way Dein was forced out.

Paul Merson even said back in May that, “If you’re going to make one signing this season bring David Dein back…if they didn’t buy anybody next season and they brought David Dein back I know in three years time that club will be fighting for the Premier League title again without a doubt”.

After his departure, Ivan Gazidis came in as the Chief Executive and was expected to complete similar duties to Dein. Gazidis has not had the same impact though with fans, players, and Wenger.

Sporting Directors are successful

Many big teams in the Premier League and all across Europe have either a Sporting Director, General Manager, or a Football Director at their club. A key part of these jobs is transfers and interacting with the board and manager.

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These positions can have a big impact on a club too and can change the quality of the club. For example, Sevilla used to have a Director of Football, Monchi. He took over in July of 2000 and helped Sevilla have great success in La Liga and in European competitions.

Monchi’s contribution was finding players in the market who were undervalued or not well known. For example, Monchi signed Dani Alves, Júlio Baptista, Geoffrey Kondogbia, Carlos Bacca, and Grzegorz Krychowiak. He often turned a huge profit on these players, which allowed Sevilla to spend more over the years.

There are tons of examples of successful Sporting Directors who have advanced their clubs. For instance, Michael Zorc of Borussia Dortmund, Ralf Rangnick of RB Leipzig, and Giuseppe Marotta of Juventus have all done exceptional jobs.

However, there are the clubs, like Arsenal who have this type of position vacant. One of the reasons they had enormous success with signing players in the late 90’s and early 2000’s was the relationship between Wenger and Dein.

These two were friends and Dein pushed to hire Wenger ever since 1995. Most importantly, they understood each other and what they expected. This allowed Wenger to not worry as much about transfers as he does now.

Sporting Director candidates

There are former Gunners out there who are Sporting Directors, GM’s, Football Directors, or coaches. They have the same understanding as Wenger does because they used to play for him.

Players like Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp, and Patrick Vieira could all fill this missing role. All these players have a grasp on the club’s system and what kind of players Wenger likes.

Many believe Wenger may not like a big personality around, as there is a lack of former stars at the club. Yet, he did hire former goalie Jens Lehmann as a coach, so maybe he wants these stars around.

Now or never

This may be Wenger’s last two seasons with the Gunners and he will want to win a big trophy before he leaves. Hiring someone he knows may be the key to better transfer dealings and negotiating player contracts.

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The pros outweigh the cons in having a Sporting Director, especially in Arsenal’s case. Marc Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp, and Patrick Vieira would be great candidates to take this position, and they all could potentially succeed Wenger as Manager.