Arsenal: Speed of summer should not be overlooked

Arsenal had a whole lot of work to do this summer. The speed at which they have got it done should not be overlooked. Credit to Ivan Gazidis is certainly due.

Running a professional football club cannot be easy. That seems like a fairly obvious statement to make. But with the increasingly insatiable desire of fans for success, and the openness and release to criticise that comes with it, it is often something that is overlooked.

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Not only is a football club a multi-million-pound business that has networks all over the globe, but it comes with strange competitive nuance that other businesses in other industries do not have to deal with. Arsenal, for instance, not only have to provide a product that people are willing to buy to be commercially successful, but then they must also be successful in regards the trophy cabinet. It is not the same for Tesco or Barclays or Unilever, who must merely ensure that their products and services are commercially profitable.

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The impassioned nature of sports can often lead to us underestimating the difficulty of the job of sporting directors, chief executives and other management positions in clubs that stem both the commercial and competitive side of the sport. It is in this context that Ivan Gazidis has endured perhaps the busiest period and greatest change of his career.

When Arsene Wenger announced he would leave Arsenal at the end of the season, the wheels of change were immediately set in place. The all-powerful manager would no longer have any influence on the running of the club. His departure would undoubtedly have huge ramifications that rippled into every nook and cranny of the club. And so, Gazidis, as chief executive and the orchestrator of this change, went to work.

The season ended on May 13th. That is 44 days ago, not a lot of time. In that period, Gazidis has hired Unai Emery as Wenger’s successor, brought Freddie Ljungberg in as under-23 manager, hired a whole backroom staff for Emery, including the departure of Jens Lehmann and renewal of Steve Bould, has agreed to new deals with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Granit Xhaka, and officially signed Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner, as well as having all-but-completed deals for Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira wrapped up.

That is a very busy man indeed. Obviously, this was not just Gazidis. There were others involved who had a major influence on the process and enacted much of the work for the chief executive. But this was all completed under Gazidis’ management and everything was signed off and confirmed by him. The speed and efficiency at which such huge change has been outworked should be recognised and praised.

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Arsenal is a complicated organisation going through a hefty period of change. Gazidis handled it wonderfully, showing that this club can be efficient and quick in its work. Now we will find out if it’s been effective.