Arsenal: Ivan Gazidis exit worrying because of replacement

According to the London Evening Standard, Arsenal are bracing for Ivan Gazidis’ exit. His departure is worrying not just because of the absence of his input but because of his replacement, Josh Kroenke.

When Sean Connery was to end his run as James Bond actor, the problem wasn’t necessarily Connery’s exit, although that was an issue that the franchise had to deal with, the problem was finding a replacement. It wasn’t until Roger Moore in Live and Let Die eight years after Connery’s first resignation that the franchise was able to land a suitable successor to the plum-voiced Scotsman.

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Change can be a wonderful thing. Even the most vehement of James Bond fans will tell you that changing the actor who played the title character was essential at certain points of the franchise’s run. But it is rarely a good thing when it is forced on an organisation that is not ready for it, not wanting it, and not prepared for the new landscape that will lay out as a result of it.

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With Arsene Wenger, Arsenal were the instigators. Wenger may have officially resigned, but it was Arsenal who started the process and allowed the 22-year-tenured manager to save an element of face and resign. They would have sacked him had he not. But with Ivan Gazidis, they aren’t. With Ivan Gazidis, the very man who engineered the succession plan from Wenger and implemented this new, continental set-up that spreads the responsibility of the running of the club across a series of highly intelligent individuals who have expertise in differing areas, change is being forced upon them.

According to the London Evening Standard, the Gunners are bracing themselves for the impending departure of Chief Executive Gazidis. AC Milan have been hunting Gazidis hard for some time. The Elliot Management, an American consortium who bought the Italian club last year, who have been in touch with Gazidis for many years and are friends with the South African born executive, desperately want Gazidis as Milan’s new Chief Executive as they look to re-shape the club just as Arsenal have under Gazidis’ guidance. Gazidis has been offered a $1 million pay rise and is now expected to accept the offer. Change is coming to Arsenal, whether they like it or not.

And like James Bond and Sean Connery, the problem is not necessarily in the departure of Gazidis. Yes, he has been integral to the restructuring of the club. Yes, many of the individuals that hold significant power and influence are there because Gazidis hired them in the first place. And yes, Gazidis is the mediator, the interceder between Stan Kroenke, the board and the club. But his departure is not a terminal illness for this current era. That is part of the point of his whole quest to spread power: one man is not solely responsible, and, thereby, one man’s exit will not completely derail the whole operation.

But like Connery, if Arsenal take eight years to find their Roger Moore, then this exit could be horribly detrimental to the project that the club has talked so much about throughout the entirety of the summer and early-season proceedings. The replacement of Gazidis is more important than whether Gazidis stays or goes. That’s not to say that Gazidis leaving is neither good nor bad. It is bad. But it means that his exit can be salvaged with astute planning and hiring. Whether Arsenal can actually do that or not, however, is not something that many are confident in.

After all, at this stage, the front-runner is Josh Kroenke, the son of Stan and the person who many attribute the blame for the disconnect between the board, the club, the fans and the modern evolution and competition of the game. That seems more George Lazenby than Roger Moore.