Arsenal: We better not notice Ivan Gazidis’s departure

Arsenal are in a better place now, thanks largely to Ivan Gazidis. And thus, he has left the club. Interesting. Let’s hope that no one notices his absence.

Arsenal‘s future prospects look a hell of a lot better than they have in past years. Rather than clinging to the glorious past, they are headed in a new direction towards what could well be a glorious future. And the architecture of all of it was Ivan Gazidis.

Long criticized for being a complacent part of the Kroenke-Wenger-Gazidis trifecta of ineffectiveness, Gazidis, when given the chance, proved to be highly effective at what he did. He brought in Raul Sanllehi, Sven Mislintat, Huss Fahmy, just to name a few.

He built a club that is geared for the long-haul, that should be able to push on and reestablish themselves in the same way that Manchester City and Liverpool have.

And, as soon as it has been built, the architect is gone. Gazidis has accepted the same role at AC Milan and, in his stead, he is leaving Raul Sanllehi, who has been at the club all of six months, and Vinai Venkatesham.

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Seeing as how his job was largely done, I’m not terribly concerned with the departure. He put the right people in place to carry the club for years to come. Those right people are already paying dividends and, as such, Gazidis’s job was done and was largely a success.

The only stipulation here is if we start to notice his absence. If people star to leave, or if players start to leave, then we have to start asking questions, but given that it is so early on in this new era, none of that seems likely. If nothing else, Maybe Gazidis saw his departure as the last step to solidify this new era for the club.

Whatever the case, we are in good hands, and that’s the important thing. Sanllehi knows how to run a football club. He did it at Barcelona. Mislintat knows how to find players, he did it at Borussia Dortmund. Fahmy knows how to get contracts signed (just get Ramsey, damnit). So, in the end, Gazidis’s job is truly done. He built the dream team that he was no longer actively a part of.

Barring anything drastic, we really shouldn’t notice his exit at all. The only shame that remains is that hen won’t be able to share in any of the spoils when the Gunners start reaping in the trophies.