Arsenal: No head of recruitment a problem? Who knew?

According to a report from James Benge of Football.London, Arsenal are once again dallying in the transfer market. Who knew not having a head of recruitment would be a problem, eh?

When there were rumours that Sven Mislintat might leave Arsenal last Autumn, there was immediate concern rippling through the wind. In the post-Arsene Wenger world, a harmonious management structure was essential. Within months, it was potentially broken.

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Ivan Gazidis was the man who constructed the team to succeed Wenger: Mislintat as the head of recruitment, Raul Sanllehi as the head of relations, Huss Fahmy as chief negotiator, and Unai Emery as the head coach inserted into this set-up once Wenger resigned in May 2018.

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This team was meant to lead the club into a new, modernised era, one that embraced the continental structure of bringing experts from different backgrounds to manage together, not rely on one individual, as was the way under the all-seeing, all-influencing Wenger. And as everyone who has worked in a team knows, having a harmonious structure is vital, something that Arsenal could only achieve for less than six months.

Mislintat would eventually leave in February, shortly after a disastrous January transfer market in which Emery conceded that the club could not afford to make any permanent signings and the only acquisition that was completed was a six-month loan for a player who made no competitive starts and featured in just 67 minutes of Premier League football. I am sure the two are connected.

Since that time, however, Arsenal did not replace Mislintat, with a calamitous search for a replacement lurching from rejection to rejection. Monchi chose a return to Sevilla, rather than reuniting with Emery, Marc Overmars signed a new contract to remain at Ajax, and the wait began for the Copa America to close and Edu to be released into this vacant role.

Funnily enough, the lack of a head of recruitment has severely hindered the club’s progress this summer. According to a report in Football.London from James Benge, there is a growing frustration inside and outside the club regarding the delay in securing potential signings and highlighting potential targets.

According to Benge, there is a lack of agreement between Sanllehi, Emery, Fahmy and acting head of recruitment Francis Cagigao. Emery, for instance, wants Thomas Meunier, while there is hesitation from others, confused why Arsenal would invest half their budget in a right-back when Hector Bellerin was more than capable last season. Similarly, Yannick Carrasco was a reported desire of Mislintat’s, but after failing to secure his services in January, Emery and Sanllehi have since turned their attention to Ryan Fraser.

And all this comes down to a rather obvious problem: the lack of a head of recruitment. There is no one leading this process. Although a dictatorship is not helpful, as Wengerian era closer resembled, there does need to be a leading voice. And Arsenal do not have one.

Who knew that not having a head of recruitment would be a problem, eh? It is almost as if this stuff is obvious.