Arsenal hierarchy’s approach no longer fits the club’s values according to former employee
The approach of Arsenal’s hierarchy is not in keeping with the club’s values and high performance culture created by legendary former manager Arsene Wenger according to a former employee of the club as reported by The Guardian.
The Gunners were known to be extremely resourceful in the transfer market in the past but have become more reliant on a select group of agents and contacts in recent times. Kia Joorabchian is a clear example of one of the representatives the club seems to be relying on rather heavily. He is the agent of both David Luiz and Cedric Soares who have recently signed new deals at the club. He is known to have been an associate of Arsenal’s technical director Edu Gaspar in the past although the club have stressed that he has never been the Brazilian’s agent. Willian, another Joorabchian client, has been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal in the summer when he will be a free agent.
It must be noted that all clubs in the modern game tend to rely on certain individuals more than others when it comes to recruitment and this has worked well for some of them. If, in a few years, Arsenal are back in the Champions League and competing for the Premier League, the reliance on men like Joorabchian will be lauded. Today, Arsenal are far from where they want to be and so inevitably, are being criticised for their actions.
It has been suggested that Arsenal have put an end to their coherent system of identifying and signing players and shifted their recruitment strategy by handing a lot of importance to the contact books of their head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu Gaspar.
Some members of staff at Arsenal feel like they are being frozen out from the decision making process with the Gunners hierarchy choosing to listen to a select set of voices and ignoring the rest especially with respect to recruitment and planning. They fear that Arsenal are losing ground on their ability to identify and sign some of the world’s best young talent. An exodus of staff members from the academy as a result of a decision to change strategy from the very top has troubled employees at the club.
Some believe that Arsenal’s hierarchy are awkward people to do business with. Certain members of club staff have noticed that over the last two years, some agents have not returned calls as frequently. A player representative noted that whenever he receives a call from Arsenal, he sighs inwardly. Another representative is extremely critical of the club’s communication skills.
It is important to note that everyone has their own agendas and is focussed on self-interest.
These are not promising things to hear about the people leading the club. At the end of the day, however, their actions and decisions will be judged a few years from now based on the progress the club has made. The same things they are being criticised for today could very well be what they are celebrated for a few years down the line.
