ARTETA’S RED REVOLUTION IS SELLING POINT
THE Mikel Arteta revolution is driving the biggest summer of change at Arsenal for years.
And the key factor is the manager himself – he is proving to be a great salesman.
There has been a major shake-up of the squad, with deals already done for Brazil forward Willian and £27million defender Gabriel Magalhaes.
The coaching staff, hierarchy and club employees are also being streamlined in keeping with a new look and feel around the Emirates.
Make no mistake, Arsenal boss Arteta is putting his stamp on things. He is building his team – and the club are backing him to the hilt as they believe it can signal an exciting new dawn.
Arteta had plenty of clout anyway but the strides he has made since taking over in December have given the club even greater confidence they are right to put their faith in him.
It has led to head of football Raul Sanllehi’s departure, while club legend Freddie Ljungberg left after 13 years as player, coach and even caretaker-boss. There is little room for sentiment.
The recruitment department now consists of technical director Edu and transfer negotiator Huss Fahmy, who are overseeing deals this summer, but Arteta has a big say – and the signing of Willian was a proven point.
That deal is being seen as a “smart move” for a player Arteta believes is clever enough to play between the lines, find gaps and give the team more creativity which was something they were sorely lacking. Gabriel might be yet another centre-half but the Lille man is good on the ball, strong and powerful and complements the other defenders. By persuading Willian to leave Chelsea and Gabriel, 22, to join, despite interest from Manchester United, Everton and Napoli, Arteta showed how well he sold the club. On Saturday, they are back at Wembley just weeks after winning the FA Cup as they play Liverpool in the Community Shield. And while in the past there has been plenty of talk about transfer ins and outs, come deadline day there has been a familiar story: panic buys and rushed decisions because they could not balance the books in time.
This summer feels different. Deals have been done first, offloads afterwards. Rob Holding and Sead Kolasinac could go, Wolves are keen on £20m-rated Ainsley Maitland-Niles while European clubs have been looking at Hector Bellerin.
The club have agreed a new contract with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and being able to keep the wage bill in check is another reason why there will have to be some departures, even if Mesut Ozil is determined to stay.
But the future already has Arteta’s stamp and authority running through it.