Gazidis exit came as big shock to us, say Arsenal’s new brooms
THE new faces of Arsenal have revealed how shocked they were when the club’s chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, announced he was jumping ship for AC Milan.
The 54-year-old American, who starts his new job on December 1, had begun masterminding a major overhaul and led a search which ended with Unai Emery’s appointment as head coach.
But, in a final reshuffle, Vinai Venkatesham moved from chief commercial officer to managing director, with former head of football relations, Raul Sanllehi, becoming head of football.
The pair have spent time fleshing out their vision for the club over the past few weeks, but revealed it was never part of the plan for Gazidis to walk away when he did.
“It was a surprise,” Venkatesham told Standard Sport. “It is usually a surprise when a chief executive leaves an organisation unless it is in trouble or failing — and Arsenal is not a failing organisation or in trouble. I was surprised and I think Raul was surprised. The positive thing for Arsenal is that over the past few years we built up the capability, we can manage these transitions.
“Obviously, Raul and my jobs have changed and that gets the media and fan focus, but there are internal people in the organisation who have stepped up into the roles we were doing. To use a football analogy, we have a great bench and I am proud of how we have been able to manage quite a significant thing in a chief executive leaving and people stepping up to the next challenge.”
Venkatesham has been at Arsenal since 2010, but Sanllehi only joined in February, after spending 15 years at Barcelona.
The admission that Gazidis’s departure was unplanned is of more relevance in Sanllehi’s case, because his arrival was seen as both a coup for the Gunners but also a significant challenge to Wenger’s autonomy in the transfer market. It encapsulated the shift in power from Wenger to Gazidis — and yet now neither is around to take the club forward.
“Ivan Gazidis was fundamental in me coming,” said Sanllehi. “I joined because he is the one who explained the project to me and really got me excited. I have not only the highest respect for him, but also I feel very grateful. He made me take this decision I appreciate.
“I was not counting on losing Ivan, I was looking forward to working with him. I knew him a long time. I was doing a project with Major League Soccerwhen I was at Barca 10 years ago, so I had already met him in the American environment and I worked with him in the European Clubs Association since.
“In the circumstances, I can only wish him luck. Milan is taking a top football executive to take on the incredible challenge they have there and I wish him all the luck. But it definitely was not planned. That is the point: why we are talking about evolution rather than revolution. He did start this and we are following the path.
“We are putting our badge on it and we are very happy to be dragging out this new chapter because we are convinced we are on the right track. Ivan was a big part of this new [path], for sure.”
We are talking about evolution rather than revolution. Ivan started this and we are following the path
Raul Sanllehi, head of football