Today’s news that Raul Sanhelli has left Arsenal as Head of Football could be the most key decision since the departure of Arsene Wenger and the Kroenke family are at the heart of it.
Sanhelli Ended By Tim Lewis Investigation
The appointment of Tim Lewis as a non-official executive was one which barely turned a head in the Arsenal community. The contract renewal of Bukayo Saka was the main subject of focus. Yet, Lewis’ arrival may have been the most important of the year.
ESPN recently reported that an internal investigation had been underway at the Emirates. Nicolas Pepe’s signing from Lille in 2019 was initially met with euphoria. “Don Raul” was screamed from the rafters as Arsenal signed one of Europe’s most exciting talents.
Months later and the fee was being questioned. 2020 rolled around and with Arsenal’s defence under increasing scrutiny the questions quickly became targeted at the lack of investment there. Even a January which saw two defenders, Cedric and Pablo Mari, join the club only exacerbated the situation.
Most recently, super-agent Kia Joorabchian has seen yet another of his clients, Willian, pull on the red and white jersey. A known friend of Raul’s and agent of Edu. The club appeared to be spending excessive amounts on players of questionable quality and longevity.
The investigation has reportedly been led by Lewis, culminating in Raul’s departure. Could this be a sign that Stan and Josh Kroenke want to rectify the clubs clear decline?
“Be Excited?”
Josh Kroenke famously told the fans the ‘be excited’ prior to Arsenal’s worst league finish for more than two decades and was rightly criticised. The We Care Do You campaign stated that they and their supporters wanted to see that the Kroenkes would take more responsibility for the club.
The departure of Sanhelli following the investigation shows the Kroenke duo seemingly do care. Accountability has long been a word not associated with the decision making within the club and Sanhelli was a clear problem within that.
Concerning Sanhelli Signs Were There
It was reported that the Spaniard wanted to renew his compatriot Unai Emery’s contract after a far from successful season – with the benefit of hindsight that now borders on lunacy.
The signs were concerning before Sanhelli arrived. You just need to look at how Barcelona have handled business since Pep Guardiola moved on to see the gradual decline of the Catalan club. It is fair to say that Arsenal have declined also since Sanhelli’s appointment.
All things considered the focus returns to Josh and Stan Kroenke. They are the ones to sign off on this and will decide whether a replacement joins or if sole responsibility will continue with Vinai Venkatashum.
The Future Of Arsenal Recruitment
The 55 redundancies, many from the recruitment department such as Francis Cagigao, which preceded today’s news, hinted at a more streamlined approach to scouting and player transfers.
However, with less people comes less insight. Edu, now the most important cog in the recruitment machine, will be under sharp focus and the next on the chopping block should things not change.
I hope Josh Kroenke has learned from the investigation and the mistakes in the transfer market and the club invest smartly from this point forward. There are promising signs with Lyon’s Houssem Aouar a fresh target. These young talented players must be the focus of Arsenal’s future.
End the expensive, risky, high-wage signings that have plagued the club in recent years and return to the innovative and dynamic moves of the past. Arsenal need to be the next link in the chain for players such as Dayot Upamecano, Jonathan David and Dani Ceballos.
Arsenal need to find these players at the clubs they developed at, Red Bull Salzburg, Gent and Real Betis. The players they sign, rightly, from the top teams need to be transformative and little risk. Players like Thomas Partey should still feature in the club’s plans but players of this stature and price must guarantee success.
At the same time, experienced players should not be completely absent when recruiting but when possible, advantageous ‘free transfers’ like the latest Willian deal should be the norm.
I look at this move as shrewd even with the Kia links and the supposedly large signing-on fee. Let the older players join for ‘free’ and spend the money smartly on the long-term projects and transformative figures.
We Must Be Patient (Again)
The final point is patience. The removal of Raul Sanhelli will not mean the club is suddenly propelled into top 4. Venkateshum said, “While this will not happen overnight.” I honestly hope this is the case. I do not want to see a similar failure akin to that at Barcelona.
The Catalan club are in a recruitment and squad crisis because of attempts to get quick wins. Shown by the expensive short-term signings like Coutinho, Antoinne Griezmann and to a lesser extent Ousmane Dembele.
Without sounding like a broken record, Arsenal’s approach to the transfer market should be cunning, heavily involve Mikel Arteta and look to long-term gain rather than short-term success. The good news is the Kroenke family might just have turned a corner. We can only hope.