ARSENAL STRUCTURE CLUB AROUND A KING (AGAIN)

WORST FEARS CONFIRMED, SO BUCKLE UP

Well, my friends, if you’ve been following my Berta commentary and wondering why I’ve been so negative about his hire… The Athletic story dropped and confirmed it all.

Berta will not sit above Arteta.

His hire was heavily influenced by the manager.

The other big names we spoke to didn’t want to walk into a weird power structure that put them behind Arteta.

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The job of the Sporting Director is to put Arteta’s ideas into action.

He doesn’t speak English—but don’t worry, Jason Ayto can translate.

Our new structure was compared to the one at Atlético, where Berta was essentially Simeone’s assistant and helped make him the highest-paid manager in the world.

You could say Arteta is playing 4D chess out here, but the game he’s playing is route-one BORING BORING ARSENAL. This move telegraphs that Arsenal’s ownership has, once again, ceded power to an all-powerful manager—despite knowing:

1. How badly this worked out last time, and

2. That the manager in question hasn’t done anywhere near what the OG King did way back when

Structurally, this is a really bad move, however you cut it. Cult-of-personality businesses have a shelf life. They end up depressing the rank and file, and when things start to go wrong, no one has the guts to speak out. Yes, there are always departments with more influence than others, but very few football clubs put the manager front and center in today’s game. I dont’ even think Manchester City give Pep G that much power - I’m not even sure he wants that much control.

Look at Brighton for a counterpoint—a really well-run club that acts as a Premier League stepping-stone operation. De Zerbi took over from Potter and elevated the whole system. The football became more direct (goals goals goals), the tactics more evolved, the sauce levels of Brighton went through the roof. He demanded more power as his reputation grew. Tony Bloom gave him a few things that breached his principles—like older midfielders. What happened when he caved? The manager asked for even more. In the end, Bloom put the principles of the club over the power desires of the manager, and De Zerbi was sent packing to Marseille.

Arsenal let Mikel Arteta run last summer. They let him make decisions on load management, and now here we are. Instead of recognizing that maybe—just maybe—his powers should be counterbalanced, they hired someone to do his bidding. The power we’ve given him now can’t be taken away. This is who we are for the next five years.

I just can’t, for the life of me, understand how the solution to the most powerful person at the club was… to give him more power and hire a “change agent” into something that needed just a few finishing touches.

Now, let’s be clear: Berta has won trophies using this system. He took Atlético to La Liga titles and Champions League finals at a club that was the third biggest power in Spain. That’s fantastic. He also oversaw some of the most profitable signings in Atlético’s history. He’s won things.

Arteta is also an incredible coach. He’s battled giants of the game, done amazing work with young players, and he’s brought us to an outrageous level of consistency. Arsenal will win trophies.

There’s an argument to be made that we spend too much time worrying about the future, meaning we miss out on the now. Now was this season, when we dithered last summer, and ended solving our attacking issues with another injury-prone left back and a 28 year old left-sided 8 that didn’t impress. But… those ideas were Arteta’s. Doubling down on the person driving those decisions is odd to say the least.

My worry is that we’re back to a “contacts” Sporting Director. How can the club have watched us crash under the last one, rise again through a more advanced, contemporary approach, and then let The Athletic celebrate Berta’s ‘contacts in the game’ as some kind of winning formula? Also, read between the lines on what being connected means. If you’ve got money in football, you can connect with literally anyone, what sometimes greases the wheels of football commerce is not the phone number. It’s bringing Griezmann in for one more year to get access to a 23-year-old next season. It’s average back-up vibes guy right back on a long-term deal to be in the conversation for Bruno. It’s Willian on a free with the photoshoot in an agent’s house.

We’re already seeing new player links. We’ve gone from Isak and Benjamin Šeško to “Berta really appreciates Gyökeres—27 years old in June.”

The approach that took us from 8th to potentially three consecutive 2nd-place finishes was not a bad approach. Now, the people who did the hard work to get us there might start looking elsewhere. If this guy comes in and acts like Raul, then the only important people will be the manager, the super agents, and the deals to be done.

So now we know what the vision is: double down on Arteta.

Let’s hope this is smart. Arsenal don’t see this as unusual, but some of the best Sporting Directors in Europe passed on the job because they thought the power dynamic was unworkable.

I’m not sure I’d be happy to hear someone turned down a job with me because the structure was too weird to succeed.

I’m starting from a position of skepticism on this one because the more I learn, the more it seems like the résumé wasn’t what mattered—it was the willingness to be subservient to Arteta.

But… I’m not down and out like I was with some of our past managerial hires, or how depressed I felt after realizing what Don Raul really was. Berta has a different kind of pedigree. We’re just waiting to see whether it translates in a much more competitive league. But, keep your eyes peeled for things that make no sense and ask questions.

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for now. Gonna crack open a crate of hopium this evening, wash out the negativity, and start the week on FIRE.

Saka is back. Real Madrid are coming to town. We’ve still got second to secure. This summer will be spectacular.

Let me know what YOU think in the comments. Might jump on a pod with Kandela a bit later. If you want all the content, I’ve got a special running below.

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