Arsenal primed to appoint former Atlético guru Berta

11 Mar 2025 - The Guardian

David Hytner

Andrea Berta is primed to join Arsenal as their new sporting director. Edu resigned from the post last November and the club have considered a number of candidates. They included Jason Ayto, who has filled the role on an interim basis since Edu’s exit.

Berta has emerged as the outstanding choice. The 53-year-old Italian, who left Atlético Madrid in January after 12 years as the sporting director there, has agreed a deal and, once the contracts have been signed, there would appear to be no obstacle to him starting straight away.

Berta has vast experience of completing complicated transfers, with Atlético’s moves last summer for Julián Alvarez (£64m from Manchester City) and Conor Gallagher (£34m from Chelsea) the latest examples.

Arsenal’s drive to restructure after Edu’s decision to move on has been led by the managing director, Richard Garlick, and the executive vice-chair, Tim Lewis, with Josh Kroenke involved on behalf of the ownership. The Kroenke family have the ultimate signoff on any appointment. Mikel Arteta has been consulted. The candidates included the former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth, the Monaco chief executive, Thiago Scuro, and the Real Sociedad sporting director, Roberto Olabe.

What happens next with Ayto will be interesting because he is extremely well-regarded by the Arsenal hierarchy. It could be that they find a role for him to work with Berta. There is no sense that the club’s dry January, when they failed to make a signing despite the need for a striker after Gabriel Jesus’s anterior cruciate ligament rupture midway through the month, was on Ayto.

Arsenal felt there was only one authentic target for them, who would improve the team and might be attainable: Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. But he proved too expensive and so they decided to pass. The decision was made to look flawed when Kai Havertz sustained a season-ending hamstring injury on the club’s Dubai training break in February. It followed Gabriel Martinelli’s hamstring strain at Newcastle on 5 February. Bukayo Saka was already a long-term hamstring injury casualty.

Arsenal will look to add a striker in the summer, with Newcastle’s Alexander Isak the dream target.