Afternoon all.
Arsenal Football Club has today announced that Andrea Berta is the new Sporting Director. He’s been at a number of clubs over years including his last cub, Atletico Madrid. Experience, knowledge and reputation comes with him.
Edu had a tough job on his hands just a few years ago when he returned to the club and I think Berta’s job will be equally as tough if not tougher because his job is to help bring in the kind of players who will take the club we all love from being bridesmaids to being brides.
Berta spent almost 12 years with Atletico and played a major role in shaping the squads which won LaLiga titles in 2013/14 and 2020/21, and the Europa League in 2018. They also won the Copa Del Rey, the UEFA Super Cup and Supercopa de España during his time at the club, as well as reaching two UEFA Champions League finals.
On signing, Berta said:
I am thrilled to be joining Arsenal in what is a hugely exciting period for the club. I have watched with great interest the way Arsenal has evolved in recent years and I have admired the hard work that has gone in to reestablishing the club as a major force in European football with a passionate following around the world.
The club has great values and a rich history, and I am looking forward to playing my part in shaping a successful future with a great team. I cannot wait to get started in my new role and I am really looking forward to experiencing my first game at Emirates Stadium together with our supporters.
Berta helped Atletico to sign the likes of Rodri, Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak for bargain deals – then selling two, making a substantial profit in the process.
The list doesn’t stop there..
Felix for £113m was probably not his smartest decision but having read a few snippets online, his success in the transfer window outweighs his so called mistakes.
What is likely to help Arsenal is his knowledge of the game throughout the world as well as players who he might be able to bring to the club. Mikel Arteta might be excellent at what he does but his focus needs to be on the football and not necessarily transfers. All he needs is to do is decide what position needs reinforcing, what kind of players he needs etc and leave the rest to Berta. I know I simplified the wheeling and dealings of transfers but if the club are employing a guy with vast experience in his role then let him get on with his job.
Berta buys and sells well according to reports, a quality each as important as the other.
I loved Edu, but much of that was probably down to him being part of Arsenal as a player but when it came to loyalty, he showed none as far as his contract goes, after all, didn’t he leave for free?
If Berta proves to be ruthless, proactive and clinical in the field of transfers and contracts, then it can only be good for Arsenal. The fans too….
Catch up in the comments.
If there are mistakes, apologies, a bit of a rushed piece of news. 😂
Hopefully he will be ready to hit the ground running with a little black book full of contacts and prospective players. We have 9 league games to go where he can evaluate the ones we have and starting Tuesday against Fulham he will be able to assess the first team and also see the ones that we have recently discarded to give a real picture .
Nelson is out for the season and would not feature anyway as he is on loan but with the emergence of Nwaneri I think his ship has sailed .
He is a professional and has experience in keeping a club in competitions against two money no problem clubs , so butting heads with City and Chelsea should not be a problem .
It’s a new era and in it’s own way a bit exciting .
Wish him luck and cross fingers and hope for the best .
Amen to that Potter.
We need to go up a level next season, or three…
Arsenal Women march on! Four nil winners away to Crystal Palace.
Signor Berta Presto, presto, presto.
Need Chelsea to fade rapidly… lol
Need Chelsea to fall foul of PSR and get relegated…
I meant the women but yep, that would be nice to see…
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6240873/2025/03/30/viktor-gyokeres-arsenal-transfer-sporting/
Private message for JM , my son and I will be in Porto on Saturday is there a bar that will be showing the Brentford game ?
Brazil and Wolves forward Cunha and Sweden and Sporting striker Gyokeres are both well known to our new D o F.
The former has hinted that he’s ready to move on and has a £62.5 million release clause in his contract. The latter has previously been linked with Arsenal and is greatly admired by Berta.
New post up guys.
Morning…