Arsenal’s choice of Andrea Berta as sporting director is a clear signal of their direction

In the four months between Edu’s exit and Andrea Berta’s imminent arrival, it has been clear that Arsenal have reached a sporting-director crossroads. Do they stick or twist? Do they value continuity and a known and trusted colleague who stepped into the role and promote Edu’s former deputy Jason Ayto, or do they shake up the scene and bring a flash of new impetus from outside? 

Edu ended up ticking a lot of boxes — competency in the role, an Arsenal background and stature from his playing career that gave him clout when talking to everyone, be it players, families, agents or officials. 

It is not easy to replicate that in every way, so Arsenal had to go off in one direction or another. What would they value more? Personal connections and loyalty to act in the best interests of the club’s culture? The capacity to be aggressive and bring a different spark to the competitive environment of the transfer market?

The verdict that brings them to Berta provides a strong answer as to their priority. 

Mikel Arteta has given this decision his blessing. Perhaps it feels like a crunch time of sorts for his time as Arsenal manager. After nearly five and a half years in the job, building a team to get close to trophies, he may well feel he needs to push hard for the pieces of the puzzle that could unlock silverware to add to the FA Cup of his 2019-20 debut season.

It is Ayto’s nature to work in a calm, considered way for the long-term health of the club. Berta brings decisions for now, for instant impact.

Berta is a connections guy, a deals guy. His work, particularly at Atletico Madrid, is central to his reputation. He brings a brash confidence, a new outlook and his own way of doing things. He appears to be more from the Raul Sanllehi school than the Edu one. 

It is worth remembering the whole idea of having a transfer strategy overlord is still relatively new in the club’s experience. Arsenal have had only two established sporting/technical directors. Arsene Wenger was scathing about the very idea of such a role while he was the manager. “Is it someone who stands on the road and directs the players left and right? I never understand what it means, ‘director of football’,” he once said. So it was only once his reign ended, almost seven years ago now, that Arsenal had the structure to put one in. 

Sanllehi was the first, but his tenure was marked by some debatable spending and he left suddenly once the club’s owners were in the process of scrutinising all elements of the running of the club. Edu was the next. Although some were initially sceptical, given his age and lack of experience in the European corridors of transfer power, the Brazilian was a key part of the recalibration of Arsenal which made them competitive at the top end of English football again.

Critical, now, is the question of how Berta connects with the other major figures at the club involved in recruitment and contracts.

Arsenal will not just suddenly give him the keys to the war-chest and tell him to go off and do what his heart desires in terms of signings. The role of technical director may come with a cultish aura that they are the kingmakers in terms of bringing in players, but in reality there are a group of stakeholders within a club such as Arsenal who collectively have a say in the pursuit of talent.

All their major transfers involve Arteta as well as senior figures in the hierarchy including the administrative experience of Richard Garlick and James King, and require the buy-in and sign-off from the owners, with Josh Kroenke involved in key decisions. 

Since Edu’s sudden departure, Ayto has been quietly running the show. Now we’re in March and the club are well along the path of summer 2025 planning, he has been working on various deals, so there is the potentially awkward situation of Berta coming in midway through delicate negotiations. How that impacts player agents and contractual nuances remains to be seen. 

Berta has a multitude of things to get into fast.

As well as pushing through important new signings for the summer, there are a raft of vital contract extensions for players who are invaluable to Arsenal — Bukayo Saka, Gabriel, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli are among those approaching the point when they have two years remaining on their current deals, and improved terms for youngsters Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly are imperative.

There is also the matter of trying to get better at generating profits by selling at the right time and for high fees — something the club have not generally excelled at. It will also be interesting to see how Berta, and Arsenal, manage the fact that overseeing the women’s team and the academy is also part of the job’s remit.

Ayto was made a scapegoat for the dry January which had a clear impact on Arsenal’s inability to keep up with Liverpool in the Premier League’s title race.

The absence of a goalscoring addition during the winter window to compensate for the tranche of injuries to their forward line was a costly mistake. But the decision to gamble and not sign somebody was not one that sits squarely on Ayto’s shoulders. As a recruitment department, backed by the manager’s tastes and the owners’ control of the budget, it was apparent Arsenal did not seriously pursue players who did move in January to good subsequent effect (hello, Marco Asensio). 

Again, such is the club’s financial position, Berta will not suddenly be given mega-millions to play with. He will have to work within their remit to strengthen ambitiously but carefully, if that is not too much of a contradiction. 

Arsenal put a lot of resources into the search for their Edu successor. They will be hoping this speedier and possibly bumpier road is the right one for them to hurtle down. 

(Top photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)