Arsenal sporting director agreement revealed as Edu replacement emerges after Mikel Arteta input

Arsenal are said to have an agreement with former Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta to replace Edu Gaspar.

Edu resigned from his role at the club in early November. His assistant, Jason Ayto, took over the position temporarily for the four months since, including the winter transfer window. The long-time club scout was a contender to become the permanent successor, but football.london understands Berta has been in the running since the start of this year.

The Gunners are now reportedly finalising contracts with the more experienced option. Berta has been out of work since agreeing to terminate his deal with Atletico in early January after the Italian spent over a decade in the Spanish capital.

The Athletic reports that Berta prioritised Arsenal over other clubs, with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain previously credited with an interest in him. Managing director Richard Garlick and executive vice-chair Tim Lewis are said to have driven the process alongside involvement from director Josh Kroenke as KSE vice chairman and the input of manager Mikel Arteta.

Berta reportedly spent a month in London studying English after leaving Spain. The 53-year-old had never worked outside his native Italy before joining Atletico in 2013.

Before making the move, he worked as a sporting director at AC Carpenedolo, Parma and then Genoa. Berta initially joined the Spanish side from the latter as part of their international scouting department before becoming a technical director.

Four years after arriving, he replaced Jose Luis Perez Caminero as sporting director. Edu took a similar path at Arsenal, becoming the club's first-ever technical director in 2019 before transitioning into their sporting director three years later.

However, the former Gunners player is due to oversee Evangelos Marinakis' multi-club network, which began with Olympiacos before expanding to include Nottingham Forest and, most recently, the Portuguese club Rio Ave. Marinakis acknowledged wanting to cooperate with Edu "on a global project" during an interview with Sky Sports a month after his Arsenal departure.

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