Andrea Berta appears to be the incoming replacement for Arsenal in their sporting director role following the resignation last year of Edu Gaspar. There is an expectation, football.london understands, that an announcement could come in the coming weeks.

Leaving his last role at the end of 2024 with Atletico Madrid, he has taken some time before choosing his next role, although it appears that Arsenal is indeed that next step.

Atletico Madrid’s manager, Diego Simeone, is certainly an individual in the sport with a reputation, and many have wondered

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When this theory spreads through the Arsenal fan base, it then leads to questions whether both Mikel Arteta and Berta will mesh. Will their ideas align, will Berta be able to bring Arteta’s desires in terms of players into reality or will he lean on his own expertise and sign players he thinks Arteta and Arsenal are in need of?

It is always a question of a club of who wields the most power. Does Arteta have an Arsene Wenger-like influence where after the departure of Edu, the Spaniard is gaining a standing which almost leaves him unchallengeable?

Should the sporting director have the power to sack the coach, or is the sporting director there to realise the vision of the coach? Well, in all honesty there is no black and white answer and this will vary from club to club.

With Berta and Simeone, I have come to understand that the long working relationship they shared over more than a decade saw many different types of transfers occur. Ones which Simeone had more influence on which worked and didn’t, some that Berta was more keen on which worked and didn’t and then some which the pair could equally be given credit for their role in the move.

For Arsenal, the key area which Berta is being judged on is the centre-forward position. Can he sign the Gunners that unicorn type player which they so desperately need and football.london

But there is this sense of, ‘Well look at the Julian Alvarez signing, surely that bodes well for Arsenal?’ Well, there if you speak to those more “in the know” regarding Spanish football they will say this was a move more influenced by Simeone.

From one Argentinian to another, Simeone has been keen on Alvarez for a long time. Berta was of course involved in doing the deal but the Atleti coach was the driving force. For Berta, with his connections particularly to Jorge Mendes, a move for Joao Felix was a move he could instead be more accredited with.

It is going to be interesting to see how involved Jorge Mendes, the super agent, becomes in Arsenal’s affairs should Berta come in. Instinct would say that he certainly will, but Mendes historically works on some of the biggest and best players’ transfers in the game so is that always a bad thing?

What should really be understood though is that it was not a breakdown of the Simeone and Berta relationship that is thought to have seen him leave. Atleti made some major executive changes bringing in Oscar Mayo from La Liga in the summer of 2024 to oversee the financial side and then Carlos Bucero as football managing director which in turn has seen Berta’s position become less individual.

Moving to Arsenal, while working with a very powerful manager in Arteta and alongside some other big influences such as Richard Garlick, Tim Lewis and of course Josh Kroenke, he will be the leader again in terms of recruitment. Berta will, should he join, have a serious hat to throw in the ring when it comes to decision-making.

It would be naïve to think that Berta could sign players without the alignment of Arteta. I asked the manager what qualities he enjoys to see in a sporting director role when working with them.

“The best one for me. Ownership, board, everybody is aligned that this is the right person to take us to the next level. That's the most important," Arteta replied.

It seems obvious that in the interview processes, Arteta's say in those decisions would have therefore been around the person whose ideas align clearly with his and the club’s about where they need to go next. From everything else we hear from Arteta, that is obviously toward trophies.

He is not satisfied with second place and knows that this summer is incredibly important for the club’s future. Berta, if indeed he is the man, will have a very important task that must succeed at all costs.