My look at the future of the sporting director role at Arsenal turned into a huge scouting report on potential candidate Roberto Olabe of Real Sociedad. Here it is.
Your usual well-researched and presented analysis - thank you.
Two additional thoughts. If all goes well, Mikel is likely to leave in a three to five year timeframe (obviously if things deteriorate - which I don't expect - this could be a shorter time period; equally, if he's successful, Mikel may choose to stay at a club he loves and good luck to him). Hiring a Sporting Director who can plan and manage that transition would be a positive.
Secondly, I read Olabe's profile to some extent as 'big fish, small pool' and if Arsenal is to continue along its existing self-funded model, perhaps this is the right way to go. Stories that the club is investigating whether an 80,000 capacity stadium would be viable make me wonder whether KSE is looking for a quantum shift - one that would enable Arsenal to go toe-to-toe with oil state backed clubs. In that context, a Campos (or equivalent) would be a better fit than someone whose greatest strength is integrating youth and bargain signing players.
Interesting subject to cover, and well worth the read. In today's day and age, I'd normally lean towards the sporting director having a more important/influential role over the manager as the latter tends to be recycled more quickly, but with Arteta already outlasting Edu and seemingly having very strong ties to the execs, I wonder how that could impact this hiring search.
Not to say Arteta shouldn't have input, but I'd worry slightly that too much involvement from Mikel could result in finding someone who's won't cover up his faults. As you put it, Olabe seems too simpatico with Arteta and not very complementary to get me overly excited, especially when you add in the scope of his work overall.
I think at this stage of the project, I'd hope Arsenal could pull the proven and experienced candidates as opposed to gambling on getting someone on the upswing as they did 5+ years ago. Somebody strong enough to command the respect of those already in place to challenge and progress us to that next level. Of course beyond the names you've listed I have no idea who that'd be, but if none of those top 5-10 names are available or interested, given the talent already in the building as well as the Kroenke connections to their other clubs, I'd be tempted to looking into the realms of other sports.
Regardless, change is scary but exciting and I'll be curious to see who they ultimately settle on!
Good comment. What I do like about Olabe is that I sense he feels committed, headstrong, and has a gravitas to him -- so he's not going to be a pushover
Nice to see an article looking from the point of view "who would be the best fit at Arsenal?" rather than "Who's the biggest name available?". Hopefully Arsenal are sensible enough to take a similar approach.
There's lots of points of synchronicity between Olabe and the current infrastructure at Arsenal. My only concern would be, on the face of it, a fairly superficial one. Much of Edy's role was a pastoral one; putting on arm around a player at the right time and saying the right words. Does Olabe speak English? I can't imagine Rice or Saka's Spanish (or Basque!!) being up to much.
Billy, in a world where everybody is an expert… (guilty), it’s so refreshing to read your always thoughtful analysis. A favourite word of mine when talking about Arsenal is “sustainability”. That’s because, more than anything, I want Arsenal be at the top table not just this year and next, but for the next decade. I remember only too well when we were in serious danger of sinking to mid-table obscurity. This cannot be allowed to happen. In this context, the appointment of a successor to Edu matters hugely, even if it might not seem to be the case as we enter a period of 3 games each week. But it does. My closing thought: have you been approached as Edu’s successor? Very happy to be your campaign manager!
What an age we live in — scouting sporting directors! Football truly never sleeps nowadays! 😆 An excellent and worthwhile read as always. We’re heading into that part of “the project” timeline where I feel more sizable changes will come across both the staff and players on the field. The only constant is change as the saying goes. I hope whoever follows Edu can take our beloved club to the next level.
Your usual well-researched and presented analysis - thank you.
Two additional thoughts. If all goes well, Mikel is likely to leave in a three to five year timeframe (obviously if things deteriorate - which I don't expect - this could be a shorter time period; equally, if he's successful, Mikel may choose to stay at a club he loves and good luck to him). Hiring a Sporting Director who can plan and manage that transition would be a positive.
Secondly, I read Olabe's profile to some extent as 'big fish, small pool' and if Arsenal is to continue along its existing self-funded model, perhaps this is the right way to go. Stories that the club is investigating whether an 80,000 capacity stadium would be viable make me wonder whether KSE is looking for a quantum shift - one that would enable Arsenal to go toe-to-toe with oil state backed clubs. In that context, a Campos (or equivalent) would be a better fit than someone whose greatest strength is integrating youth and bargain signing players.
Loved everything you wrote.
(Except the part about Arteta ever leaving!)
Interesting subject to cover, and well worth the read. In today's day and age, I'd normally lean towards the sporting director having a more important/influential role over the manager as the latter tends to be recycled more quickly, but with Arteta already outlasting Edu and seemingly having very strong ties to the execs, I wonder how that could impact this hiring search.
Not to say Arteta shouldn't have input, but I'd worry slightly that too much involvement from Mikel could result in finding someone who's won't cover up his faults. As you put it, Olabe seems too simpatico with Arteta and not very complementary to get me overly excited, especially when you add in the scope of his work overall.
I think at this stage of the project, I'd hope Arsenal could pull the proven and experienced candidates as opposed to gambling on getting someone on the upswing as they did 5+ years ago. Somebody strong enough to command the respect of those already in place to challenge and progress us to that next level. Of course beyond the names you've listed I have no idea who that'd be, but if none of those top 5-10 names are available or interested, given the talent already in the building as well as the Kroenke connections to their other clubs, I'd be tempted to looking into the realms of other sports.
Regardless, change is scary but exciting and I'll be curious to see who they ultimately settle on!
Good comment. What I do like about Olabe is that I sense he feels committed, headstrong, and has a gravitas to him -- so he's not going to be a pushover
Seen this?
https://www.twentyfirstgroup.com/tfg-world-sports-rankings/quality-rankings/?sr=rank-football-4
Brilliantly written . Really enjoyed reading this
Thank you!
Nice to see an article looking from the point of view "who would be the best fit at Arsenal?" rather than "Who's the biggest name available?". Hopefully Arsenal are sensible enough to take a similar approach.
There's lots of points of synchronicity between Olabe and the current infrastructure at Arsenal. My only concern would be, on the face of it, a fairly superficial one. Much of Edy's role was a pastoral one; putting on arm around a player at the right time and saying the right words. Does Olabe speak English? I can't imagine Rice or Saka's Spanish (or Basque!!) being up to much.
From the Ornstein article:
"Olabe embarking upon another project outside of Spain is plausible and he speaks reasonable English."
Billy, in a world where everybody is an expert… (guilty), it’s so refreshing to read your always thoughtful analysis. A favourite word of mine when talking about Arsenal is “sustainability”. That’s because, more than anything, I want Arsenal be at the top table not just this year and next, but for the next decade. I remember only too well when we were in serious danger of sinking to mid-table obscurity. This cannot be allowed to happen. In this context, the appointment of a successor to Edu matters hugely, even if it might not seem to be the case as we enter a period of 3 games each week. But it does. My closing thought: have you been approached as Edu’s successor? Very happy to be your campaign manager!
❤️ as always, Stephen.
What an age we live in — scouting sporting directors! Football truly never sleeps nowadays! 😆 An excellent and worthwhile read as always. We’re heading into that part of “the project” timeline where I feel more sizable changes will come across both the staff and players on the field. The only constant is change as the saying goes. I hope whoever follows Edu can take our beloved club to the next level.
Haha, I agree. It felt a little preposterous as I was writing it but then I kept... writing.
Appreciate everything.