A big examination of the new Arsenal sporting director's rise from the local bank to the boardroom, with a look through his record at Atlético to see how his preferences may project at Arsenal
great article - my only concern is whether he’s the right person to quell some of Arteta’s apparent weaknesses - the over use of key players. The injuries have been. crippling and likely not coincidental. The power sharing with Berti may. therefore not be the best solution.
Great article, Billy. It was reported by Sam Dean that Gil Marín had big impact on Joao Felix purchase so I would be curious if Berta himself would touch that deal anywhere near the final valuation.
Billy, some super interesting and, as always, nuanced points in your erudite and entertaining piece. You are not one for the populists..., which endears me to you even more. Moving on, as much as "get us a ****** striker(s)" is hitting the headlines, and rightly to, I wonder whether the most important business – and perhaps unsexy business to some – of Berta is sorting out contracts for Saliba, Saka & Gabbi, to name but three. We are reaching the stage where extended contracts are needed. Aside from losing talent (and it happens folks) there is the danger of these players – and others – waiting for their contracts to run down. This would amount to a huge depletion of assets and every effort should be made to avoid this. A double whammy if there ever were one. So I for one will be watching this space very keenly indeed. (PS" looking forward to your piece on Viktor Gyökeres who, on balance, is my preference all things considered.)
Amazing article it's very rare to see this much depth in an article of this kind.Would love to see more of your work on non Arsenal-related articles, as I am not a fan of Arsenal but definitely a fan of Edu's BBQ.
Certainly not wishing for it, but how much experience does Berta have with working for different managers at a club? AB came from a club where Simeone is both untouchable and likely not minded to be tempted elsewhere, but if Arteta walks away from Arsenal, would it represent the first time Berta might "outlast" a manager in his role? Just wondering how adaptable he could be in that event.
There was a lot of upheaval/transition in Italy, sounds like.
In that Event You Mention That Shall Not be Named, personally would a) cry into my beer but b) not be too concerned about Berta in that situation. Everything I've read feels very serious/workmanlike/professional
Another good one, man! Just what I needed between the Madrid anxiety. Very excited for his first window at the club and your analysis on all the deals. Have a good one!
I know the time is nigh on the name. I never spend any time thinking about it, sorry!
Hope you enjoy this piece. I'm around to talk through anything. Working through a Real Madrid one now. 👊
great article - my only concern is whether he’s the right person to quell some of Arteta’s apparent weaknesses - the over use of key players. The injuries have been. crippling and likely not coincidental. The power sharing with Berti may. therefore not be the best solution.
Great delivery as usual. Love reading from you
Any signs that he could exploit the South American Market a bit more.... always feels like we are missing a big trick there?
Decent amount. Ángel Correa, Renan Lodi, Nehuén Pérez, Caio Henrique, etc. Some others right before he started.
Can scroll through the clubs he's transacted with here:
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/atletico-de-madrid/transferstroeme/verein/13/saisonIdVon/2014/saisonIdBis/2024/zuab/zu/verein_id/0/plus/1
Great article, Billy. It was reported by Sam Dean that Gil Marín had big impact on Joao Felix purchase so I would be curious if Berta himself would touch that deal anywhere near the final valuation.
I can buy that. Hard to assign clear responsibilities to all the moves (part of why this article took me so long!).
Billy, some super interesting and, as always, nuanced points in your erudite and entertaining piece. You are not one for the populists..., which endears me to you even more. Moving on, as much as "get us a ****** striker(s)" is hitting the headlines, and rightly to, I wonder whether the most important business – and perhaps unsexy business to some – of Berta is sorting out contracts for Saliba, Saka & Gabbi, to name but three. We are reaching the stage where extended contracts are needed. Aside from losing talent (and it happens folks) there is the danger of these players – and others – waiting for their contracts to run down. This would amount to a huge depletion of assets and every effort should be made to avoid this. A double whammy if there ever were one. So I for one will be watching this space very keenly indeed. (PS" looking forward to your piece on Viktor Gyökeres who, on balance, is my preference all things considered.)
Amazing article it's very rare to see this much depth in an article of this kind.Would love to see more of your work on non Arsenal-related articles, as I am not a fan of Arsenal but definitely a fan of Edu's BBQ.
Appreciate that so much. I do write for https://scoutedftbl.com/ sometimes as well!
Fuck yeah, Billy! We can only hope for the best.
Certainly not wishing for it, but how much experience does Berta have with working for different managers at a club? AB came from a club where Simeone is both untouchable and likely not minded to be tempted elsewhere, but if Arteta walks away from Arsenal, would it represent the first time Berta might "outlast" a manager in his role? Just wondering how adaptable he could be in that event.
There was a lot of upheaval/transition in Italy, sounds like.
In that Event You Mention That Shall Not be Named, personally would a) cry into my beer but b) not be too concerned about Berta in that situation. Everything I've read feels very serious/workmanlike/professional
Another good one, man! Just what I needed between the Madrid anxiety. Very excited for his first window at the club and your analysis on all the deals. Have a good one!
Another great piece, thanks Billy !
Mid-read and I just realized that Matt Doherty signed with Atlético Madrid.
Haha. Weird one, just added a little detail to it. Nearly a loan that turned into Spurs voiding contract (they had maxed out loan slots).