Berta

[A11M11]

So the announcement is made .
The new man is in and we can only hope that he hits the ground running and has the influence to make the squad changes that we require.

[General]

Can he score 30goals a season? If not, he should find one asap.
He should also cancel the Zubimendi transfer and bring in a proper midfield powerhouse to partner Rice.

[augie]

Can he score 30goals a season? If not, he should find one asap.
He should also cancel the Zubimendi transfer and bring in a proper midfield powerhouse to partner Rice.

Hands up I know fcuk all about zubimendi, but I do know that he is no PV4 in stature or physical presence - I would have thought that if we were going with a smaller more technical defensive midfielder, then Lewis-Skelly has done enough to deserve a shot given that is his more natural position ? It would make more sense then having that zubimendi money to use to get an elite striker instead of splitting the money to buy a decent striker and midfielder

[Midz]

Welcome to the Arsenal. Hope he does well for us as we need someone to overhaul our transfers.

[rodders999]

Hope I'm wrong but there's a serious bang of Don Raúl about this, can see us spunking a massive amount of money up the wall on pure shite.

[OneBardGooner]

from the transfer thread:

Source BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/ar ... rd4gjvkwjo


What can Arsenal fans expect from new sporting director Berta?


Andrea Berta is expected to arrive in the UK before the start of next week as Arsenal prepare to confirm his appointment as their new sporting director.
The Italian has been in advanced discussions over becoming the permanent successor to Edu, who left Emirates Stadium towards the end of 2024.

Edu's deputy Jason Ayto was appointed interim sporting director following the Brazilian's departure and was a serious contender for the position.

Roberto Olabe, currently at Real Sociedad, and former Manchester United sporting director Dan Ashworth were also among the contenders for the role.

But Berta will become the club's new sporting director with Arsenal now working towards the official announcement, with the Italian due to arrive in north London in the next 72 hours to officially begin work with Gunners.

There is hope he will be present for the Premier League game against Fulham on Tuesday.

The 53-year-old arrives with the reputation of being one of the most equipped sporting directors in European football.

He has held roles at Italian sides Parma and Genoa before joining Atletico Madrid, initially in the role as technical director, in 2013.

During his time in the Spanish capital, Berta was instrumental in signing Rodri, Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak.





"He's quite unique compared to other sporting directors," Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told BBC Sport.
"He had no playing career, started in banking, and only got into football later, first at Carpenedolo, an amateur club, then at Parma and Genoa, where he built key connections with Peter Kenyon and Jorge Mendes.

"Under his watch, Atletico won two La Liga titles (2013-14, 2020-21), a Copa del Rey (2013), a Europa League (2017-18), and a Uefa Super Cup (2018).
"He's seen as the architect of the squad rebuild after the 2014 title-winning team faded."

Working with manager Diego Simeone, Berta helped Atletico make some astute acquisitions during that rebuild.
France striker Griezmann was signed from Real Sociedad for £24.8m in 2014 and five years later was sold to Barcelona for £103m. Atletico then bought him back in 2021 for just £16.5m.

Spain midfielder Rodri, now a Ballon d'Or winner, was signed for £16.5m in 2018 and sold to Manchester City the following year for £62.5m, while Slovenian goalkeeper Oblak signed from Benfica in 2014 for just £13m. He's now widely regarded as one of the best goalkeepers in the world.

More recently, forward Julian Alvarez joined from Manchester City last summer for £81.5m and he has scored 23 goals for Atletico this season.
"He brought in key players like Griezmann (twice), Luis Suarez, Kieran Trippier, Llorente, De Paul, and Julian Alvarez," added Balague.

"But he also had some flops, like Joao Felix, Kalinic, Arias, Torreira, but he always worked within the club's financial limits.

"In total, he made 52 signings since 2017, spending around 828 million euros (£692m), leaving a big mark on Atletico's squad. An end of an era for them."

What's on his to-do list at Arsenal?


There are a few immediate issues he has to deal with. (No Shit! Sherlock!!!)

The main and most obvious task is to ensure that Arsenal bring in a much-needed forward. The Gunners have suffered key injuries to key attackers this season and have not brought in a forward for two transfer windows in a row.

Kai Havertz has done excellently in filling that void but at times Arsenal's need for a natural goalscorer has been obvious.
RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko has long been monitored, while Newcastle forward Alexander Isak is also being linked with a move to north London.

However, Eddie Howe's Magpies are in the mix for the Champions League places, making a deal for Isak expensive and more difficult to do.
There is also an argument that Arteta's side could do with a player who has some flair and the ability to make something happen when they play against teams that sit in a low block against them in the Premier League.

It's not only incomings that Berta will need to address. It's a big summer for the club with key players Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes entering the last two years of their contracts.

Berta will need to make sure that those players are locked down so that Arteta can continue to build on the impressive work he has done with the team.

There are also players who need to be moved on. Oleksandr Zinchenko has dropped further down the pecking order after the emergence of Myles Lewis-Skelly and the Gunners were willing to let him go in January if they received the right offer.

It is an exciting project for any sporting director to come into but with the Gunners challenging for silverware in recent seasons, this summer is not something that they can afford to get wrong.

[Limerick Gooner]

So one of his “flops” was Torreira.. Thought he was supposed to be leading us to the league this season.

[OneBardGooner]

Hope I'm wrong but there's a serious bang of Don Raúl about this, can see us spunking a massive amount of money up the wall on pure shite.

[Arsenal Till I Die]

I’ve seen too many false dawns over the last decade (and more), re people we’ve brought in, to have any hope, care or expectation.

I hope he goes on to ‘wow’ us as all. Until then, meh.

[Midz]

Hope I'm wrong but there's a serious bang of Don Raúl about this, can see us spunking a massive amount of money up the wall on pure shite.

Nothing new then.

[rodders999]

Hope I'm wrong but there's a serious bang of Don Raúl about this, can see us spunking a massive amount of money up the wall on pure shite.

Joao Felix 113 million quid

[DB10GOONER]

Hmmm.... "sporting director," like "director of football," always sounds to me like one of those self propagating myths where, if the role didn't exist, no one would notice.

I'm quite old-fashioned when it comes to football and tend to still think that a really good manager with the full backing of the board is the key thing you need to win the league. Everything else will fall into place if the manager is good enough and is financially backed by the owners. All the rest is smoke and mirrors and mostly horseshit propagated by stat nerd twats that know nothing about the game.

And yes, duh, I know "the game has changed."

Also, this new bloke is not from a football background. He was never a player, and was originally a banker. That makes him an utter wánker.

[OneBardGooner]

Hope I'm wrong but there's a serious bang of Don Raúl about this, can see us spunking a massive amount of money up the wall on pure shite.

Joao Felix 113 million quid

Must admit that 'List' is anything but Impressive Or Inspiring... As DB says if he's an ex-Banker that automatically qualifies him as an Uber Wǎnker.

[DB10GOONER]

Apparently we are going to have a huge summer spending bazillions this summer....

Yeah.

First, will we? I doubt it.

Second, do we really want Martinez-Lite spending another 800million and still ending up with no striker and signing some other semi retired fat little domestic abuser like Fat-heem waddling around the place?

[augie]

Apparently we are going to have a huge summer spending bazillions this summer....

Yeah.

First, will we? I doubt it.

Second, do we really want Martinez-Lite spending another 800million and still ending up with no striker and signing some other semi retired fat little domestic abuser like Fat-heem waddling around the place?

For years we (rightly) bemoaned the lack of investment the owners/board put into our playing squad, and now we are throwing money at a fool who has proven that he cannot spend money wisely cos he is not a good judge of player talent I believe that we will buy a striker this summer, but its what striker we sign that concerns me - I also worry that we will piss money away on a position that doesnt need investment right now. As always with the cone boy, the left back position might seem like a priority if tierney and zinchenko go, but surely having Lewis-Skelly and calafiori is enough options for there ? To me the absolute top priorities should be a striker and a quality attacking midfielder/number 10 to upgrade on captain invisible (no chance the cone boy will do that tho ) and of course a back up keeper that doesnt cost a fortune