Arsenal have made further changes behind-the-scenes with James Ellis leaving just seven months after being promoted into his new role
10:55, 21 Feb 2026
Arsenal have made another big change in their background department
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Arsenal have made another big change in their background department(Image: (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images))
James Ellis has left his position at Arsenal as technical director despite only being handed the job last August, as per BBC Sport. Ellis was head of recruitment before being promoted into his new role with it claimed an internal restructure has taken place at the club recently.
The appointment of Maurizio Micheli in December was seemingly part of that, with the ex-Napoli chief taking up a senior recruitment role. Nine months prior, the arrival of Andrea Berta as sporting director was confirmed.
Ellis joins Edu Gaspar, who Berta replaced, and Vinai Venkatesham in leaving boardroom roles at Arsenal recently, with the duo now at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham, respectively, but in perilous positions.
Mikel Arteta's former right-hand man departed north London in November 2024 in order to become Forest's Global Head of Football the following summer. However, he is seemingly destined to leave the City Ground imminently after the club's major downturn in results since his arrival.
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Venkatesham, meanwhile, is facing huge scrutiny from Spurs supporters after the initial appointment and continued persistence with head coach Thomas Frank despite the fact from roughly December, it was clear things were not working out.
Igor Tudor has since been confirmed as interim head coach with his first game in charge the North London Derby against Arsenal. Despite only being in the job for seven days, the 47-year-old knows the importance of the game while also revealing the true impact of injuries.
He said: "We made training with 13 players. It is how it is. It is not fantastic beautiful but in this case it’s an even bigger challenge to succeed and come out of this situation.
Igor Tudor looks on
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Igor Tudor makes his Tottenham debut in the dugout for the visit of Arsenal(Image: Getty Images)
"13 we will have for sure and it’s quite enough to achieve what we want on Sunday. And the first goal of course I understand the importance of this game, this is a derby, a north London derby. Everybody expects the three points from us. We are aware of this."
Arsenal head into the derby following two disappointing draws against Wolves and Brentford with Arteta stating it could not be a much more perfect game to have after dropping points.
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He said: "It's the one we have after and it's the one that we cannot wait to play. If we could play today, I think we'd all love to play today and to get that feeling that we have in our tummies and use it in the right way. And we have to show on Sunday."
Though Eberechi Eze scored a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, he has dropped down the pecking order in midfield recently, and his place in the starting lineup is not guaranteed - especially following Arteta's positive injury update on two others that can play in his position.
"Well, we have to wait until tomorrow, but there is a big possibility that they [Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard] are available for the game."