Nothing like a bit of experience, I suppose…
It seems that Arsenal will appoint a new sporting director this month and consider Andrea Berta to be their top candidate, with the 53-year-old businessman said to be in advanced talks over filling the position.
No one can doubt his credentials: Berta was named Technical Director at Atletico Madrid in 2013 and became their sporting director four years later, while he also claimed the Best Sporting Director prize at the Globe Soccer Awards in 2019.
So, he looks like an exciting and competent recruit (one hopes), but why did Arsenal choose him and opt against their interim man, Jason Ayto?
Why is Jason Ayto missing out on the sporting director role at Arsenal?
Arsenal v Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Pre-Season Friendly
Arsenal need a full-time Edu Gaspar successor | Crystal Pix/MB Media/GettyImages
This ‘worry’ stems from the apparent change in club policy: from the arrivals of George Graham and Arsene Wenger to those of current figureheads (e.g. Mikel Arteta and Per Mertesacker), the Gunners often groom people for years and/or give them a big show of faith in top jobs despite the ‘risks’ they bear from an outside perspective.
And that is not just our ‘norm’; it is exactly what Arsenal have been doing with Jason Ayto for several years. The 40-year-old had worked alongside Edu since 2019, gradually taking on more responsibility in scouting areas and even becoming his assistant technical director in 2022, before succeeding him in the sporting director role on an interim basis.
On paper, it looked like Ayto was the frontrunner and that he had even earned a trial run for the job. Our record of internal promotion only added to the expectation that he would soon be appointed to the post full time.
To grope towards an explanation, perhaps his ‘missing out’ here simply reflects where Arsenal are in regard to their process. After more than five years, the club is at a ‘win now’ stage and has practically finished its project (some might say a striker is needed…), with just one final push required this pre-season to make us a ‘complete’ team.
That step might be best taken by an experienced head, someone who already knows how to operate in European boardrooms and boasts a track record of getting big, game-changing deals over the line in either direction – Julian Alvarez (£82m from Manchester City last summer) and Antoine Griezmann (£107m to Barcelona in 2019) suggest Berta can be that man.
Perhaps there is just no time – or patience – for Ayto to adapt and, as a consolation, he may resume his assistant role under Berta next term, continuing his past analytical focus and day-to-day activities while Berta takes care of the bigger picture from day one.
Ayto is set to miss out, and it indicates that a big summer is afoot at N5.
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