Arsenal head of football Raul Sanllehi leaves club

Arsenal head of football, Raul Sanllehi aka Don Raul, has left the club and Vinai Venkatesham has taken his vacant position. Technical director Edu and head coach Mikel Arteta will now head up their footballing and recruitment direction.

Venkatesham is expected to adapt his previous role as managing director to assume Sanllehi’s responsibilities, with owners Stan and Josh Kroenke backing him to navigate the club into a new era alongside Arteta, who is tasked with reshaping the Emirates Stadium squad.

Technical director Edu will now effectively assume football operations.

Venkatesham showered gratitude on the Kroenke brothers and Arsenal’s board after taking a more central role at the club.

“I am thankful to Stan, Josh, and the rest of the Arsenal Board for their trust in me,” Venkatesham said. “I will miss working closely with my colleague and friend Raul, but I am looking forward to this new challenge.

“There is much work to do to return Arsenal to the top of the game where we belong, which is what our fans rightly demand. While this will not happen overnight, I believe we have many of the critical ingredients to do so.

“There are many positives to build on across the club. While football faces uncertainties ahead as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am confident Arsenal will emerge strongly and look forward with confidence.”

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Arsenal, over the last few weeks, announced it is proposing to make 55 staff redundant due to the club’s finances being negatively impacted by coronavirus.

But, there has also been some concern at the club about the £72m spent in acquiring Nicolas Pepe from French league outfit Lille last summer.

Arsenal, however, has denied they have carried out an internal investigation into the transfer despite newspaper reports.

“Raul has made a big contribution during his time with us and will always be part of the Arsenal family,” read a statement from Stan and Josh Kroenke on the club’s website.

“We thank him for all his hard work and expertise and wish him every future success. We have no doubt that Vinai is the right person to take the club forward.

“He has shown outstanding leadership during the current crisis and is held in high regard internally and externally. We know everyone will rally round him so we can move forward successfully.”