Kroenke family has got it spot on since Arsenal “dream team” fell apart

12 November 2023 , 08:15

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Arsenal have improved past their "dream team" era

Following the dismissal of former head of football Raul Sanllehi, Arsenal and the Kroenke family have moved beyond what was dubbed their transfer "dream team" and have gone from strength to strength.

For almost four years, Mikel Arteta has been Arsenal's head coach and manager. During his tenure, he has implemented a significant restructuring of the squad, making it his own. The club has been on an upward trajectory, finishing second in the Premier League last season.

When Arteta took over, 11 players remained from Arsene Wenger's era and nine from Unai Emery's tenure in 2019. He made just two loan signings in the following January.

Over the past two years, Arsenal has developed a stronger identity in the transfer market under the leadership of Arteta, Edu Gaspar, and a more efficient recruitment team. They've focused on acquiring younger players with Premier League experience, indicating a preference for those 24 years old or younger. So far, the strategy has paid off and resulted in a greater level of success.

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Edu has been responsible for overseeing 24 transfers, with a total expenditure of nearly £500 million. Arsenal emphasized investments in center-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba, acquired for £27 million. Similarly, left-backs Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko, signed for £25 million and £32 million, respectively, have proven valuable assets for the money spent.

Before Edu, Sanllehi was appointed as Arsenal's head of football relations in February 2018, shortly before Wenger's departure. He was promoted six months later to replace CEO Ivan Gazidis, who had also left for AC Milan.

In December 2019, Sanllehi claimed to have assembled a "dream team" with the appointment of Arteta as manager, including technical director Edu, head of football operations Huss Fahmy, and academy manager Per Mertesacker. The "dream team" has since fallen apart, but the Kroenke's have replaced those involved with people who have taken the club even further.

Pepe was a questionable signing under Sanllehi

During Sanllehi's leadership, Arsenal invested heavily in the summer of 2019. They made a significant financial commitment by shelling out £72 million, a record-breaking purchase, to sign Nicolas Pepe from Lille.

The Ivorian forward made just 80 appearances for the club in four seasons before leaving on a free transfer to join Trabzonspor. Some questionable arrivals under Sanllehi's watch from supporters include Denis Suarez, Stephan Lichtsteiner, and David Luiz. Sanllehi's management of Mesut Ozil's final years at the club also raised some concerns within the fanbase.

Sanllehi had to lay off 55 people and eventually lost his job due to pandemic-related operational changes at Arsenal in March 2020. Since then, Sanllehi has returned to football as the director general of Real Zaragoza since June 2021, a club currently in the second tier of Spanish football.

Sanllehi has since expressed his love for Arsenal and the Kroenkes and acknowledged the challenges he faced during the last ten months of his tenure, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic. But while his "dream team" never achieved what he'd set out to at Arsenal, those who have since come in have helped the Kroenke's lead the club to the levels they hoped as Premier League title contenders.

Rory Robinson