Arsenal’s head of football Raul Sanllehi insists he doesn’t see the risk of appointing an untested head coach in Mikel Arteta. Arsenal have appointed a head coach with no previous experience but he explained that club hierarchy at Arsenal is convinced they have the right man for the job.
Arteta, whose work officially begins on Sunday, is held in high esteem by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Arsene Wenger and was praised by several Manchester City players for his impact on their game whilst an assistant manager at the Etihad Stadium.
Raul Sanllehi said “I don’t see the risk anywhere after knowing what his plan is. We spent many hours talking with him – [technical director] Edu and myself first – and then he got to meet [managing director] Vinai [Venkatesham] and [head of football operations] Huss [Fahmy], and finally with [director] Josh Kroenke. We all had a very common view, knowing him, listening to him. He made a perfect presentation about his analysis of Arsenal, and how he thought that he could re-address the situation and he convinced us completely. Of course there is always risk but in a general way, not because of how many years he has been a coach or not a coach. He responded very well in the previous press [conference] about his experience.”
