Andrea Berta has reached an agreement with Arsenal to become their new sporting director.
Berta became available in January after more than a decade at Atletico Madrid where he was central to the Spanish team’s progress.
The Italian was among multiple options Arsenal considered during a thorough process to replace Edu Gaspar after his resignation in November.
It was driven by managing director Richard Garlick and executive vice-chair Tim Lewis, with Josh Kroenke involved throughout on behalf of the ownership and input from manager Mikel Arteta.
Berta prioritised Arsenal above a number of other top-level opportunities and those suitors have been told about the 53-year-old’s decision.
Jason Ayto, previously Edu’s assistant, has been occupying the role on an interim basis and was a contender to step up permanently.
But it is the more experienced Berta who will take over in what is a major appointment for Arsenal and contracts are now being finalised.
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Berta spent 12 years at Atletico Madrid before leaving the club in January. He has built a strong reputation during his time in the Spanish capital and helped sustain a team that regularly challenges Barcelona and Real Madrid for the title, winning two La Liga titles, the Europa League and finishing as runners-up in the Champions League twice.
He was initially appointed technical director at Atletico in 2013 before becoming sporting director in 2017. He previously held roles at AC Carpendolo, Parma and Genoa.
Berta is accustomed to dealing with major transfers, having bought and sold players such as Antoine Griezmann and Rodri for large sums.
The summer window of 2024 demonstrated Atletico’s ability to regenerate their squad, spending £180million on Julian Alvarez, Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth, and this has put Diego Simeone’s side in the La Liga title race mix this season.
Former midfielder Edu was appointed as Arsenal’s first-ever technical director in the summer of 2019 before becoming sporting director in November 2022.
He left the club in November and is set to take up a key position overseeing Evangelos Marinakis’s multi-club network that includes Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave.
Asked for a message for fans worried about the time a permanent appointment is taking, Arteta recently defended the club’s process.
“The club is doing the process that we believe is the best to try to find the person that is the best one for the moment that Arsenal is in right now and that’s what the club is trying to do. ”
