Arsenal have announced that Ivan Gazidis will leave his role of chief executive to join AC Milan.
The club confirmed that Raul Sanllehi will become head of football following Gazidis’ departure on October 31.
During Gazidis’ time at Arsenal – he joined the club in 2009 – he implemented a number of significant changes and presided over an eventful time for the club.
Overseeing the signing of Unai Emery to replace Arsene Wenger
Following Wenger’s decision to step down as Arsenal manager, Gazidis oversaw the appointment of Unai Emery to succeed the Frenchman. Gazidis claimed the former PSG manager was a ‘unanimous’ decision, saying “Unai has an outstanding track record of success throughout his career, has developed some of the best young talent in Europe and plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly.”
Changing the structure
Wenger led the list of names who moved on under Gazidis. The Frenchman served as manager for almost 22 years, delivering three Premier League titles and a record seven FA Cups. Wenger was never keen on working as part of a management structure, something Gazidis wanted to implement, and he exited at the end of last season.
FA Cup hat-trick
The club achieved three FA Cup wins in Gazidis’ time at the club, in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Following the latter, the club agreed a two-year deal to retain Wenger at the club, although the Frenchman departed his role as manager in 2018.
Champions League woes
Since Gazidis joined Arsenal, the club were unable to achieve Champions League success. The team suffered their worst setback in 2017, when Bayern Munich humiliated Arsenal with a 10-2 aggregate win – the seventh successive year they were unable to make it past the round of 16. The Gunners have had to make do with Europa League football in the last two seasons.
Down to business
Arsenal have improved their commercial standing in recent months, tying up deals with sponsors and partners to increase their income and exposure in markets previously untapped by the club. But their commercial revenue figures have lagged behind some of their main rivals for the past years – Chelsea, Liverpool and both Manchester United and Manchester City moving clear in that area. Gazidis appeared to be steering Arsenal’s commercial arm in the right direction but will leave before seeing through the challenges he had set himself earlier in his tenure.