Arsenal are still reeling from a quiet winter window, but they have been active behind the scenes.
The Gunners are closing in on a deal for Andrea Berta as the sporting director ahead of a significant summer in their process with Mikel Arteta. The 53-year-old has over a decade of experience in a big boardroom at a club punching above its weight. How well will it equip him for the task that awaits?
-
Why have Arsenal acquired Berta’s services?
All roads are going back to the summer for Arteta's men. A more modest window saw only two signings: Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino for fees in the region of £30 million. Neither these two players nor deadline day loanee Raheem Sterling has been the missing piece to propel the team from back-to-back finishes as runners-up in the Premier League title race to the top of the pile.
In the midst of a miserly first half of the campaign, unrest went public. Edu Gaspar gave up his role as a sporting director and it has been a scramble to search for a replacement to fill the void ever since.
Jason Ayto, who was second in command to Edu, has been holding the fort for a few months and was a contender to take on the post full time. But after a winter window with no incomings and the optics of a belated bid for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins, he would be on the backfoot with many fans.
The board have cast the net wider and seemed to have settled on the services of Berta. At the start of 2024, an internal restructure at Atletico Madrid meant that the status of top dog belonged to Carlos Bucero, who is their Football Managing Director. He did not always see eye to eye with Berta and the Italian had indicated he wished to look for pastures anew at the end of this season as his contract ends.
Need meets opportunity with this appointment but what does Berta bring to the table in this role?
-
What are Berta’s biggest exploits?
Berta was a banker by trade, but that occupation never dimmed a desire to work in football. He caught the eye of businessman Tommaso Ghirardi, who backed the Brescian to become a sporting director at provincial club Carpenedolo. The pair parted ways briefly but reunited at Parma in 2007 as Ghirardi gained ownership of the fallen giant, guiding the club out of administration and back in the top flight.
He then certified the status of Genoa as a Serie A outfit in three years with the team. That body of work was enough to put him on the radar of Jorge Mendes, and an alliance grew with Jesús Gil to grant him passage into the position of technical director at Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013.
More than a decade of service for Los Rojiblancos is Berta’s biggest feat on his CV. At the start of his stint, he met an ambitious institution that was rattling the cages of the standard Spanish supremacy.
Diego Simeone oversaw a Europa League triumph in 2012 and a Copa del Rey final victory over Real Madrid in 2013. By the end of Berta’s first full year at the club, the La Liga crown was theirs, pipping Barcelona to the title, and the team were minutes away from Champions League final glory.
Another appearance in the Champions League final followed in 2016 with more heartbreak at the hands of Los Blancos. Simeone seemed closer to leaving than staying in the dugout, but Berta was among the parties to persuade him to commit to the club. A year later, he earned the job of a sporting director, laying claim in the boardroom to a Europa Leaguecrown in 2018 and La Liga title in 2021.
The latter years yielded a leaner trophy haul, but he has left a lasting legacy. The team has a firmly fixed standing in Spanish football that is only secondary to the two biggest clubs in the country.
-
Who are some of Berta’s best signings?
It is hard to safely say how Berta's business unfolded without any access behind the scenes. But he wielded influence for so long that he can take some acclaim for transfers that transformed the team.
Berta's old clubs care deeply for clean sheets and solid defences — connecting him with big names at the back. At Genoa, he flipped Leonardo Bonucci for a profit in the same summer window of 2009. Almost a decade later, he was part of the process of signing Rodri from Villarreal for a fee of €20 million, recouping over €70 million after his move to Manchester City in less than twelve months.
Of more interest are Atletico's gems that mix defensive discipline with elite impact in the final third. Antoine Griezmann gained the club's coffers €120 million with his move to Barcelona in 2019. A year later, Luis Suarez swapped sides with the Frenchman for a pittance of €6 million, but the Catalans' castaway had the last laugh. He was the top scorer of Atletico’s last La Liga winners.
Griezmann got a second chance to cap off his journey with Los Rojiblancos through a loan deal that turned permanent in 2022 for €20 million. He has since become the club's top scorer of all time and is an integral piece of the puzzle that is in a three-way hunt for the La Liga title during this campaign.
Berta brings an acknowledgment of the tenacious talent on English shores into his new role. One of the reasons for the fallout with the new hierarchy was the rebuild of the midfield before the start of this season. Bucero backed a bid for 21-year-old Javi Guerra, but the side splurged €40 million to take Conor Gallagher from Chelsea and also got rid of Felix on a permanent deal at the same time.
Julian Alvarez also moved to the team from Premier League champions, Man City, for £81 million. While the price was steep, looks to be a leading light and could take on the mantle from Griezmann.
-
What will be Berta’s agenda at the club?
In the fifth year of Arteta’s reign in the dugout, Arsenal are enduring a season of stagnation. Correct oversight could grant the Gunners the impulse they require to return to the rapid rate of progress from most of the two previous campaigns. That task will involve a series of renewals as well as incomings.
As the back four has morphed into the outstanding unit of this team, Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have seen their stock rise in the fanbase. Both central defenders have two years to go on their contracts and have good reason to consider walking through the exit door: Gabriel, aged 27, is in the so-called prime years of his career while Real Madrid have been longtime admirers of his partner.
Bukayo Saka stands out as the other top target that will be a priority for a new deal. The 23-year-old, who is on the mend from a hamstring injury, has witnessed the woes of his teammates in his absence. The Hale End academy graduate is used to having the burden of being the main force for firepower in the final third with the Gunners, but his long-term layoff could compel him to consider life elsewhere.
Summer signings to fix a few squad flaws could entice them to extend their stay in north London.
Arsenal aspire to acquire at least one big addition to the attack. Alexander Isak and Benjamin Sesko have been on the radar of the club in the last couple of years while Matheus Cunha, whom Berta bought from Hertha Berlin to his old club, has been excelling at Wolves and might also appeal.
The midfield must also be an area of attention for the Italian. Thomas Partey and Jorginho are approaching the end of their deals with the club this summer and the pair, who are over the age of 30, are unlikely to put pen to paper for new contracts. A couple of Basque boys, Martin Zubimendi and Nico Williams, are already names with heavy links that should sit on a summer shortlist for the team.
Berta brings a number of networks into this role, and he must rely on the right ones for success.
