Huge Arsenal news yesterday as it was announced that CEO Vinai Venkatesham to step down next summer. It is interesting to see the response to his departure.
Most Arsenal fans seem happy, and I fully understand why.
Vinai Venkatesham was the last remaining senior members of staff left at the club from the 2010s. A period where it felt like there was a chasm between the club and fans.
He joined in 2010, with his focus on building our commercial deals. When Ivan Gazidis left in 2018, he was promoted from Chief Commercial Officer to Managing Director.
In his role as MD, he worked in tandem with Raul Sanllehi, Arsene Wenger and Sven Mislintat. It was a foresome that nearly destroyed our club.
Following the departures of Sanllehi, Vinai was promoted to CEO and given sole responsibility for the day-to-day running of the club.
Whilst in the last few years the club and fans have become closer, the feeling is that this is despite Venkatesham, not due to him.
Credit for building those bridges has to go to Mikel Arteta, Edu and Per Mertesacker. Those 3 really are the driving force behind everything good at the club right.
To highlight this, it was Venkatesham who agreed for Arsenal to join the European Super League. Following its collapse, he had to apologise to Arteta, the players and the fans for his decision.
Venkatesham departing certainly seems like the end of that era where we were run without consideration to match going fans. Like Gazidis, he just did not seem to get what it mean to be a football fan.
I doubt too many Arsenal fans will be worried about the news. Although the response from opposing fans has been odd…
“Arsenal downfall incoming”
“The downfall of the club is about to hit really hard”
“The Arsenal downfall starts here and NOW”
It is almost like opposing fans did not really understand the role Vinai played in our club. His departure certainly will not effect us on the pitch….
The only concern from my point of view is who takes over.
“Be careful what you wish for” springs to mind for those who have spent a few years demanding him to depart.
Vinai’s replacement needs to be someone from a sporting business background, and nost just a sporting background. The job description is running the whole club. it is a role not suited to the football men of the club so that rules out the likes of Edu.
It is a serious role, an important role. Certainly not a ceremonial role. So if you are calling for Arsene Wenger or David Dein then you are a long way wide in your opinion.
Julie Slott is probably in pole position to take the job. She is our current Chief Commercial Officer, the role Vinai held prior to promotion.
it is also interesting to note that Arsenal have recently appointed Omar Mohammed Shaikh as Partnerships Sales Director. Omar was previously Vice President of Commercial Development at Liverpool, reporting directly into the CEO.
It feels like Shaikh has been recruited to replace Slott in a year, with Slott then primed to take over from Vinai.
Julia Slott has had a huge role to play in the ticketing fiasco and was reportedly behind the Ashburton Army having their allocation cut. You wonder if, like Vinai, she is just too far departed to understand what match going fans want.
Yes, she might have over 20 years experience in the sporting industry, but all of her roles have been about “how can we make more money” and not “how can we be better for our fans”. And it is that second one many of these business people forget.
They ignore the fans that go through the turnstile week in, week out. They are obsessed by balance sheets and generating more money. Success on the field is second to success in the accounts.
So be careful what you wish for…
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 
One of the reason Man Utd is in turmoil is because their executive decision makers are not into football success as their commercial success. So I hope Arsenal will get someone who cares about football success, commercial success and healthy relationship with Edu, Arteta and Mertersacker.
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A CEO should be more business orientated that football (Manchester City’s is Ferran Soriano who ran major Spanish companies before joining Carcelona).
In Garlick, Edu and Arteta, we have 3 football people in the clubs Senior Management Team. Vinai and Slott are those from the world of business.
What is important is to have the right people in the right roles, and that they do not interfere with others.
The football side of the business should be run by football people (Garlick & Edu), and the commercial side by someone with a business background (Slott). They are then bought together by a CEO who has experience of running a business (or running businesses withing businesses).
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