When “Diamond eye” Sven Mislintat was recruited by Arsenal, it was supposed to herald in a new era.
I was one of many who was excited by his appointment and the direction his employment meant the club would be going in. Post-Wenger, Mislintat was due to be a key part of the “New Arsenal“.
Mislintat had built his reputation over in Germany for Borussia Dortmund.
The German outfits transfer policy was all about buying some of the best young talents in the game, giving them time on the pitch to help with their development, and then selling them for huge profits.
It was this policy that has allowed them to “compete” with Bayern Munich during the 2010s – a decade which saw Dormund win the Bundesliga twice, reach a Champions League final and regularly finish top two in Germany.
Mislintat was an ever present having joined the club in 1998 as an Analyst and progressing through to Scout, Chief Scout and Director of Football over his two decades with them.
His appointment at Arsenal looked a masterstroke at the time.
The club would be returning to those early days of Arsene Wenger when we made, rather than bought, supoerstars.
Following last nights depature of Lucas Torreira, there is not a single player left signed by Arsenal during the 18 month period of Mislintat’s employment.
Mislintat joined us four and a half years ago. He oversaw one summer and two winter transfer windows; recruitng nine players across the three windows.
Of the eight players that joined on permanent deals, four left on free transfers – three of which were paid to leave.
Arsenal received just £24.5million in transfer fees for the nine players, with just two sold for any sort of profit. In total, Mislintat’s transfers made a net loss of around £139million.
The players he oversaw bringing in had different levels of success, and left for a variety of reasons.
From Auba bursting on the scene to becoming the problem player we had all been warned about. Guendouzi with talent beyond his years, but the maturity of someone half his age.
Some of the players (Leno, Torreira) looked good signings and did well. Others (Mkhitaryan, Suarez, Lichtsteiner, Sokratis) made you wonder if the diamond eye was actually just a lump of coal.
What is clear is taking into account the money spent, the averaged out performances, and money received, Mislintat’s tenure at Arsenal was an unmitigated disaster.
The good news is that we seem to have turned a corner.
Torreira is the last of Mislintat’s signings to leave which means we do not have too much “dead wood” left that saw us drop from Champions League to out-of-Europe.
Under Edu we now have a clear and obvious transfer policy.
It is actually that same policy thart we all assumed we would follow under Mislintat. Signing exciting, younger players.
But whilst Mislintat seemed to be focused on data, almost Moneyball like, Edu and his team are now also recruiting on attitude.
The likes of Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Olexsander Zinchenko and Martin Odergaard are all positive characters. They do not have their own huge egos. They do play the big “I am”.
Edu’s recruitment policy has been what we hoped Mislintat’s was going to be.
For as much as Mislintat got wrong, Edu has got right.
May the excitment continue…
Keenos
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 