Arsenal reach Berta agreement

Arsenal have reached full agreement with Andrea Berta to become their new Sporting Director.

Although the 53-year old Italian had emerged as the favourite to take the job last week, there were still some outstanding details to be resolved about his contract, but these have now been finalised.

The appointment is set to be confirmed publicly in the next few weeks.

The Gunners have been without a Sporting Director since Edu left the club in early November. Jason Ayto has been fulfilling the role on a temporary basis and was a strong contender for the job himself. However, Berta is regarded as more experienced, and the fact that he is an outsider and will offer a different perspective also counts in his favour.

Berta spent a decade working at Atlético Madrid working with Diego Simeone, before leaving his post in January. He ahs since spent time in the UK learning English.

There will be no time to waste when he does join the club, and will have a bulging in-tray to deal with, including what is expected to be a busy summer in the transfer market and some key contract renewals to be negotiated.

Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.