Keith Wyness: Josh Kroenke set for surprise new Arsenal role

Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted Josh Kroenke will control the recruitment process to replace Edu Gaspar at Arsenal – not Mikel Arteta.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – insisted the Spanish boss will be able to voice his “opinion” but will not have any decision-making power.

News broke of Edu’s Arsenal exit on Monday (4 November) after five years back at the club in a boardroom role.

Soon after, Football Insider exclusively revealed that the sporting director had agreed a triple-your-money deal with the group run by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis – which has since been confirmed.

Edu and Arteta forged a strong working relationship during their time together and collaborated to bring several key signings to the club – like Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arteta to have limited say in sporting director hire at Arsenal, says Wyness

Wyness insisted the new hire will need to be “very experienced” to deal with the “burning pot of ambition” at Arsenal.

He told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “I think this will be a decision made by the Kroenkes, in particular the son Josh – who is very much involved now.

“He’ll listen to a lot of people, but they will ultimately make that decision.

“They’ll take into account what Arteta thinks, but he’ll only have an opinion in what is a very firm club decision.

“It’s a small board now at Arsenal, and they’ve made some very poor decisions on that side.

“They are going to have to make a crucial decision. There are a lot of personalities, Edu managed it well – so whoever comes in will have a burning pot of ambition to deal with.

“It’ll have to be someone very experienced and someone who can be more like a politician at the club.”

In other news, Arsenal want to sign striker who’s “one of best in the world”, says insider.

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The post Keith Wyness: Josh Kroenke set for surprise new Arsenal role appeared first on Football Insider.