July 26 – Speculation is mounting that Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis is set to follow manager Arsene Wenger out of the club, marking the end of an era, to join AC Milan.
As Wenger contemplates his next move, rumours are rife that Gazidis, a prominent figure in the European Clubs Association, is on his way to Italy.
Gazidis, who arrived at the Emirates in 2008, was instrumental in replacing Wenger with new boss Unai Emery.
Emery’s arrival was preceded by an overhauling of the club’s structure by Gazidis as he brought in head of relations Raul Sanllehi from Barcelona and former Borussia Dortmund scout Sven Mislintat as head of recruitment.
In a statement Arsenal said: “We are aware of the speculation surrounding our chief executive Ivan Gazidis.”
“We know he receives many offers from organisations inside and outside the game as he’s a hugely respected figure. He has never accepted any of these opportunities and has never spoken about them publicly. He has always been fully committed to taking Arsenal forward and is currently working hard in Singapore with our new head coach Unai Emery as we prepare for the new season.”
But that was followed by the media platform Tuttomercatoweb publishing an article that insisted Gazidis had made up his mind to change tack.
“Despite the Arsenal statement, Ivan Gazidis will soon enter the Milan organization,” it wrote.
Milan have recently been taken over by American hedge fund group Elliot Management ,fter former owner Li Yonghong failed to repay a debt to the American company. Reports suggest Gazidis is closely connected to Paul Singer, who runs Elliot Management.
Speculation over Gazidis’ future comes amid a shareholder battle at Arsenal with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has repeatedly failed in his attempts to increase his 30% stake in the club, now apparently putting his holding on the sales block to anyone but rival American shareholder Stan Kroenke.
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