Dortmund’s chief scout eyed as Rowley replacement

Well that didn’t take long. Just a week after the club’s chief scout Steve Rowley was reported to be leaving, Arsenal appear to have lined up his replacement. According to ESPN, Arsenal are in talks to hire Borussia Dortmund’s top scout Sven Mislintat.

Mislintat is well-known in the scouting community (Bayern Munich tried to hire him earlier this year) and is credited with signing a number of Dortmund’s most successful players, including Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Ousmane Dembele.

It’s a turbulent time in the Arsenal front office as Ivan Gazidis looks to exert control and modernize the club’s operations. Remember, the chief scout job is not the only important position currently vacant at Arsenal. The club has also not replaced chief contract negotiator Dick Law, who stepped down in September.

It’s no secret that Ivan Gazidis and Arsene Wenger disagree on how Arsenal should be run from a footballing standpoint. The two clashed in the media last spring over whether Arsenal need to hire a “Director of Football” to oversee operations. With the departures of Steve Rowley and Dick Law, both of whom were Wenger allies, Gazidis could use these vacancies to push for the changes he feels are necessary.

Wenger-Gazidis disagreements aside, Mislintat would be a great hire for Arsenal. He has a track record of identifying top players that have not only been successful at Dortmund but have also generated significant revenue for the club when sold to bigger sides.