News about Ivan Gazidis

DANIEL MATTHEWS: Mikel Arteta's mind was made up in July 2016. The Spaniard, who was 34 years old and recently disabled, had the opportunity to continue as a mentor and coach at Arsenal. Mauricio Pochettino, too, wanted him on his Tottenham Hotspur staff. However, Arteta had opted to join Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Something else had resurfaced in Arteta's mind about that time. It was involving his former club and Per Mertesacker. "You're losing me now, you're asking too late," Mertesacker recalls. 'But he told Ivan, "You can't lose this guy." "Just put him somewhere." On the same day as Arsenal's 8-2 loss to Manchester United in 2011, Arteta and Mertesacker arrived in north London. They were together for five seasons under Arsene Wenger's leadership. They are now in tandem once more. Arsenal took Arteta's recommendation and named Mertesacker as the academy boss shortly after he stopped playing. They finally listened to the Germans, as well as the French. Mertesacker recommended Arteta for the top job after Wenger resigned in 2018.

MPs have branded the Premier League's £2BN transfer spree as "obscene" and insisted that the game must be "brought back to earth" as the country braces for a cost-of-living crisis. In the summer transfer window, the English top flight set a record for the most money spent on new players. The longest part of the season is over. New owners keen to make their mark, record TV contracts, and desperation to qualify for the Champions League, or simply to remain in the top division, saw teams go much beyond the previous high of £1.45 billion in 2017.