Richard Garlick to become new director of football operations at Arsenal
By Ali Rampling
Premier League director of football Richard Garlick is poised to leave his position in 2021 in order to take up the role of director of football operations at Arsenal.
The Gunners are in need of a new director of football following the departure of Huss Fahmy in November in a mass behind the scenes restructuring program.
Fahmy had been in the role since 2017, having previously worked at Team Sky, and was instrumental in bringing Mikel Arteta back to the club as manager in 2019.
According to the The Athletic, Garlick will take up the vacant position at the Emirates later in 2021, departing his role at the Premier League having been in the post since 2018. He is currently responsible for football operations, youth and coaching criteria and young player education.
A qualified solicitor, Garlick has a history of working in an administerial position at club football level, having previously held the role of director of football administration at West Brom prior to joining the Premier League.
Garlick will work alongside Edu in the operations team at Arsenal, where he will be responsible for negotiating player contracts and dealing with agents.
This will take some of the responsibility off the shoulders of Edu, who has been balancing a selection of negotiating duties following the departure of Fahmy. However, Garlick will not be in his new post in time to deal with any incomings and outgoings at the Emirates during the January transfer window.
Arsenal currently sit 11th in the Premier League having put a run of three straight wins together after an underwhelming start to the season. The Gunners are nine points off the Champions League spots and 11 points off the drop zone, and face back-to-back home games over the course of the next seven days with the visits of Crystal Palace and Newcastle.