According to footmercato.net, Arsenal’s search for a new Sporting Director may be nearing an end, and the club hierarchy look to have secured the services of their top choice to replace the departing Edu.

Who is Roberto Olabe?

Roberto Olabe has established himself as one of the top Sporting Directors in Europe during his 6 years in the role at Real Sociedad.

Prior to his taking up the role at Sociedad, the Basque club had only qualified for European competition four times since the turn of the millennium – they have now qualified for the Europa League in four out of his five seasons at the club, and managing a year in the Champions League in 2023/24 where they managed a respectable run to the RO16 where they were eliminated by PSG.

One of the first signings made under him as Sporting Director of Sociedad was Mikel Merino, another Spaniard we are all now very familiar with. At the time, Merino had been struggling to find himself a home after a lackluster time at Newcastle who would sell him for £4m profit mere days after signing him permanently from Dortmund. Merino would go on to shine at Sociedad for six season before he was sold to us for around £30m, a tidy profit on an ageing midfield who still has a lot to give to a top club.

Olabe would also win the signing of a young Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid for a season where he would shine in an environment that allowed him to play, make mistakes, and grow. I don’t need to tell you any more about Martin, we all know and love him here at Arsenal.

Basque connection?

An interesting point of connection between Mikel Arteta and Robert Olabe is their ties to the Basque area of Spain. Arteta and Olabe were born and raised down the road from each other in the North of Spain – an area that is becoming quite the haven for producing footballing minds. This will be an immediate link between the two men who will be sharing power at the club, and this is relationship that is vital to get right. The connection between Edu and Arteta was widely documented as being fantastic. Can we recreate this kind of synergy by bringing in a countryman of Arteta’s?