What next for Arsenal as major boardroom shake-up begins new chapter | OneFootball

Gunners seek injection of “fresh thinking and energy” with four new appointments following Tim Lewis’ shock exit

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Boardroom changes at Arsenal have continued the recent theme of shock departures in north London.

Just over two weeks ago, it was Daniel Levy who caught people off guard with his exit from Tottenham.

The 62-year-old has been advising Arsenal’s owners, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), since 2007 and joined the club’s board as a director in 2020. He was promoted to executive vice-chair two years ago.

It was a difficult time for the club, with the Covid-19 pandemic leading to redundancies and a restructuring of some departments.

Lewis leaves Arsenal in a far better place than he found it, with Josh Kroenke labelling his time at the club as “a period of transformational change”.

Farewell: Tim Lewis - seen alongside Josh Kroenke at Arsenal back in May - has left the club in a shock move

Arsenal FC via Getty Images

The Gunners are now back challenging for major trophies and have just enjoyed, arguably, their most productive transfer window ever.

Lewis was also a big believer in financial regulations and ensured that Arsenal kept in line with the rules laid down by the Premier League and UEFA.

The mess Lewis inherited has now been tidied, and in that sense it could be argued that now is a logical time for him to depart.

KSE have shown a willingness to make changes at executive level during their time at the club and Josh Kroenke stressed on Friday that Arsenal have a “desire to always move forward”.

It is why Arsenal will view Lewis leaving as evolution and not revolution, with the club’s aim and ambition of winning major trophies unchanged.

Time will tell how the new structure works, but KSE have been swift in replacing Lewis on the board.

Josh Kroenke has said he hopes the new appointments will inject “fresh thinking and energy”, and the emphasis of Friday’s statement was to look to the future.

Long-serving director Lord Harris of Peckham remains alongside Josh and Stan Kroenke, but they will be joined by four new faces.

From KSE come Kelly Blaha, the company’s senior vice-president of sports finance since 2022, and Otto Maly, a real-estate specialist who chairs Maly Commercial Realty. Dave Steiner, a long-time advisor to KSE, also takes a seat.

And, most eye-catching of all, Ben Winston - a 13-time Emmy Award-winning producer and Arsenal season-ticket holder for 30 years - joins as a non-executive director.

Long-time fan: Acclaimed producer and director Ben Winston is among the new faces on the Arsenal board

Getty Images

Together, the quartet bring expertise spanning finance, property, governance, media and entertainment, and Arsenal hope their fresh perspectives will strengthen the board.

In terms of the day-to-day running of the club, Richard Garlick has been promoted from managing director to chief executive officer (CEO).

Garlick has quickly climbed the ranks since joining Arsenal four years ago and is a popular figure, both inside and outside the club.

He is joined on the executive team by sporting director Andrea Berta, who has made a strong start since arriving at Arsenal earlier this year. Manager Mikel Arteta speaks with Berta daily and has already formed a close relationship with the Italian.

The executive team feed into Josh and Stan Kroenke, who have the ultimate sign-off on all major decisions at Arsenal.

An intriguing element going forward will be if Josh Kroenke’s influence grows following the departure of Lewis.

Josh Kroenke is based in the United States, but makes regular visits to London for both men’s and women’s games, as well as meetings. Most recently, he was at Anfield for Arsenal’s clash with Liverpool last month.

Arsenal will view Lewis leaving as evolution and not revolution, with the club’s ambition unchanged

Arteta enjoys a strong relationship with the Kroenke family. Even with the executive changes over recent years, he has remained a constant.

The Spaniard works closely with Arsenal’s executive team and his influence has grown over time. Arteta has, however, lost a big backer in Lewis and spoke glowingly about working with him on Friday.

Arteta, though, was also bullish about what the future holds for Arsenal under their new structure.

“I’m so positive about it and every time I speak to Stan and Josh and how willing they are, the projection that they have, the vision they have for the football club, the people that we have around it, there’s no question that big things are ahead,” he said.

With new faces in the boardroom, Arsenal are entering a new chapter off the pitch. On it, Arteta’s side must ensure the transformation continues.