Arsenal may be about to make the exact same recruitment mistake they made in 2019
Arsenal are interested in Borussia Dortmund chief scout Sebastian Krug.
Initial contact has been made, according to Sky Germany’s Patrick Berger, with Newcastle and Tottenham also circling.
That might sound like promising news on the surface. Krug played an instrumental role in bringing Jude Bellingham to Dortmund.
The German scout built a close personal relationship with the Bellingham family that was crucial in sealing the deal, and later paved the way for Jobe Bellingham to follow his brother.
He was also key to the Erling Haaland signing from Red Bull Salzburg spell, helping Dortmund beat several Premier League clubs to his signature for just €20million.
He was part of the team that convinced Jadon Sancho to leave Manchester City’s academy for first-team minutes in Germany.
And he continued the English talent pipeline by poaching Jamie Gittens from City’s youth setup.
That reads well on paper. But before Arsenal fans get too excited, it’s worth reminding them that they’ve been here before, and it didn’t go well.
Arsenal should remember the Sven Mislintat mistake
In December 2017, Arsenal appointed Sven Mislintat from Dortmund as Head of Recruitment.
He arrived with quite a glittering reputation, but his 14-month tenure in North London yielded mixed results, at best.
The headline signing was Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who won the Premier League Golden Boot and captained Arsenal to the FA Cup win in 2020.
Bernd Leno was a solid addition, and Matteo Guendouzi was a shrewd find from Ligue 2 at just £7million.
Konstantinos Mavropanos cost £1.8million from Greek football and eventually returned a profit.
But then there was Sokratis. Stephan Lichtsteiner. Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Lucas Torreira.
Signings that didn’t work out and left Arsenal with bloated wages and diminishing returns.
Mislintat left amid reported tensions with Unai Emery, who of course followed him out the exit door not too long after.
As for Krug, he may have identified Haaland and Bellingham, but neither were exactly hidden gems.
Plenty of major clubs in Europe were actively pursuing both by the time Dortmund signed them.
He might have other valuable skills like relationship-building and delivering persuasive pitches, but his CV doesn’t exactly make him out as this visionary scout.
Arsenal do need fresh faces in their recruitment team, however — more than just Andrea Berta and his boys.
And Krug may prove to be a solid backroom addition, but Gooners should be cautious about the “Dortmund mastermind” hype.
