It wasn’t long ago that Arsenal were once the figure of a club that once had great success but had tumbled down the table into continued frustration at glory days gone by.
The Gunners had plenty of great trophy-winning campaigns under Arsene Wenger, but the end of his tenure was fraught with annoyance at the decline the club had witnessed.
Seasons of difficulty followed for Unai Emery and then Mikel Arteta, but the rebuild has slowly and surely worked at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are competitive again, making a push at the top for the biggest titles with some of the best players in the world.
The rise has coincided with the fall of Manchester United – once great rivals of the Gunners, now floundering in lower mid-table in the Premier League.
There have been plenty of similarities between the clubs and their plight, but if there’s one thing the North London club can’t do now is return to those days.
As a result, the latest in a long string of mistakes from Man United must work as a basis to avoid in the Arsenal owners’ next big decision.
How much Manchester United wasted in sporting director chase
Recruitment is often viewed as the centre of everything important in football with the running of clubs in the modern day.
Signing the right or wrong player can be the difference between success and failure, while the knock-on effects of that can change the future of entire institutions.
It has been one of the themes of Arsenal’s recent rise and Manchester United’s steady decline over the years.
At the heart of that now is the ever-visible presence of a sporting director, who is in charge of setting the vision and executing it through squad building.
It is something Man United have looked to reshape under Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ownership, hiring the best in class to transform the recruitment department.
The Red Devils paid roughly £3million to land Dan Ashworth from Newcastle United, but only went on to get rid of him just months later.
The latest financial reports from Man United show that £4.1million was paid to cut ties with the director, resulting in a £7.1million expenditure for a project that lasted just a few months and got them nowhere.
In the end, it’s the burning of yet more cash to end up right where they started, but it points at a mistake that the Kroenkes must avoid at Arsenal.
Arsenal must stick with their plan for new sporting director
Unless there is a serious change in plan, Arsenal must make sure their next sporting director hire is one for the long-term.
Part of their success under Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta has come from continuity in a project and giving it time.
Whoever takes over as the sporting director will need time to get their processes in place to ensure the club works as intended.
Only with that continuity can they firstly save money on a hiring and firing process, but it gives time to make sure all departments are on the same page.
A club working in harmony on a vision can then progress to the next level, with a clear idea of where they are, where they have failed and where they want to be.
The Kroenkes and the rest of the Arsenal board simply must make the right call to continue their success so far.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
