Andrea Berta officially took over as Arsenal's sports director and brought in Rodri, Oblak, Griezmann and others to Atletico Madrid

Arsenal officially announced on Sunday that they had appointed 53-year-old Andrea Berta as sporting director, a position that had been vacant since Edu Gaspar stepped down in November last year.

Andrea Berta was born in Orzi Novi, Italy, and worked as a sports director at Carpenedolo, Parma and Genoa in his early years. He joined Atletico Madrid in May 2013, initially as a technical director, and was later promoted to sports director in 2017.

As of January this year, when he left Atletico, Berta had successfully facilitated a number of key signings, including Rodri, Jan Oblak, Antoine Griezmann, Rodrigo De Paul and Nahuel Molina. With his help, Atletico Madrid won 1 Europa League, 2 La Liga, 2 European Super Cups, and reached the Champions League final twice (2013/14, 2015/16). However, Berta also led the high-priced signings of Joao Felix, Thomas Lemar, Diego Costa, etc., but the final results were not satisfactory.

After completing the signing, Berta said: "I am extremely excited to join Arsenal. Arsenal's development in recent years has always been of great concern to me. I also sincerely admire the club's unremitting efforts to reshape the style of European giants and its enthusiastic fans around the world."

“Arsenal has great values and heritage and I look forward to building a successful future with this outstanding team. I can’t wait to get into my new role and play my first game for the fans at the Emirates Stadium.”

Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke added: "Anyone who knows football knows that Andrea is an exceptional individual. He has a deep understanding of the game, an outstanding resume, a strong network of contacts and a burning desire to build a championship-winning team .

“Andre will be an important member of our club. He understands and shares our values and philosophy and we have no doubt that he will help us reach new heights and challenge for major honours.”

“We undertook a comprehensive recruitment process and Andrea’s experience and track record stood out among a strong group of candidates. We very much look forward to working with him and welcoming him to the Arsenal family.”

“Everyone at Arsenal would like to welcome Andrea and his family to the club,” concluded Kroenke.