Speaking on The Overlap, David Ornstein has been discussing Arsenal’s recruitment model and their evolution in recent years.
The Gunners haven’t been one of the best teams in England over the past few years, but they have been amongst the savviest operators in the transfer market, completing deals for the likes of Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Martinelli and Aaron Ramsdale that now all look like bargains.
According to Ornstein, Arsenal have used Liverpool’s recruitment strategy as a model in recent years, stating that the Gunners want to follow in the Reds’ footsteps and get their recruitment spot on.
Arsenal’s Liverpool inspiration
Ornstein discussed Arsenal’s view of recruitment.
“The way Liverpool have operated in recent years, let’s be clear they have been the model for many clubs, most pertinently, Arsenal who also lost a Europa League final, they’ve followed similar paths and Arsenal are trying to get their recruitment right in the way Liverpool have done really impressively with Jota coming in out of the blue and Luis Diaz more recently,” Ornstein said
Not the worst model
Attempting to be more like Liverpool in the transfer market isn’t the worst decision Arsenal will ever make.
Indeed, the Reds have been the kings of the transfer window in recent years as Michael Edwards has built a squad that have won pretty much every trophy available to them in recent years, and Edu will be hoping to do the same at the Emirates.
The Merseyside club have pulled off some of the best bargain signings you’re likely to ever see, bringing in the likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Andrew Robertson and Roberto Firmino in for a fraction of their actual value.
Arsenal are in the process of doing similar, and if they can pull off a few more Liverpool-esque signings in the next 12 to 18 months, it may not be long before they’re winning the biggest prizes in the game.
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