Arsenal shocked the world on Saturday when they announced that Raul Sanllehi, their Head of Football, was leaving.
The Spaniard has had both love and criticism from Arsenal fans in his time at the club. But the sudden news of his departure, especially during the transfer window, raised a number of questions.
Sanllehi was Arsenal’s main man in transfer negotiations. The former Barcelona chief was responsible for getting deals for the likes of Nicolas Pepe, William Saliba and Kieran Tierney over the line, and a lot was expected of him in this summer’s window.
However, with him gone, the Gunners need to find a way to secure deals as he did last summer. If reports are to be believed, Sanllehi’s final two deals as Arsenal chief are hugely impressive.
Raul Sanllehi’s last two moves as Arsenal chief
The Telegraph claimed that the Spaniard started work on two deals before it was announced that he would be leaving the club.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is set to extend his contract at Arsenal after months of speculation. The Gunners skipper has arguably been their best player and him staying is a massive boost for Mikel Arteta ahead of the new season.
That alone is fantastic work from Sanllehi, but his reported second move could prove to be even more impressive if it is true.
The report claims that Arsenal are closing in on signing Gabriel Magalhaes from Lille. The exciting young Brazilian defender has been attracting interest from a number of top clubs but it now looks like the Gunners could win the race.
Arsenal were in a similar situation last year when they were battling other teams to sign a Lille player. Sanllehi’s excellent connections with the French outfit’s bosses helped the Gunners secure a club-record move for Pepe, and the same relationship is set to help seal Gabriel’s signing.
If those two are Sanllehi’s parting gifts for the Gunners, Arsenal fans couldn’t be happier. Here is how a few of them reacted on Twitter.
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