Arsenal confirm appointment of Sven Mislintat as new head of recruitment

Arsenal have confirmed the appointment of Sven Mislintat as the club's new head of recruitment with responsibilities across the first-team and the academy.

The German, who arrives from Borussia Dortmund, will take up the role vacated by long-time head of scouting Steve Rowley. Mislintat has been with the Bundesliga club for 10 years and will now work closely with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis when he begins work in December.

The 45-year-old has been credited with helping the club land the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa, Mats Hummels and Ousmane Dembele among others. Wenger was delighted to welcome the German to the club and is hoping he can take Arsenal's recruitment forward.

"We are delighted that Sven is joining us. Identifying and developing talent is a core part of our philosophy and Sven has an outstanding track record over many years. We look forward to him taking our existing recruitment approach forwards," Wenger said after his appointment, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

The Gunners' boss was also quick to praise Rowley, who will vacate his head of scouting role, having been responsible for unearthing a number of talents during his 25-year stay with the club. However, the club have revealed that he will continue working on an ad-hoc basis.

"We would like to thank Steve Rowley for all his hard work over many years for the club. He has been a key figure in our recruitment of so many top players and has travelled thousands and thousands of miles, watching hundreds of games for us during his time at the club. We wish him well for the future," the Arsenal manager added.

Mislintat, who has been nicknamed "Diamond Eye", will begin work with the north London club in December and it remains to be seen if he has already identified potential targets for the upcoming January transfer window.