Sven Mislintat fears Arsenal expect him to sign an Ousmane Dembele every window

Arsenal's new head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, fears that he has to sign a player of the calibre of Ousmane Dembele in every transfer window following his appointment at the Emirates.

The German, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund, has taken up the role vacated by long-time head of scouting Steve Rowley. Mislintat has been with the Bundesliga club for 10 years and is expected to work closely with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis to scout new talents and bring more promising players to north London.

The 45-year-old has been credited with helping Dortmund land the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa, Mats Hummels and Dembele among others.

Dembele signed a five-year contract with Barcelona after joining the club in a deal worth €105m (£96.8m, $125m) plus add-ons, becoming the second-most expensive footballer in the world in the process.

Mislintat, however, thinks that such expectations bring with them a lot of pressure and the press in Germany and England now expect him to set the same high standards with every addition.

"Going by the press in England and Germany, they expect me to sign a Dembele in each transfer window," he told Kicker, as quoted by Goal. "I'm being put on an incredibly high pedestal."

Mislintat's time at Dortmund ended on bad terms after a falling out with former manager Thomas Tuchel, leaving CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke to apologise for the club's behaviour towards their star man. However, Mislintat is ready to let bygones be bygones and move on to the next task.

"There were many things in that time that I would have preferred to do without, and the same goes for Thomas Tuchel too, probably. In the end, it damaged us all," he added. "I only said that this time inspired me to do something different. There was not just one reason.

"I'm not mad at anyone, on the contrary, I find it extremely brave what Watzke said at the membership and shareholder meeting. To take responsibility in a difficult phase for the club has my greatest respect."