After missing out on Marc Overmars and Monchi, Arsenal have reportedly turned to Andoni Zubizarreta and Roberto Fernández as they look to hire a Technical Director.

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 19:  (L-R) FC Barcelona Sport Director Andoni Zubizarreta and Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona pose for the media during a press conference as part of his presentation as new FC Barcelona player at Camp Nou on August 19, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain.  (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 19: (L-R) FC Barcelona Sport Director Andoni Zubizarreta and Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona pose for the media during a press conference as part of his presentation as new FC Barcelona player at Camp Nou on August 19, 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Both men are former players with Valencia and Barcelona and, of course, both are Spanish as Raul Sanllehi and Unai Emery try to move Arsenal on from their French ways.

Arsenal are said to be in no rush to make the appointment which is handy as they’ve been denied their first three choices (Edu was also another they were keen on but who didn’t want to move).

Olympique de Marseille's newly recruited Italian forward Mario Balotelli (C) poses with his new jersey flanked by the club's president Jacques Henry Eyraud (R) and sport director Andoni Zubizareta (L) on January 23, 2019 at the Robert-Louis Dreyfus stadium in the southern port city of Marseille. (Photo by Boris HORVAT / AFP)
Olympique de Marseille’s newly recruited Italian forward Mario Balotelli (C) poses with his new jersey flanked by the club’s president Jacques Henry Eyraud (R) and sport director Andoni Zubizareta (L) on January 23, 2019 at the Robert-Louis Dreyfus stadium in the southern port city of Marseille. (Photo by Boris HORVAT / AFP)

Zubizarreta, a former goalkeeper who played for Athletic Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia, was once the most capped player in Spain’s history. He also represented them at four World Cups and three Euros.

He was named as Barcelona’s Director of Football in 2010 but was sacked in 2015 before signing with Marseille in 2016.

Roberto Fern%C3%A1ndez
Roberto

Fernández, known simply as ‘Roberto’ is a former midfielder who also played for both Barcelona and Valencia.

In 2015 he returned to Barcelona as a director. He left in the summer of 2018 when his contract expired and was replaced by Eric Abidal.