Maurizio Micheli has started work at Arsenal ahead of the January transfer window, with the club now having completed the former Napoli chief’s appointment.
Simon Collings reports for The Standard that Maurizio Micheli was in attendance for Arsenal’s game against Brentford earlier this week, with the Gunners now having completed the process of hiring him for a senior recruitment position.
Micheli will work under Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta, having left a similar recruitment position with Serie A club Napoli.
Sami Mokbel had broken the news for the BBC in November that Arsenal were in advanced talks over appointing Micheli, suggesting the 57-year-old was already finalising his move after Berta identified him as a key appointment to his transfer team.
Fabrizio Romano then reported that Micheli had agreed to join, but there was no official confirmation from Arsenal that the move was going ahead.
That confirmation is still pending, but if the recruitment specialist is now sitting in the stands at matches, it seems pretty clear the deal is done.
Micheli had been working for Napoli as their head of scouting since 2018, and he also had a spell at the same club as their chief scout between 2010 and 2015.
In the three years in between, Micheli spent time with Hellas Verona and Bologna.
Micheli has been credited with identifying the likes of Marek Hamsik, Kim Min-jae, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during his time with Napoli, and Arsenal will hope he can prove similarly successful in north London.