Arsenal confirm Mislintat departure

A view of the pitch at Emirates Stadium

Arsenal head of recruitment Sven Mislintat will leave his position on February 8, the Premier League club have confirmed.

Mislintat rose to prominence as highly regarded talent spotter at Borussia Dortmund and was appointed by Arsenal midway through last season.

He appeared set to be a key pillar of Arsenal's behind-the-scenes operation in the post-Arsene Wenger era but has been heavily linked with a role at Bayern Munich over recent weeks.

A statement released by the Gunners read: "Sven has been with us since December 1, 2017 and has done a truly outstanding job in helping us recruit players who are making a big impact now and will do so even more in the future.

"We wish him every success for the future and thank him for his extremely hard work on behalf of Arsenal."

Sven Mislintat will be leaving us on February 8, 2019

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 21, 2019

Mislintat said: "It's been an amazing experience to work at a great club like Arsenal in what has been a big time of change. I am excited about what the future holds for the club and am looking forward to new challenges for myself."

Of the Arsenal XI that beat Chelsea 2-0 on Saturday, five players – Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – were signed on Mislintat's watch over the past two transfer windows.

Arsenal have been heavily linked with a move for Denis Suarez this month, the Barcelona midfielder who played under head coach Unai Emery during his time at Sevilla.