Kia Joorabchian has chastised former Arsenal head of recruitment Sven Mislintat for his signings as he insisted that he does not have an undue influence over the Gunners' transfer business.
Joorabchian has close relationships with senior Arsenal figures, most notably head of football Raul Sanllehi and technical director Edu, and helped bring several high profile names to the Gunners over recent months.
David Luiz and Cedric Soares are set to be joined by Willian, who has completed his medical and is set to sign a three year deal in north London. Another of Joorabchian's clients, Philippe Coutinho, has been heavily linked with a move to Arsenal although club sources insist he is not on their radar.
Significantly Joorabchian has also been pictured in the Arsenal directors' box this season and has on several occasions in recent months felt empowered to use media interviews to discuss the club's recruitment policy and changes that need to be made.
In an appearance on Talksport Joorabchian insisted he did not have any undue influence over Arsenal's transfer business before offering a withering assessment of the club's recruitment chief between January 2018 and 2019, Mislintat.
"People forget about the previous guy, Sven," he said.
"He made a bunch of, I don't like to use the word, but, c**k-ups with players he brought in at very, very large numbers."
During his brief tenure in charge of Arsenal's recruitment Mislintat spearheaded moves for three players who he had worked alongside at Borussia Dortmund: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. His tenure also saw the recruitment of Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Bernd Leno, among others.
Mislintat departed after a breakdown in relations with Sanllehi and went on to cite the growing influence of agents as being behind his personal frustration. In particular he was unhappy with Arsenal's decision to pursue a loan move for Denis Suarez in January 2019 rather than give minutes to youngsters such as Emile Smith Rowe and Joe Willock.
Joorabchian's comments are unlikely to ease questions over what influence he holds at the Emirates Stadium. Intermediaries generally shy away from publicly questioning the policy of any club for fear of damaging their relationships in the corridors of power. It seems that Joorabchian does not feel concerned that that could be the case.
One of his clients who it appears will not be joining Arsenal this summer is Joelson Fernandes, the 17-year-old Sporting winger who has been linked with a move in the Portuguese press.
"We have never ever spoken to him about Arsenal," Joorabchian said. "It is so untrue."
Willian, however, is set to arrive in the coming days, with his agent confirming: "He had a fantastic seven years at Chelsea.
"For now, I can't say, but we know where he's going and it will be announced soon."
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