While Mikel Arteta has led the charge of a revitalised Arsenal on the pitch, he and the club face a tougher task when it comes to running just as smoothly off it.
In recent months the voice of super agent Kia Joorabchian has become more and more familiar to Arsenal fans through appearances on TalkSport, delving into intricacies surrounding the potential deals his clients may be sealing with the club as well as how things are being run behind the scenes.
Today [August 13] saw the 49-year-old's most recent appearance lay blame at the Gunners' former recruitment chief Sven Mislintat before shutting down rumours of a move for Sporting Lisbon's Joelson Fernandes.
"People forget about the previous guy, Sven," he said. "He [Sven] 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.
"We have never ever spoken to him [Fernandes] about Arsenal. It is so untrue [the rumours]"
Although Joorabchian went on to deny he has an overbearing influence on the Gunners transfer business, him having the confidence to speak about their dealings, when certain decisions will be made and what needs to be addressed so freely does little to help settle the noise surrounding him.
Last season, he played a key role in bringing David Luiz and Cedric Soares to north London as well as extending their deals this summer. He is set to do the same with Willian, who is expected to join on a three-year deal worth around £100,000 after the expiration of his Chelsea contract.
These transfers, alongside his close relationship with Arsenal's head of football, Raul Sanllehi and technical director, Edu Gaspar go further to fuelling the discussion around his influence at the club which at this point, serves as an unneeded noise for those tasked with strengthening Mikel Arteta's squad.
Although the club have used their relationship with him to their benefit - signing players that meet the needs of the squad at that moment in time - is having their dirty laundry aired out on such a regular basis really the pay off they need in such a crucial point in their history?
It was just two months ago when, after speculation about Luiz's future arose following his red card at Manchester City, he said : "The situation from Arsenal's point of view will be resolved this week. Not just David Luiz's situation. There are several issues within the whole structure that will be resolved."
While an update on the situation would have sufficed, adding that there were several issues within Arsenal's structure to be resolved creates more questions where there shouldn't have been any. And this was evident again last summer, a month before Luiz signed, when he highlighted areas he felt they needed to improve and why they may not have been able to do so.
"I think finally in the backroom staff, they have people who really understand football and are football people, the question is whether or not the finances will be made available," he said in July 2019.
"If you don’t make the finances available, it is no big secret, you cannot buy strong players, and they have to have to reinforce in defence, in midfield and probably reinforce out wide. Unless the finance is available, it puts a lot of pressure on these guys."
Now, Arsenal were able to get their business done last summer. Leaning on Joorabchian helped in signing Luiz whereas paying in instalments as well as loan deals helped bring Nicolas Pepe, Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos and William Saliba through the door. These deals would probably have been conducted in the same way had those comments not been made but the hysteria around the Gunners' funds would have eased.
Considering the club is becoming more streamlined in regards to their recruitment, with Head of international recruitment Francis Cagigao among a group of scouts to have had redundancy proposed to them on August 5, having people around that they can trust will be incredibly important to building the squad Arteta needs in the coming seasons.
The players he has helped bring to the Emirates will give Joorabchian the credibility he deserves, as Luiz is an instrumental part of Arteta's side, but as the club's business doesn't end with him, ensuring their position isn't weakened in a public domain by what someone they have dealt with regularly over the past year is saying.
Joorabchian being an Arsenal fan may blur the lines as some comments may be more opinion led than based on facts, but him having the confidence to speak so openly in a manner as he did against Mislintat is something that has to be addressed by Sanllehi and Edu to create a more smoother off-field presence for the club.
