Arsenal are expected to be one of the busier English sides during the summer window after missing out on this year’s Premier League title to Liverpool by 10 points, and sporting director Andrea Berta is set for a key role.
Andrea Berta tipped for influential summer at Arsenal
Spanish football expert and reliable journalist, Guillem Balague, shared an intriguing bit of information about Berta following the Italian’s arrival at N5.
£50m star could now reject Arsenal move and sign new deal after talks
He also snubbed an exit last summer.
ByEmilio GalantiniJun 4, 2025
Following 12 productive years at Atlético Madrid, where he played a key role in shaping Diego Simeone’s quality current squad, Balague said that Berta is widely considered one of the best sporting directors in football by those within the beautiful game.
“You have to say that he was the architect of the Atletico Madrid that won the league twice, got to the Champions League final twice, won the Europa League,” Balague told TNT Sports.
“That’s him working alongside Simeone in a very discreet way. He doesn’t give interviews, doesn’t give press conferences. We don’t know personally much about him, but certainly he’s a top negotiator and considered one of the best in the business.
19/20 – winter
£0
20/21 – summer
£81.5m
20/21 – winter
£900k
21/22 – summer
£156.8m
21/22 – winter
£1.8m
22/23 – summer
£121.5m
22/23 – winter
£59m
23/24 – summer
£208m
23/24 – winter
£0
24/25 – summer
£101.5m
24/25 – winter
£0
“They went for him because he wants to create, alongside Mikel Arteta, a winning culture. This is a guy that’s done very well in the context of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“They have more money, and yet he managed to get that extra bit that Arsenal doesn’t seem to get.”
This summer window is imperative for Arsenal, and Berta has the almighty task of reshaping their squad to mount a much more convincing Premier League title challenge next season.
Their lack of a prolific striker was a serious achilles heel over the course of 2024/2025, especially factoring in Kai Havertz’s and Gabriel Jesus’ injury lay-offs, with Arsenal said to be working on moves for both Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.
According to the BBC’s Sami Mokbel, Arsenal are currently working to confirm the frameworks of both deals, before deciding which striker to formally pursue.
Arsenal "only" club to hold "concrete talks" for Benjamin Sesko
As Mikel Arteta’s side take their time to weigh up which deal is best for the club, Gyokeres or Sesko, Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg suggests Arsenal are in pole position for the latter.
While Man Utd have expressed an interest, Plettenberg writes that Arsenal are the only club to hold “concrete talks” for Sesko so far, meaning Berta is facing little competition in pursuit of the Slovenian as things stand.
Called an “extremely quick” striker, Sesko is fresh off the back of a career-best Bundesliga campaign, scoring 21 goals in all competitions and bettering his tally of 18 from 2023/2024.
While these numbers appear modest, Sesko’s physical attributes and potential to improve at just 22-years-old make him a very tempting potential signing, with his release clause set at around £70 million.