Ex-Arsenal director makes Andrea Berta transfer admission after Edu exit

Arsenal face a defining period in their history with the work done by Andrea Berta putting them in a position to win a first Premier League title since 2004

Former Arsenal technical director James Ellis has admitted the Gunners' move for sporting director Andrea Berta has seen an 'evolution' in their transfer strategy amid their ultimate aim of winning trophies. The Premier League leaders are aiming to win a first league title in 22 years.

Mikel Arteta's side sit six points clear at the summit with six league fixtures left to play. The Gunners are also through to the Champions League semi-finals as they aim to lift a trophy they have never before won in their history.

Arsenal have been transformed into a team who are now regularly hunting for the game's biggest titles. The north London side endured several years of mediocrity in the latter part of Arsene Wenger's reign, then under Unai Emery, before eventually being restored under Arteta after an initial period of turbulence under the Spaniard.

However, they have failed to win a major trophy since lifting the 2020 FA Cup and have been labelled as a team which falls short after three successive Premier League runners-up spots. Nevertheless, they still have a chance of joining Manchester United in 2008 and Manchester City in 2023, as the only English sides this century to win the league and Champions League in the same season, with the latter also claiming a treble.

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And Ellis, who left the Emirates Stadium in February as part of a restructuring, has spoken to BBC Sport on how the Gunners are aiming for success. The club appointed Berta in March 2025 to help with their transfer strategy, with the former Atletico Madrid man preceded by ex-Gunners sporting director Edu, his interim successor Jason Ayto and former club director Tim Lewis.

He said: "The change from Edu to Jason to Andrea was an evolution for the club and one natural in any performance environment.

"There were different approaches, but the goal was the same - to support a high-performing first team winning trophies.

"And as you can see now, they are very nearly there. All three of them are very different people, who have very different strengths, and all have made a contribution to where the club are now."

Ellis has no hard feelings over his exit and hopes to see Arteta's men finally get over the line this season after so many near misses. Arsenal return to action on Sunday away at second-placed City with the chance to move nine points clear of Pep Guardiola's side with just five games remaining.

The 46-year-old said: "Of course, it would have been nice to stay around to see what, hopefully, unfolds. However, it was not meant to be and I just hope for everyone - and I mean everyone - that there is a sense of happiness, contentment and joy at the end of the season.

"Of course it would be a wonderful achievement for Mikel, staff, the players their families. But also for those who have been at the club for a number of years, those who have contributed to getting to this point. The staff that are in the background, that no-one knows - it is for those people I will be really happy for.

"I am a lifelong Arsenal supporter, so I will just now be the fan - a supporter that looks on hopefully when success comes the club's way. The fact that I have managed to work at my boyhood club is an added bonus."