Ivan Gazidis Confirms His Departure To AC Milan: “Change Is Necessary”

Ivan Gazidis set to take up a role as chief executive at AC Milan…

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis has finally confirmed that he will indeed be leaving his post to take up a senior position at AC Milan, a statement on the club’s official website read.

October will be his last month at Arsenal after a decade at the club, a period in which he received massive criticism for a number of reasons.

However, in recent months, it seemed Gazidis was relishing his new-found power and the way he ushered Arsene Wenger out and Unai Emery in was smooth.

He also led a revolution in terms of the backroom staff, while senior figures such as Raul Sanllehi, Sven Mislintat and Huss Fahmy were brought in to help the Spaniard.

It shocked many that – following those changes – Gazidis would want to jump ship and join a project that is a decade behind bars, essentially starting over.

For Gazidis, he’s relishing the challenge of guiding AC Milan through their difficult financial period and bringing them back at the top seat in European football.

“Given this platform, I know many will think this is a strange time to be leaving but I believe it is the right time for me and for the club,” the South African mentioned in his departing statement.

“Change and succession is not only inevitable for a club like Arsenal, it is necessary if it is continually to keep moving forward.

“One of my primary responsibilities as chief executive has been to make sure that there is good succession planning in every position in the club, including my own.”

Gazidis’ reign will always have an asterisk next to it given his comfort at standing behind Arsene Wenger for the past decade. And, after making a call to go with Unai Emery, he hasn’t stuck around to potentially be held accountable for it.