Arsenal director resigns as Mikel Arteta set to receive further backing at board level
Mikel Arteta is due to receive greater backing from the Arsenal board after Tim Lewis resigned from his position at Clifford Chance.
Arsenal director Tim Lewis has resigned from his position at Clifford Chance to focus more on his role at Arsenal.
Arsenal are to receive greater support at board level after non-executive director Tim Lewis resigned from his position as a partner at law firm Clifford Chance. This is set to have an impact on the club for the short and long term.
He will now focus more with his work at Arsenal, according to The Athletic. Lewis is an Arsenal fan and has already been working with the north London side for a considerable amount of time with his influence contributing heavily to where the executive structure finds itself today.
Lewis advised Stan Kroenke through the 2007-2018 period where KSE invested more and more money into Arsenal before buying it outright. Lewis has been a relatively behind-the-scenes operator at the club although did feature in the recent Amazon: All or Nothing series.
He was seen speaking with Arteta about the Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang controversy which gave some insight into his role at the club. Specifically, helping Arteta to find the right way to back his decision to move the Gabon striker on.
“He went and made a mistake,” Tim Lewis is seen saying to Arteta in an informal meeting in the break room at London Colney. “Which you reacted to, quite rightly, and you’ve made your position clear.
“A lot’s going to depend on how we get Auba out? Can we get him out?”
Lewis is then spoken to by Amazon about his role and relationship with Arteta. He is clear that everything that Arteta does is done with a team that includes him supporting him.
“The relationship with Mikel is not transactional, it’s a relationship. He is the manager.
“So, on something like Aubameyang, I am here to support him, challenge him, help him, when he asks for help to respond. I don’t give him football advice, that would be ludicrous.
“I know clearly all the pressure is on him [because] he’s the guy out there in the public domain, addressing the questions that are put to us, but it is a team behind him that’s making that happen.”
With Lewis now focusing more on his role at Arsenal, Arteta is set to receive even more support from those above him. This is certainly good news considering the club have worked hard to help build a squad the Spaniard wants and back potentially controversial decisions that split opinions among the fanbase.
The answers given by Lewis should also give some clarity around what the directors are doing from an ‘on the pitch’ side which, quite bluntly, is nothing. This is a good thing with the expertise of the manager and his coaches not muddled by opinions of those without those same qualities.
The football people are dealing with the football challenges. Whereas the executives remain focused on the challenges Arsenal need to face off the field and support Arteta when and where they need to.
