Why Arsenal didn’t appoint Aston Villa-bound Roberto Olabe, despite previous Mikel Arteta interest

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Aston Villa are saying goodbye to Monchi – and are poised to welcome former Arsenal target Roberto Olabe to Villa Park.

Aston Villa’s torrid start to the season has seen Unai Emery’s side score just one goal in the Premier League.

Even when faced with a 10-man Sunderland side on Sunday, Villa still couldn’t secure a victory.

Villa have now made a big decision, with sporting director Monchi leaving Villa Park after just over two years in the job.

Villa will hire Roberto Olabe as Monchi’s replacement, moving quickly to replace one Spaniard with another.

• READ MORE: Roberto Olabe can be instrumental in Aston Villa signing ‘world-class’ £52m star, Unai Emery needs him

Why Arsenal backed away from Roberto Olabe despite Mikel Arteta’s interest

Olabe left his post at Real Sociedad this past summer, having announced his intention to leave in November 2024.

The 57-year-old will join Villa with a strong reputation, having struck some brilliant deals with La Real.

Olabe signed the likes of Alexander Isak and Takefusa Kubo at Real, and will now look to land quality signings for Villa as well.

Olabe has been eyed for a Premier League job in the past, as Arsenal considered him to replace Edu earlier this year.

Arsenal were keen on Olabe, but a deal failed to materialise and Andrea Berta made the move to North London instead.

The Daily Mail suggested that Mikel Arteta was keen on the deal, as Olabe actually coached him at Real Sociedad in the early 2000s.

The explanation given was that Olabe wanted time out of the game, and a move to Arsenal just didn’t line up for him timing-wise.

Olabe may now feel reinvigorated after being without a club for the summer transfer window, and he will be raring to go with Villa.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
16	BurnleyBurnley	5	1	1	3	5	8	-3	4
17	BrentfordBrentford	5	1	1	3	6	10	-4	4
18	Aston VillaAston Villa	5	0	3	2	1	5	-4	3
19	West HamWest Ham	5	1	0	4	5	13	-8	3
20	WolvesWolves	5	0	0	5	3	12	-9	0

Aston Villa’s summer recruitment yet to pay off

Villa were a little restricted in the transfer market by PSR, meaning Jacob Ramsey was sold to Newcastle United to raise funds.

Villa were able to bring in Evann Guessand from Nice, but the Ivorian forward has struggled to make an impact so far.

Loan signings Harvey Elliott and Jadon Sancho are still settling in, while Marco Bizot and Victor Lindelof have been added as depth.

None of those additions have sparked Villa into life, though they will hope to thrive as they settle in at Villa Park.

If Villa don’t start scoring goals and picking up results in the coming weeks and months, Olabe may just be tasked with finding January additions to turn the season around.