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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Simon Collings

Arsenal to appoint James King as new director of football operations

Arsenal are set to appoint James King as their new director of football operations.

King has previously worked at Arsenal and was with the club from 2016 to 2022, before leaving to join the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA).

He worked there as the PFA’s general counsel, but is now returning to Arsenal to become their director of football operations and will start work next month.

The role was previously held by Richard Garlick, who was promoted to managing director this summer after chief executive Vinai Venkatesham left the club.

Arsenal’s executive team has proved a slick operation in recent years, with the club working to tie down all of the squad’s major players.

Manager Mikel Arteta was also tied down to a new contract in the summer after entering the final year of his existing deal.

King worked on commercial deals for the legal team when he was first at Arsenal in 2016, before moving into their football operations department two years later.

He has experience of working with Arsenal’s men’s, women’s and academy teams from his previous time at the club.

Garlick has risen the ranks since joining Arsenal in 2021 in the role that King will now take up next month.

A qualified lawyer, Garlick joined Arsenal from the Premier League - where he was working as their director of football.

Before his time at the Premier League, Garlick held several roles at West Bromwich Albion over an eight-year period (2010-2018), including director of football administration, and he was appointed to the Board of Directors in December 2010.

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