There were many rumours about the boardroom tussles at Arsenal with Ivan Gazidis aiming to bring in more help for Arsene Wenger to manage the team, including a Director of Football and other talented coaches. Well it seems like Ivan has got a small victory in that department with the news from Australia that the Gunners have persuaded the AFL fitness guru Darren Burgess to move back to the Premier League. His official title at Port Adelaide is a high performance manager.
Burgess knows our League well as he previously led the fitness and conditioning department at Liverpool between 2010 and 2013 before joining Port Adelaide.
The news of the agreement was broken on the AFL Sunday Footy Show and according to one of the pundits, Kane Cornes, it will be a massive loss to Port Adelaide. He said: “If he has to leave, it’s almost as big as losing your coach mid-season,”
“That’s how important these people are. This would be a massive blow for Port Adelaide. He’s a genius”
Anyone who has watched Aussie Rules Football will now how much fitness is required to get through each game, so if Burgess is one of the best in his role he could be an excellent addition to Arsenal’s backroom staff, and hopefully the first of many improvements ahead of the new season.
Perhaps Gazidis is showing some influence over Wenger after all…..
Can any of our Australian readers give us some insights into this signing?
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