After weeks and weeks of speculation, Corriere dello Sport seemingly have the confirmation Arsenal fans have all been waiting for: Monchi won’t be continuing as Roma’s director of football.
Where the Spaniard heads to after his exit from the Serie A side isn’t said, but, following the club’s elimination from the Champions League, the Italian newspaper appear fairly certain: he ‘will leave’ at the end of the season.
Seemingly blaming himself for the poor season Roma are having (out of Europe and currently fifth in the league), Monchi’s adventure in Italy will end in a ‘probable divorce’, according to Corriere.
This was emphasised on Wednesday when the Spanish chief was absent from the pre-game lunch organised between the two clubs’ boards, preferring to stay with the squad during preparations.
The Italian outlet state that some saw this as a sign he has no intention of continuing in Rome once the campaign comes to a close, which is great news for the Gunners.
Revamping their club behind the scenes, Arsenal have been linked with the Spaniard for a few months now, and while he could also be in the running for Sevilla’s presidency, Monchi’s likeliest destination, according to previous reports, should be the Emirates.
Throughout this whole saga, the message was clear: as long as Eusebio di Francesco was manager, Monchi would stay.
However, with Roma’s exit from the Champions League and qualification for next season’s edition of the competition looking difficult to achieve, that probably won’t be the case much longer.
Somewhere in London, Unai Emery was probably smiling at last night’s score.