​Arsenal are hoping to appoint former winger Marc Overmars as their technical director as they look to resolve their recruitment troubles.

With rumours suggesting current head of recruitment ​Sven Mislintat is set to leave the club after failing to be considered for the director role, Arsenal have reportedly been forced to look for potential replacements for the German.

News of ​Arsenal’s plans for Overmans comes from the ​Mirror, who state that Arsenal are impressed with Overmars’ part in Ajax’s overwhelmingly successful recruitment network in recent years. 

As the club’s director of football, Overmars has been responsible for the development of the likes of Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, who have both been heavily linked with monumental moves to many of Europe’s elite sides, with ​Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain thought to be the likely destinations for the pair.

Overmars has also authorised moves for the likes of ​Christian Eriksen, ​Toby Alderweireld and ​Davinson Sanchez, who all flourished at the club before securing moves to ​Tottenham Hotspur. 

The Dutchman spent three years with Arsenal between 1997 and 2000, and he was a key part of the club’s ​Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998. He went on to secure a move to Barcelona, but still retains several close friends at Arsenal.

Mislintat is thought to be considering a return to the ​Bundesliga with ​Bayern Munich after clashing with Arsenal’s director of football Raul Sanllehi during their search for a technical director. 

The pair are also said to have disagreed on recruitment strategies, with Mislintat reportedly feeling undermined in his role of head of recruitment. 

As a result, Bayern are said to have offered the 46-year-old a position at the club after seeing Mislintat’s stunning recruitment successes with rivals ​Borussia Dortmund.

During Mislintat’s time with Dortmund, the club unearthed the likes of ​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and ​Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who have both since moved to Arsenal, and Bayern are keen for someone like Mislintat to oversee their rebuilding process.

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​Jermaine Jenas has revealed his support of Arsenal manager Unai Emery, who has come under fire for his decision to continuously omit Mesut Ozil from the team’s starting lineup.

Ozil has not featured for the Gunners since late December and has started just one of Arsenal’s last 11 matches. Emery has faced lots of criticism after dropping the Germany international, who is one of the Premier League’s highest earners.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live Sport, Jenas insisted that ​Arsenal fans should commend Emery’s bold decision. He is quoted by the ​Daily Star as saying:  “He’s not using ​Mesut Ozil now. Mesut Ozil is one of the most criticised players in the ​Premier League, and probably by their own fans, on the basis that he’s not doing it.

“If he’s not playing, he’s not playing for a reason. The manager is seeing him day in day out. He’ll be asking Mesut Ozil to do certain things that Mesut Ozil is not prepared to do.

“Now, do Arsenal football club want a manager that is prepared to stamp his authority and say ‘I don’t care what your name is, this is the way we’re all going to play, and you’re all on the same level and for this club to move forward [we will do it that way]’?

“How many years have we watched Arsenal sugarcoat Mesut Ozil?”

Since joining Arsenal in 2013, Ozil has drawn the frustrations of several fans for his perceived lack of effort. At times, he has been described as a ‘luxury player’ – someone with immense talent but a diminished work ethic.

His status as one of world football’s most creative midfielders is widely accepted, and the former ​Real Madrid star has often proved why he is such a valuable asset for both club and country. However, Ozil’s role under Emery was immediately brought into question by many as he was fielded out of position by the Spaniard.

After starting the season as a winger, Ozil eventually found himself returned to his favoured central role. However, when operating with a traditional attacking midfielder, Emery has instead favoured ​Aaron Ramsey, despite the Welshman’s imminent departure from the club.

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​Rio Ferdinand has suggested that Arsenal want to sign new players in the January transfer window, despite having a limited budget this month.

Unai Emery declared earlier in the month that his side could only afford to sanction loan signings during the current transfer window, with Barcelona midfielder Denis Suarez widely reported to have emerged as their primary target.

Speaking as a pundit for BT Sport during ​Arsenal’s 2-0 win over ​Chelsea on Saturday, former ​Manchester United defender Ferdinand said of the situation at the Emirates, via the ​Express: “They will be seeing the things that are going on in the media.

“They will be looking at the fact there is no backing financially at the moment. They want players to come through the door.

“This Arsenal team are where I expected them to be at this stage of the season.”

Ferdinand insisted that Emery is doing as much as can realistically be expected to improve his Gunners side but admitted that one thing surprised him during Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat away to ​West Ham last weekend.

“I didn’t expect them to break into the top four with the squad they have,” Ferdinand added. “I think the manager is doing as much as I expected at this point.

“Tactically, last week I saw something that I haven’t seen all season. They looked like a team that are disjointed. They played 4-3-3 and really struggled.”

Arsenal’s lack of funds for this month’s transfer window comes in stark contrast to last January when ​Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was recruited from ​Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee, whilst ​Mesut Ozil was handed a record-breaking new contract at the club.

With such hefty spending having seemingly taken a toll on Arsenal’s finances this month, the Gunners will look to continue their steady progress under Emery for the remainder of the season on a modest budget.

The north London side take on Manchester United in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday as Emery looks to take another step towards crowning his debut season at the Emirates with a trophy.

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Arsenal put in an outstanding display as they ran out comfortable 2-0 winners over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners made a quick start to the game and went in front just after the ten minute mark. Hector Bellerin put a powerful cross into the box which Alexandre Lacazette controlled brilliantly, before he then shot on the turn and beat Kepa Arrizabalaga at his near post to send the Emirates into a frenzy.

​Chelsea began to see more of the ball after falling behind but were left frustrated by a stern ​Arsenal defence who weren’t letting anything get past them. Then on the stroke of half time, the home side doubled their lead.

A free kick was whipped deep into the box with the ball falling to Sokratis on the edge of the area, who then put the ball back into the area with the outside of his foot and found his centre back partner Laurent Koscienly. The Frenchman tried to direct a header on goal, but instead the ball came off his shoulder and looped into the back of the Chelsea goal to make it 2-0.

The home side looked to be cruising into half time with a comfortable lead but were given something to think about as Marcos Alonso’s header from a corner struck the post on the verge of the break.

The second half followed a similar pattern to that of the first, with Chelsea enjoying possession but creating very little. Arsenal did enough to secure an important win and gave the fans a lot to cheer about. 

Check out our breakdown of Saturday night’s events below.

ARSENAL

Key Talking Point

Arsenal fans would’ve been looking for a response from their team after the disappointing defeat to West Ham in their last game, and boy did they get one. 

They came out firing in the first half and after getting their noses in front kept the pressure high on Chelsea, with the visitors having no answer to Arsenal’s attacking threat.

Their high pressure style of play continued from the first whistle right until the last and had the fans on their feet for the majority of the game, seemingly giving the players a second wind of energy when they needed it the most.

It was an important win which closed the gap between the two sides to just three points, leaving the Gunners just one place below the ​Premier League’s top four.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Leno (7); Bellerin (7), Sokratis (7), Koscielny (8), Kolasinac (8); Torreira (7), Xhaka (7), Guendouzi (7); Ramsey (8), Lacazette (9), Aubameyang (7). 

Substitutes: Maitland-Niles (6), Iwobi (6), Elneny (6). 

STAR MAN – It was a much-needed win for Arsenal, and ​Lacazette stole the show on the night. He gave his side an early lead thanks to a very well worked individual goal, and continued to pester the Chelsea back line.

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Not only was he effective going forward, he tracked back and put in a number of very well-timed tackles to win the ball back for his team when they really needed it. He got a standing ovation when he was subbed off and rightfully so after what was a fine performance from the Frenchman.

WORST PLAYER – He didn’t have a bad game at all, but on a night where there were a number of star performers, Lucas Torreira had a relatively quiet game. He did what he had to do in the middle of the park and kept things tidy but didn’t make an outstanding contribution to the game.

It was more the case of his teammates simply outshining him, although Torreira won’t be too disappointed with his showing on the night.

CHELSEA

Key Talking Point

Right from the first whistle, Chelsea just never looked at the races on the night. They were overwhelmed by an Arsenal attack who looked possessed at times, and they had no answer to the onslaught.

They fell behind early on and, despite having a lot of the ball, never really created any chances of note as they struggled to break down a stern Arsenal backline. Their lack of a presence up front was very evident and is an issue which will likely be addressed in the coming days.

It was a night to forget for the fans who would’ve left the ground with very few positives to take from the game.

Player Ratings

Starting XI: Kepa (5); Azpilicueta (5), Rudiger (6), Luiz (6), Alonso (7); Kante (6), Jorginho (6), Kovacic (6); Pedro (6), Hazard (6), Willian (6).

Substitutes: Barkley (6), Giroud (6), Hudson-Odoi (6).

STAR MAN – On a night where there were very few good performances, Alonso proved to be Chelsea’s biggest threat at both ends of the pitch. 

He went closest to scoring for Chelsea when he saw his header come off the outside of the post on the stroke of half time, and proved to be a threat down the left hand side.

Even in defence, he made a number of well-timed challenges and had it not been for him, the score line could’ve been a lot worst for the Blues. It wasn’t Alonso’s finest performance in a Chelsea shirt at all, but he can at least hold his head up high on what was a disappointing night for the club.

WORST PLAYER – He’s usually known as Mr Reliable for Chelsea, but Cesar Azpilicueta struggled to hold down the right hand side for his team. Going up against both Sead Kolasinac and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Spaniard had no answer to Arsenal’s attacking threat and suffered the consequences as a result.

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It wasn’t just his defensive performance which was poor. He made a number of silly mistakes whilst in possession and never proved to be a threat going forward on what proved a night to forget.

Looking Ahead

The win was exactly what Arsenal needed going into their FA Cup clash with Manchester United on Friday night, whilst it wasn’t ideal preparation for Chelsea who will look for a much improved performance when they host Tottenham in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi final on Thursday. ​

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​German football journalist Raphael Honigstein has insisted James Rodriguez will see out the remainder of his two-year loan at Bayern Munich, while labelling a recent rumour linking him with a move to Arsenal as a ‘crazy story’.

The 27-year-old has entered the final six months of a two-year loan deal with the Bavarian club, having joined from parent club Real Madrid in 2017, with the Colombia international scoring 11 goals and providing 16 assists during his time at the Allianz Arena.

With the midfielder’s future somewhat uncertain, ​Arsenal have been linked with a move for 2014 World Cup Golden Boot winner on loan, although Honigstein is adamant he won’t be moving to the Emirates this season.

Speaking on The Gooner Talk, as quoted by ​The Express, he said: “I don’t quite know where the story comes from. James Rodriguez is on a two-year loan at Bayern at the moment, he’s approaching the last six months of that loan.

“Bayern have paid €10-12m for those years and they have an option to make the move permanent by paying €42m. I don’t see what Bayern would gain now from breaking the loan short and giving him to Arsenal for half a year, I don’t even know how you would structure that.

“If the player says he doesn’t want to stay here, then he goes back to Real Madrid and they can decide what they want to do. He would now somehow be released three quarters into a two-year loan just when Bayern don’t have Thomas Muller for the next two Champions League games.

“It’s just a crazy story, I just don’t even understand who even had the imagination to come up with it.”

​James Rodriguez recently impressed for ​Bayern, who ​have been linked with signing the midfielder permanently, as they returned to Bundesliga action with a 3-1 win against Hoffenheim, with current boss, Niko Kovac, calling for him to ‘play for his future’ at Die Roten.

Kovac said: “The competition is very big, but anyone can earn [their place]. All the players signing a contract here know that you can be out of the team.

“James is playing for his future. I expect him to keep pushing. I see that he is motivated and focused, he wants to play more than in the past. As a coach, I can only rate what I see on the pitch, which is the standard for him, but also for everyone else. Nothing else matters.”

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