If you can’t beat ‘em, hire ‘em: Arsenal bags Bayern Munich talent guru

Arsenal FC, one of the London clubs whose scalp adorns the Bayern Munich front office at Sabener Strasse, has hired Florian Bluchel to be their next International First Team Scout. Bluchel, who has spent the last 10 seasons with Bayern was responsible for Bayern’s scouting of potential transfers in Italy, Spain and North America with Alphonso Davies being his most notable success.

Arsenal are certainly no strangers to scouting Germany, and hiring the young (37 years old) Bluchel will certainly help bolster their scouting department. Arsenal, who find themselves out of European competition this season, are only two points outside of the top four in the Premier League and could be poised to make a jump after the winter break to get back into the Champions League.

Bolstering their scouting department is a big step to helping them get there. No news yet as to who will replace Bluchel at Bayern, but the foundation is at least there for continued success in those areas of the world and with the success of Davies and Chris Richards, there should be more focus put on North America as a legitimate talent pool.