London, Aug 15 (IANS): Arsenal confirmed on Saturday that they have parted ways with Head of Football Raul Sanllehi. Managing Director Vinai Venkatesham takes his place in the role.

Sanllehi has been with the North London giants since February 2018. He initially was the Head of Football Relations before being promoted to Head of Football after the departure of club CEO Ivan Gazidis.

He has, however, come under criticism of late due to Arsenal's transfers since then, especially after the club recently decided to launch an internal investigation on whether they had overpaid in coughing up a club record 72 million pounds for Nicolas Pepe.

"Raul has made a big contribution during his time with us and will always be part of the Arsenal family. We thank him for all his hard work and expertise and wish him every future success," said owners Stan and Josh Kroenke in a statement.

"We have no doubt that Vinai is the right person to take the club forward. He has shown outstanding leadership during the current crisis and is held in high regard internally and externally. We know everyone will rally round him so we can move forward successfully."

"I am proud to have been part of its history and I thank Stan and Josh Kroenke for this opportunity. Working with Vinai, we have built a top team for the future. Mikel has made an extremely positive impact since his arrival and has formed a strong team with our technical director, Edu," said Sanllehi.

"The academy is in very safe hands with Per, and Huss Fahmy is a talented and highly-capable leader of our football operations. Personally, I now look forward to taking some time off and spending time with family and friends before setting to work on a new challenge and cheering Arsenal on to great things," he added.