Ex-Arsenal recruitment chief takes Stuttgart post

Sven Mislintat has been hired as Stuttgart's new sporting director, two months after he left his job as head of recruitment with Premier League club Arsenal.

The Gunners hired Mislintat in December 2017 and he was viewed as one of the key figures in their rebuild following long-serving manager Arsene Wenger's exit after the 2017-18 season.

Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira, Matteo Guendouzi and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang all joined the club in Mislintat's time in charge, yet it was announced in January that he would be vacating his position in February.

Having formerly held a post with Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund, Mislintat has returned to Germany to take a job with Stuttgart.

Stuttgart, for whom former Germany international Thomas Hitzlsperger is the head of sport, are currently 16th in the table.

"Sven Mislintat has built a great reputation in his long career and with his knowledge, his network and his way of thinking about football, he fits in perfectly with us," Hitzlsperger said in quotes published on the club's website.

"I am very pleased that he has decided to become part of our team."

Mislintat added: "It is a huge challenge and at the same time a great honour to work for a club like VFB.

"I grew up in the environment of traditional clubs, this atmosphere is very important to me."