Gazidis attracted by ‘unique’ structure of Arsenal

NEW Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis maintains the “unique” structure of the club made them the only destination for which he would have left his role as Major League Soccer deputy commissioner.

The 44-year-old South Africa-born Oxford graduate will take up his new post in January after a 14-year association with the American organisation he helped establish as the Gunners long search for Keith Edelman’s replacement comes to an end.

Gazidis — a qualified solicitor who formerly lived a stone’s throw from Highbury — describes himself as a “football guy”.