Arsenal snatches scouting savant Sven Mislintat from Borussia Dortmund

Spirits are high at Arsenal, and for good reason, as days after topping hated rival Tottenham in the north London derby, the Gunners have signed recruitment expert Sven Mislintat from Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal announced the move Monday, adding Mislintat will assume the role of head of recruitment in December "with responsibilities across the first team and academy."

"We are delighted that Sven is joining us. Identifying and developing talent is a core part of our philosophy and Sven has an outstanding track record over many years. We look forward to him taking our existing recruitment approach forwards," Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said.

A key cog of Dortmund's recruitment process, Mislintat, 45, is credited with luring the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Shinji Kagawa, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Ousmane Dembele to the Westfalenstadion since he joined the Bundesliga giant in 2009.

For Arsenal, Mislintat's hiring amounts to a massive backroom shake-up, and in theory, marks a plan that depends less on Wenger's absolute power at the club and more so on distributing duties evenly across several people.

In light of Mislintat's appointment, long-serving chief scout Steve Rowley has stepped down after 25 years with the club.