Ex- Barcelona chief Sanllehi becomes top dog as Gazidis leaves Arsenal for AC Milan

Ivan Gazidis has left his role as Arsenal chief executive to join , with duo Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham replacing him at the Emirates.

Sanllehi has been named 'head of football' for , while Venkatesham becomes managing director of the  club.

Both appointments are internal promotions by Arsenal, with Sanllehi having joined as head of football relations in February after spending 16 years at Barcelona.

According to Arsenal's statement on the appointments, published on Twitter on Tuesday morning, Sanllehi 'will lead our football activities' while Venkatesham 'will oversee all business operations'.

Sanllehi : 'Although I joined Arsenal just months ago, I've felt embraced by this great club and part of its family from the first day. I will do everything possible to maintain our strong values which will be as fundamental to our future as they have been in our past.

'I sincerely thank Arsenal's board for their trust in us and thank Ivan for bringing me to this great club, and for consistently supporting me every day, in every way. It's with overwhelming pride and utmost excitement that I face this new opportunity.'

Venkatesham had been chief commercial director since 2010, after working for the London 2012 Olympic organising committee.

Gazidis meanwhile joined Arsenal in November 2008 but leaves after being offered a £1million pay rise to move to .

He was allowed by Arsenal to take an extraordinary amount of time - seven weeks - deliberating his future before choosing to join the Serie A club.

After being held in limbo by their lead administrator for nearly two months, Gazidis - who earned £2.5m at Arsenal - has now finally moved on. AC Milan confirmed in a statement that Gazidis will begin work there on December 1.

-Dailymail