Spurs hire ex-Arsenal executive Vinai Venkatesham as CEO

LONDON (AP) — Tottenham said Friday it will hire former Arsenal CEO Vinai Venkatesham as chief executive in a surprising move between the north London soccer rivals.

Venkatesham will join Tottenham in the offseason, the club said in a statement, one year after he ended a 14-year spell at Arsenal, including four as CEO.

The move reunites Venkatesham with Tottenham executive chairman Daniel Levy after they were colleagues at the European Club Association. They were elected together in 2021 to the executive board of the clubs' group which has huge influence at UEFA, shaping the commercial and sporting strategy of the Champions League.

Venkatesham will join Tottenham after a troubled season for the club, which sits 14th in the 20-team Premier League despite having what is widely seen as the best stadium in England and one of its most lucrative. It hosts NFL games each season.

Tottenham's last realistic chance of qualifying for a UEFA competition with under-fire coach Ange Postecoglou is by winning the Europa League in order to enter the Champions League.

Arsenal is set to be runner-up in the Premier League for the third straight year and on Tuesday beat Real Madrid 3-0 in the Champions League quarterfinals that was perhaps its best European performance for nearly 20 years.

Both rivals have reached one Champions League final, with Tottenham losing in 2019 to Liverpool and Arsenal losing in 2006 to Barcelona.

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