Arsenal will lose two key backroom staff as head doctor Zafar Iqbal partes ways with the club, while Under-21 coach Max Porter will join Stoke City after nine years in north London.
Arsenal sack head doctor Zafar Iqbal (Image: Getty Images)
Arsenal have decided to sack head doctor Zafar Iqbal and are also poised to sack Max Porter, head coach of the Under-21 team. The Gunners reportedly parted ways with Iqbal immediately after losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.
According to the Telegraph, the 51-year-old was called to a meeting on June 1 and told he was being made redundant with immediate effect. A month ago, it was reported that Gunners manager Mikel Arteta had enlisted the help of Spanish physiotherapist Joaquín Acedo.
The move came after the season was hampered by multiple injuries to key players. It remains unclear whether this spell with Ased influenced his choice to part ways with Iqbal.
Dr Iqbal was seen celebrating with his team on the pitch when Arsenal were presented with the Premier League trophy at Selhurst Park. A few weeks later he was relieved of his duties.
This is an important change for the Gunners, even if there are still months until the new campaign. They will also lose Porter, the under-21 team coach who has also worked with the first team.
He will join Stoke City after nine years in various capacities in north London. He moved to the capital in July 2017 to coach Under-9s football, and has since held positions with the Under-13s, Under-17s and Under-19s teams, before becoming assistant coach for the Under-21s in July 2022.
Max Porter to leave Arsenal (Image: Getty Images)
Porter was appointed as Under-21 manager last summer after Mehmet Ali moved to Brentford as first-team assistant coach under Keith Andrews. Porter will now join Stoke in a similar role.
He will work with the Championship side as part of Mark Robins’ backroom team. Porter was highly regarded in north London and helped establish the first team.
He will need all kinds of experience to make his mark at Stoke. The Potters had a dismal performance in the Championship last season, finishing a lowly 17th place.
They got off to a good start and were still in the play-off spots in round 19, but a 4-0 defeat against Sheffield United was a turning point that caused a dramatic downturn. Stoke fell out of the top six and although a brief resurgence suggested a late play-off place, poor performances once again plagued them.
Robbins has since been retained as manager by the club, with Porter’s appointment seen as a vote of confidence for the former Coventry City manager. The former Arsenal manager is expected to fill the vacancy left by Paul Nevin, who resigned as assistant manager in February.
For now, it remains unclear who will replace Porter within the club’s academy structure.
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