Arsenal have appointed outgoing Barcelona director of football Raul Sanllehi as head of football relations, reports Sky Sports.

Sanllehi is set to start in his new role at the Emirates in February, with his time at Barcelona coming to an end in December after 14 years at the club.

As head of football relations, Sanllehi will be in charge of player negotiations, working with manager Arsene Wenger, chief executive Ivan Gazidis and contract negotiator Huss Fahmy.

Gazidis told Arsenal's website: "In the past three years we have supplemented our team with more top-class expertise across every aspect of our football operations.

"Raul's appointment is another important step in developing the infrastructure we need at the club to take everything we do to the next level. Raul has extensive contacts across the football world and has been directly involved in some of the biggest transfers in Europe in recent years. We look forward to him bringing that expertise to Arsenal."