Dr Zafar Iqbal, Arsenal's head of sports medicine, has been sacked shortly after the Champions League final loss to Paris Saint-Germain, with the club also losing Under-21s head coach Max Porter to Stoke City.
Iqbal, 51, was called to a meeting on June 1 and informed his position had been terminated with immediate effect, according to The Telegraph. The decision came just weeks after he was spotted celebrating with the squad on the pitch at Selhurst Park when Arsenal received the Premier League trophy.
“Arsenal sack head doctor Zafar Iqbal and lose Under-21s coach Max Porter to Stoke.”
The medical practitioner arrived at Emirates Stadium in 2024, replacing Gary O'Driscoll who left to join Manchester United. He had previously worked at Crystal Palace and Liverpool. The reasons for his departure are unclear, but Arsenal's squad sustained a number of key injuries throughout the season. One month earlier, manager Mikel Arteta had enlisted the assistance of Spanish physio Joaquín Acedo, though it remains unclear whether that influenced the decision to part with Iqbal.
Max Porter, meanwhile, is set to join Stoke City after nine years at Arsenal. He began as an Under-9s football coach in July 2017, before progressing through the ranks to become Under-21s assistant coach in July 2022. He was appointed manager of the Under-21s last summer, following Mehmet Ali's move to Brentford as assistant first team coach.
Porter, who is held in extremely high regard and also contributed to the first team set-up, will link up with Stoke as part of Mark Robins' backroom team. He will fill the vacancy left by Paul Nevin, who departed as assistant manager in February. Stoke endured a miserable Championship campaign last season, finishing 17th after a promising start that unravelled following a 4-0 defeat to Sheffield United. Robins was kept on as manager, and Porter's appointment is seen as a vote of confidence.
For now, it remains unclear who will succeed Iqbal at Arsenal, though the process of replacing him is underway.