Wenger looks to have lost his battle for continued control over Arsenal transfers (Picture: Getty)

Arsene Wenger is set to lose a key ally at Arsenal with chief scout Steve Rowley on the brink of leaving the Gunners, according to reports.

Rowley has been at the north London club for over 35 years and has had a long and fruitful partnership with Wenger during that time.

It was the Frenchman who made Rowley chief scout in 1996, but according to the Daily Mail he has now been made the scapegoat for Arsenal’s recent transfer blunders.

The Gunners have lost pace with the rest of the Premier League’s title challengers, dropping out of the top four last season, with much of that owing to their poor recruitment.

The Mail report that Rowley has told scouting colleagues that he’s ‘had enough’ and will step down from his position imminently.

Gazidis is believed to have been trying to change Arsena’s recruitment structure for years (Getty)

In his place, chief executive Ivan Gazidis is likely to take a bigger role in recruitment, spending more time at the training ground.

Gazidis wanted to overhaul Arsenal’s approach to transfers over the summer and was thought to be in conflict with Wenger.

Wenger signed a new contract in the summer but appears to have lost some sway (Picture: Getty)

The Frenchman’s two-year contract renewal was taken as a sign that he would continue to control transfers, but Rowley’s likely departure suggests Gazidis has got his way.

With Dick Law also stepping down, and Team Sky legal chief Huss Fahmy brought in, Gazidis may now exert a greater degree of control over transfers and take a ‘Moneyball’ approach.

Arsenal bought a German data firm five years ago and Gazidis wants to lean more heavily on analytics in finding value in the transfer market.