Arsenal have secured Borussia Dortmund’s Sven Mislintat as their new head of recruitment. The Gunners have drafted in the highly rated 45-year-old, who will start in December. Steve Rowley has stood down as chief scout after 25 years with the north London club.

Mislintat had been at Dortmund for almost a decade, during which time the Bundesliga club recruited names such as Robert Lewandowski, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Shinji Kagawa and Ousmane Dembélé.

“We are delighted that Sven is joining us,” said the Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger. “Identifying and developing talent is a core part of our philosophy and Sven has an outstanding track record over many years. We look forward to him taking our existing recruitment approach forwards.”

Mislintat will work alongside Wenger and the chief executive, Ivan Gazidis, to unearth new talent for the Gunners. Rowley will continue to work with Arsenal in a consultancy role despite stepping down from his permanent position as chief scout.

“We would like to thank Steve Rowley for all his hard work over many years for the club,” Wenger told Arsenal’s official club website. “He has been a key figure in our recruitment of so many top players and has travelled thousands and thousands of miles, watching hundreds of games for us during his time at the club. We wish him well for the future.”