Lawwell is considered a tough transfer negotiator at Celtic and has excellent contacts in European football - not least at Uefa, where his fellow Scot, David Taylor, is general secretary. Having substantially lifted Celtic's turnover during his spell at Parkhead, his CV appears well suited to Arsenal. His background is as an accountant and finance director, having had a spell in the property-development business on the Clydeport authority, fitting in with many of the core skills Arsenal require of their new broom.
Celtic's chief executive Peter Lawwell has explained that his emotional attachment to the club prevented him from taking the same role at Arsenal.
Lawwell was courted by the Arsenal board last month and is understood to have been provisionally offered the position, which carries a salary of £1m per year. Yet the 49-year-old, who has had two spells at Celtic after initially joining as the financial controller in 1990, said yesterday that he has plenty still to achieve in Glasgow.
"There was a lot to take into account but staying with Celtic was what I wanted to do," Lawwell said. "It was a major decision but this is my club. This is more than a club. Arsenal are a fantastic club with a fantastic owner, but if I went there it would just be a job. What I have here is more than that."