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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reportedly lost a key ally in sporting director Edu in talks to leave the club.
In what will be a major blow, the Brazilian is expected to resign from his position as part of a reshuffle at the club.
Edu has spearheaded Arsenal’s resurgence in recent years and has played a key role in various moves in the transfer market, including the capture of Martin Odegaard as well as Declan Rice. Edu also played an influential role in overhauling the team and overseeing the departures of Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil.
According to the Mail, discussions are ongoing with Arsenal and Edu and it is his decision to leave the club. A source denied suggestions of a power struggle.
Arsenal announced Edu as their new technical director in 2019 and he was tasked with taking the club into a new era and shaping its future.
Edu’s responsibilities included implementing the club’s footballing philosophy, managing the promotion and development of their best academy players, having an in-depth knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the first team and, through- above all, leading the club’s recruitment efforts in the transfer market. His mission was essentially to oversee all aspects of the first team, with the exception of daily training and the selection of the team itself.
Edu’s evolution from technical midfielder to technical director was not unexpected. He comes from an academic background (his father was a teacher) and as a player he was very interested in the organizational structures of the teams he represented, studying how these clubs – Corinthians, Arsenal and Valencia – were run at the executive level. He has previously spoken of his passion for the “administrative side” of football and has, in his words, “brought a corporate reality” to the Brazilian national setup in recent years.
Edu, 46, is seen as an approachable and likeable figure by Arsenal staff. He prefers to communicate with colleagues in person or via text message rather than formal email, and his position has been aided by his status as a member of Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles.
