Arsenal are currently going through their worst run of form ever seen in my lifetime, and I assure you I am far from being a youngster, but from what Edu is telling us, we are still on course to build the Gunners into a force to be reckoned with in the future.
The Brazilian has explained in an in-depth interview in the Daily Mirror aimed at Arsenal fans that there have been more than enough changes at the club in the past couple of years, and now we need a period of stability and patience to get the club back on track.
He points to the wealth of young talent coming through, and the togetherness in the squad as reasons to be hopeful of great progress to come. Edu said: “I can see a big, big, big and beautiful future. It’s very strange to say that in this moment, but I have to be fair – that’s the way I see the photo. And I always believed, and knew, it’d be a big challenge.
“We have to be patient. I know asking for patience for Arsenal is very strange because everyone has said that for long, long periods.
“But I’m here today to give to you guys the word that everything is fine internally but the results aren’t coming, but I think we’re going to change it very soon.
“I think the club needs stability right now, we have faced so many changes. It is not about Edu, Mikel, it is about stability. Now is the time to try and be a stable club in the old sense – externally and internally, we need that.
“Since we arrived here we have been changing, changing, changing, now is time to be stable and together at the same time.”
“The way I see things is very simple,” he continued. “It’s normal and easy to be driven by the results. But for me, the main point is when I see something in which I can see the future, see where we go, the way we’re building things, I’m sure we’re going to be fine in the future.
“Since I arrived here I knew it would be a challenge. If you see how many changes we had in these years … I really understand when you have a massive man here like Arsene Wenger and then we change to a new coach who started quite well, and then we changed Unai Emery.
“Then Mikel came, so Mikel started. I knew it would be challenge, it’s not easy. But again the way we’re driving, the way we’re going, is making me believe a lot in the future.”
“I see the players, everyone believing in what we are doing, and that’s the message. Because I started to hear from the outside, by the press, ‘players have a problem, some of the players not believing in Mikel, Mikel and David not talking…’ It’s not right.
“Nothing happened like people are saying and I don’t want that kind of thing to build externally to something which is not true internally. I want people to understand that what we are doing here, we are in the process to have a beautiful future.
“If you see how many young players get a chance. Joe Willock got a place, Emile Smith Rowe is starting to be on the bench, Ainsley Maitland-Niles start to be in the international team and Bukayo has been unbelievable.
“There is a lot of them and don’t forget, Kieran Tierney is young, Gabriel is young, Gabriel Martinelli is young – we have a quite interesting future in the club when you are taking about these players – we have a beautiful future.”
We all know that modern fans have very little concept of the slow development of a team and meeting their goals in small steps, but improving in little ways bit by bit.
We can see many JustArsenal readers kneejerk reactions and calling for Arteta to be sacked, but then what? Start all over again, with a new coach, new players, new tactics, etc. That means that you are going back to square one.
Yes things are tough right now, but listen to Edu. Have faith and patience and we will all be rewarded in the end…