Edu’s impending departure from Arsenal has sent shockwaves through the fanbase, and it’s hard not to feel a sense of loss as we reflect on his time at the club. Since rejoining Arsenal in 2019 as technical director, Edu has been a vital architect in our revival, working hand-in-hand with Mikel Arteta to reshape the squad into serious title contenders. His promotion to sporting director in November 2022 marked a significant step forward for both him and the club.
Under Edu’s stewardship, we’ve seen the arrival of key players like Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard, who have helped elevate our performances on the pitch. His keen eye for talent, especially his ability to spot potential in players like Gabriel Martinelli, has been instrumental in our recent successes. Edu’s influence extended beyond just signings; he played a crucial role in managing player departures, ensuring that the squad was balanced and focused on future ambitions.
However, recent reports indicate that Edu has decided to leave his role, a decision that has left many of us puzzled and concerned. While it’s clear that there have been some issues within the club’s hierarchy that made his position increasingly uncomfortable, it’s important to note that this decision was reportedly his own. The timing is particularly unsettling as we navigate a challenging period in the season, and losing such a key figure feels like a setback for our aspirations.
Mikel Arteta will undoubtedly be disappointed by this development. The two have shared a strong bond, built on mutual respect and a shared vision for Arsenal’s future. Just last September, Edu expressed his excitement about Arteta’s new long-term contract, emphasizing their commitment to building something special together. Now, with Edu’s exit looming, questions arise about how this will affect Arteta’s plans moving forward and whether it signals deeper issues within the club.
As fans, we can only hope that Arsenal quickly finds a suitable replacement who can continue the great work Edu started. His contributions have undeniably laid a solid foundation for our ambitions, but we must now look ahead and ensure that we maintain our momentum. Edu has always held a special place in our hearts — not just as an executive but as a former player who knows what it means to wear the Arsenal badge.
His departure marks the end of an important chapter in our journey, and while we wish him well in his future endeavors, we can’t help but feel anxious about what lies ahead for our beloved club.
Jack Anderson
ADMIN COMMENT
So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….
You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.
CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…
Yes he’s leaving us to join a club above us in the league, that club being Nottingham Forest 🤔
That’s not yet confirmed, but he was scouted by Marinakis, so just a possibility right now.
Perhaps not, but seems to be a done deal, going to be head of Marinakis’ Global operations, currently three clubs and likely to expand with more, similar to Klopp’s job with Red Bull. But, yes not yet confirmed, but we will know shortly.
👍
This is definitely not good news…a good sporting director leaving with no replacement named. Richard Garlic will most likely temporarily take the role.
I think Kroenke was disappointed by the lack of major trophies from Arteta and Edu, after many seasons and massive financial investment
Arteta might get sacked if he fails to win UCL this season and Kroenke might have already had some candidates to replace him
What does Kroenke’s disappointment have to do with Edu leaving? It’s reported that he’s going on his own terms, so no sacking, if that’s what you’re suggesting.
@Jax
It seems as if Edu wanted more control of signings etc. And that the Greek guy is willing to give him control over the signings of his 3/4 teams. Just saying…
Not only that, but tripling his wages from £2 million to £6 million a year!
This is from the article writer:
“While it’s clear that there have been some issues within the club’s hierarchy that made his position increasingly uncomfortable…”
What I read is that Edu wanted to be considered for the CEO job that was vacated and he wasn’t even an option to the hierarchy which has played a role in his departure.
A role that the Notts Forest Owners group is willing to give him as he owns a few sporting ventures and wanting to buy more.
Not that big of a deal if we are honest, yes it’s just a shock but really what has he done that no other man could’ve? The Martinelli deal was also lucky as he had trials for UTD the week before.
Too much smoke was blown at this man for the way the team has been playing and not how the club has done. How has his transfers out of the club go? All gone for peanuts as he spent fortunes on others too like Jesus on 275k a week who’s done nothing.
Arteta will need to work some magic now as I believe also if he doesn’t deliver this year his job may be on the line also… Since Edu has came in we have spent over £870m and sold around the £200m mark.
Not that big of a loss considering he was the 1st ever in that role at Arsenal of Sporting Director.
Sean, have to say I agree with nearly everything you say.
As for replacements?
Well, it depends at what level one wants to look at bringing in and what the details are.
Bergkamp, Cazorla, Vieira, maybe even Arsene?!
I was surprised to an extent but remember hearing a couple of months ago that Edu was on the Forest owner’s radar.
I presume that the club has been given plenty of warning so will he continue and work his notice or go on gardening leave?
Whilst the timing isn’t ideal during an unsettling period on the pitch, I’m sure there are other well qualified Sporting Directors out there who will fill the void.
What concerns me is the point in the article that there were rumblings at Board level. Whatever your opinion is about Arteta, my understanding is that both he and Edu worked well together
I’m not really surprised about “rumblings at board level” although we don’t have details.
It must be a worry for the owners that currently – and things can change, of course – the pre-season enthusiasm that 2024-25 was “the season” that the club finally become title winners has faded at least.
They wouldn’t be human if they didn’t think “What’s the time and money spent actually achieved if we’re in this position, and so soon?”. Whether that would be addressed to Edu specifically or to other staff as well remains to be seen.
A surprise that he’s leaving. Not a surprise that he was on other club’s radar.
It will be a blow to Arteta. His position is probably going to be weaker should Arsenal fail to win the title this season, so I suspect Edu’s departure won’t help.
We’ll have to see who the owners appoint to replace Edu. It certainly doesn’t have to be an “old boy”. The criterion shouldn’t be that but rather a proven record as a Sporting Director. It is, after all, a key club position in the modern game. Are there many around, and available, who fit that bill? I’ve no idea.
Edu should carry with him Mikel Arteta
👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼
I wonder if this is part of the reason behind our dreadful performance on Saturday, clearly the players knew.
I was just speaking to my son who said pretty much the same thing.
Possibly, but I hope not because it’s hardly very professional. People come and go behind the scenes at clubs all the time, even coaches, but the players have a duty to do their best, regardless of what else may be going on.
Agree Bertie
Probably a coincidence but it was an observation
Why would Edu leaving affect players performance?
Perhaps if it was Arteta leaving that would have made sense because he is the manager?
Perhaps because he’s Brazilian and recruited the 4 Brazilian players we have on the books.
I still fail to understand how his departure affects their performance. Or how his presence had an effect on good performance.
What is the colleration?
Gmv8,
Saturdays dreadful performance down to hearing about Edu leaving.
What about most of the other games this season, what excuse can you find for those games.
You cna’t make this stuff up.
Edu and Arteta seem to have a good working relationship, that is not often the case of Sporting Directors & Managers at other clubs. I think all in all Edu has done a decent job, not brilliant, but really OK. You can only fully gauge the loss by what follows. So I have my concerns.
Bring in Marc Overmars
He’s serving a years football suspention
I hear that Edu’s leaving. Hopefully Arteta won’t be far behind!.
Have to agree with those who believe that Edu’s departure won’t make a difference. I’ve always thought him a lazy type who with the exception of Martinelli, his “gift” didn’t bring us much else that anyone else doing their job could also have done with the money available. I mean, Marquinhos was supposed to be the next Ronaldo/ Ronaldinho all in one ho ho, and who knows what he saw in Viera. He succeeded the people who brought us Pepe and Sokratis so it was a a pretty low bar to raise, but so many of Edu’s signings were hit and miss. At the same time he will leave behind a badly balanced squad which will cause problems for the next guy charged with clearing out future deadwood. As to suggestions that the team’s performance against Newcastle was down to shock waves related to Edu’s departure, I think that is simply a case of wishful thinking. Basically the players Edu signed were not good enough on the day.
This is a huge blow I like the profile of player Edu targets he clearly remembers one of the edges that the Invincibles had was that they were a physically imposing team And that ruthless streak Arteta gets credit for is actually on Edu’s head he’s the one who used criteria that rid us of players at a certain age if underperforming and on high wages, we need to cut loose It was him that done that
It’s extremely difficult to assess the job edu has done from this distance. Signings have been hit and miss (which is the case for most clubs really), but we have built a relatively competitive side since he’s been here – so if that’s what we’re judging him on, he’s done well imo. We just need to get the next appointment right…