It’s morning everyone.
The big news starting today is the departure of Edu as the club’s sporting director. It started with a few whispers over the weekend, became more certain yesterday morning with reports that he was set to leave, and by the end of the day Arsenal had made an official announcement with no intention of commenting on the story earlier. I went bankrupt for the first time. It’s an important and very rapid development.
qualifications’Edu Gaspar resigns as sporting director‘, Josh Kroenke was quoted as saying:
We respect Edu’s decision and thank him for his tremendous contribution and dedication to developing the club. Everyone at the club wishes him good health. We all love him so much and the positive energy he brings to everything and everyone.
Change and evolution are part of our club. We remain focused on strategy and winning major trophies. Our succession plan will reflect this ongoing ambition.
Edu himself said:
I’ve loved working with so many great colleagues across the men’s, women’s and academy teams, especially Mikel, who has become a great friend. Now is the time to pursue other challenges. Arsenal will always remain in my heart. I wish all the best for the club and its supporters.
A new challenge is working for Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis. It is part of his football group that Edu expects to drive a multi-club model. Reports that his salary has tripled probably go a long way to explaining why this happened. But this is a story from earlier, with Brazilian media reporting last August.
But the timing is certainly interesting. It comes after a difficult week at a stadium that did not offer great views from the outside. Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but the optics – as they say – don’t look as good. The fact that it’s mid-season is also not ideal. Not only is the January transfer window just around the corner, but Edu’s role as sporting director gives him responsibility for the men’s, women’s and academy, with a vacancy created for the women’s team following the resignation of Jonas Eidevall. filled.
He wasn’t the kind of guy who would do a one-stop job, and there were other people who could take his time and do the work, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask the question. People will speculate about situations like this, discuss relationships and power struggles and everything else. But from everything that has been reported, it seems like this was a decision Edu made because he got opportunities elsewhere. My own dislike of the multi-club model aside, I wish him all the best.
He is a very personable and charming person, whose connection to the club was important and the most successful of the modern era, and overall I think he did a decent job during his time here. I don’t think it’s possible to separate that work from the work Mikel Arteta has done with the team. But Edu took on his role, first as technical director and then as sporting director. Not all contracts were successful, but many were. There were always some questions about our ability to sell as much as we wanted, but over time that too improved and he left after ‘his’ most successful transfer period. interest.
I’m fascinated to see what Arsenal are doing in terms of substitutes. Would there be another sporting director with the same powers, or some other type of appointment that would only be in charge of the men’s team? Richard Garlick is Managing Director. We recently hired someone as our Head of Football Operations. However, this is more of a legal/administrative role. So who will be your first point of contact with other clubs, agents etc? There is something to be said about the connection within the game, especially when it comes to recruiting and player sales. (For example, Edu’s relationship with Marinakis is probably why he made a small profit on Matt Turner when he sold him to Forest).
Whoever replaces him is likely to be someone who has Mikel Arteta’s approval to some extent. Former teammate? Who knows? But what appears to be true is that, at least for the time being, there is a tilt towards additional managers of power. It’s completely healthy, right? I’m not sure, but whoever the new appointment is, I could work very well with him, and he could do things better or differently than Edu in a positive way for everyone.
Change can be strange and scary, but it doesn’t have to be negative. A new dynamic can be a good thing. I think the speed with which it all happened was probably surprising for the club. Although they clearly knew something was brewing in the background. Still, there’s no need to panic and make an appointment. Finding the right person for the job is more important. Let’s find out who it is and when. I wonder how widely Mikel Arteta will react on this issue when he inevitably gets asked about it at his pre-Inter press conference in Italy this evening. .
To learn more about Edu and its five-year tenure since returning in 2019, Artwork by Amy Lawrence for The Athletic (£) It’s well worth reading this morning too. I’ll leave it there for now. Have a great time, everyone. If you haven’t had a chance to listen yet, there’s a new Arsecast Extra below.
