Arsenal icon ‘shocked’ by Edu exit as Arteta faces fresh ‘challenge’ amid poor form
Martin Keown says Edu Gaspar’s reported decision to leave Arsenal came as a “shock”.
It was reported on Monday morning that Edu will leave his role as the club’s director of football, in a ‘major blow’ to manager Mikel Arteta.
Former Arsenal midfielder Edu joined the club as technical director in 2019 before stepping up to the director of football role in November 2022.
He helped the Gunners land the likes of Martin Odegaard, Benjamin White and Declan Rice.
“Well, I don’t know for me what could be better than being in that role for Arsenal,” Keown said on talkSPORT. “He may want to return home to Brazil.”
Reports suggest Edu will accept an offer from Evangelos Marinakis to join his group of clubs as a top recruiter.
Marinakis owns Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest, Greek giants Olympiacos and Portuguese outfit Rio Ave.
Reflecting on Edu’s work at the Emirates, Keown said: “Ultimately, it took him a while to get going, didn’t it, Edu? I mean, he needed some support from those above him.
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“I think the biggest change in Arsenal was a greater investment in time and inclination from the Kroenke family. And I think that’s been mirrored in Josh Kroenke becoming much more visible and much more engaged with Arsenal post the challenges of the European Super League and Arsenal’s climb down from that position.
“So I think ultimately, if they’ve got a good relationship, good relationships are nice to have. But Arteta, does he lose a big ally? Does he need a big ally?
“Does he already have a relationship with those that make the decisions? I would suspect so. I would suspect that ultimately. Will it be an advantage? It depends if they bring a better sporting director in.
“If they bring a better sporting director in, that’s got a wider brief, that’s got a better understanding of being able to acquire even better players than the ones that Edu did… I’m not entirely sure that all of Edo’s signings were the greatest signings.
“So with that in mind, you’ve got Arsenal being challenged on the field right now and people perceive it as being challenged off it now.”
Keown gets on well with Edu and says news of his departure comes as a “shock”.
“He’s a really good man,” he continued. “This will be a loss to the club, there’s no doubt about that. But there is huge stability there already with Tim Lewis on the board.
“Richard Garlick now is someone that really impresses me and of course the manager. But he’s helped to bring a stability to the club, change, the culture’s changed back to what we would have seen in the past. It will affect the players because he’s at the training ground every day. There’s a working relationship.
“The players do have a great deal of respect for him. It’d be hard not to like him. I think in the main the signings have been good. The club’s started to turn around.
“The DNA of the signings now has become very physical, hasn’t it? Less technical. And the club is definitely on the way back. It’s a shock. But of course it can never be about one person.”
Keown added: “I imagine they’re going to get the best man in class to now step in, if this is true, this story.
“It’s a sad time to see him go, but I think he goes with the blessing of everybody.”
Former Arsenal goalkeeper David Seaman was live on talkSPORT when the news broke.
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that and I hope it’s not true,” Seaman said.
“I see Edu when I go in at Arsenal once a week. He’s a great influence at the club, he’s someone you want to keep.
“He’s an ex-double winning teammate of mine and he’s someone you want to keep on, so I really hope it’s not true.”
