Edu Gaspar quits as Arsenal handed a major front-office shock amid a rather uncertain time for the Gunners on the field.
Edu Gaspar, the Arsenal sporting director is all set to leave the club. He is expected to join the network of clubs spearheaded by Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Nottingham Forest.
With Edu’s unexpected exit, Mikel Arteta will lose one of his most important allies and conclude five years in top management at Arsenal. The two have a close bond, so when the Brazilian leaves, Arsenal will have to adjust. It’s still unknown when he will leave.
Since their former midfielder returned to the team in July 2019—first as technical director—Arsenal has emerged as a title contender. He had a significant role in Arteta’s entrance five months later and gained more clout following the departure of their head of football, Raul Sanllehi, in August 2020. Edu has gained recognition as a key player in an ambitious and successful transfer strategy that saw players like Martin Ødegaard, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, and Gabriel Jesus and Declan Rice arrive to transform the profile of Arsenal’s squad.
Though there is no proof that this is the reason for Edu’s impending exit, there have been disappointments in more recent windows, with the main ones being the absence of true backups to Ødegaard or Bukayo Saka and ongoing ambiguity over their center-forward position.
It is believed that his relationships with important Arsenal officials go beyond his connection with Arteta. After a rocky, injury-plagued season in which they have hardly been able to regain their free-flowing, greatest form of the Arteta era, Arsenal is currently sixth in the Premier League.
Edu is now being considered for a senior job in Marinakis’ team, possibly one that involves supervising hiring. The 57-year-old is currently in charge of three clubs: Forest, Olympiakos, and Rio Ave, a Portuguese team.
After retiring from playing, Edu was director of football at Corinthians. Prior to rejoining Arsenal, he served as Brazil’s national team’s team coordinator. At first, it seemed that the 46-year-old lacked experience at the top end of European football administration. But he is now ready for a new challenge working for the ambitious and controversial Marinakis, whose Forest team has been the season’s surprise package and is currently ranked third in the top flight.