'Changed my life' - Mikel Arteta shows true Arsenal colours as Edu Gaspar exit impact explained

Mikel Arteta is set to lose his closest ally at Arsenal with sporting director Edu Gaspar set to leave after just over five years at the club.

The Brazilian returned to north London in 2019 as technical director before becoming their first-ever sporting director in November 2022. During his time at the Emirates Stadium, Edu assisted Arteta in shaping the club as Premier League title challengers.

No official announcement has yet been given by the club and the reason behind the former midfielder's exit remains unknown. However, reports from Sky Sports claim he had been away in Brazil on personal matters and arrived back late last week.

As recently as last summer, Edu discussed the closed-knit group at the football club following Arteta's new contract. "We have a strong belief in what we are doing and what we want to achieve together," he said.

"Mikel's new contract gives us stability and clear direction as we aim for new heights."

Now, it seems as though Arteta will have to continue his journey at Arsenal without Edu. The Spaniard has gone on record countless times to heap praise on the ex-Gunners midfielder, most recently at the end of last season.

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"From the moment they brought Edu in, it was an absolute success," Arteta told ESPN Brazil [via Sports Witness]. "Someone who was a player and was absurdly successful at the club, who knew the culture and had a clear vision of how to win.

"He changed my life, because he had the courage to trust me without having been a coach, at such a big club and at a difficult time. You have to have a lot of personality to do that."

In 2022, Arteta was quizzed on Edu's importance to his team and how they work together. “I hope that he stays here for a long time because I think it’s going to be a really positive thing for the club,” said Arteta.

“I’ve worked with him really well and I think he’s a super important figure at the club that represents all of the values and ideas that we want to take the right way, and hopefully that will be the case.”

He added: “There is a lot happening at a football club and he has a huge role, but he has a really good way of communicating with people and managing a lot of things that happen daily, so for me and for the team he’s really important.

“I think it has to be in that relationship. First of all, it has to be well-respected and the rules have to be really clear. You have to share the same ideas but at the same time you have to challenge each other because sometimes coaches have all the ideas and we want something right now, but it might not be the best thing for the club.”

“We have the right balance – not only with Edu but with Vinai, Rich, and Tim in this case with the ownership. It’s really important that at the end when we make a decision, it is all together – it’s not your decision or my idea and in good and difficult moments to all be together.”