Edu's best Arsenal transfers assessed as sporting director decides to leave

Arsenal have been rocked by Edu‘s shock decision to leave his position as sporting director.

The development will be seen as a major blow to the Gunners and will subsequently prompt a shake-up behind the scenes at Emirates Stadium.

The Brazilian has been a key ally to Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and together they have not only transformed the playing squad but also the perception of the club with the team now back to being in Premier League title contention after years of decline.

Having been with the north London outfit since the summer of 2019, initially returning to the club - where he spent five years as a player - as technical director before later being appointing as the club's first ever sporting director, Edu has overseen plenty of deals in the transfer market.

Some decisions have paid off, others not so much. So as Edu bids farewell to Arsenal, we have taken a look at the best deals to have been completed under his watch.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes

Recruited from French football in the summer of 2019 and 2020 respectively, Arsenal currently have a central defensive pairing that can go toe-to-toe with the best in the Premier League - possibly in Europe - thanks to a smart approach from Edu and company.

Whilst William Saliba was a highly rated prospect at the time, not a great deal was known about Gabriel Magalhaes so it was certainly a gamble considering the transition is not easy for defenders coming into the top flight of English football.

Reflecting on the £50million-plus fee to bring in the pair, it's certainly great value for money given they've provided a platform for the Gunners to consistently challenge for major honours.

Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko

Okay, there's a strong argument that Arsenal have moved on from both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Ask supporters to name their strongest starting XI when everyone is fit and available for selection, not many will include either.

However, let's rewind to the summer of 2022. The Gunners had just missed out on Champions League qualification and they were at somewhat of a crossroads as recruitment is always difficult without Europe's top prize to offer potential signings.

But in came Jesus and Zinchenko from Manchester City and the pair immediately raised the level of the squad, taking Arsenal from a team that finished fifth to challenging for the Premier League title the very next season shows Edu got these deals spot on.

Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang contracts

At the time, many supporters will have questioned the decision to allow Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leave. After all, they did cost a combined £98.5million and the club didn’t recoup a single penny in transfer fees.

That's not exactly the case now as Edu clearly had the club's long-term future in mind. Terminating the contracts of the aforementioned pair allowed the club to save a huge amount of money on wages and also installed a new culture where underwhelming performances won’t be tolerated no matter what.

Martin Odegaard

After a somewhat mixed loan spell in the second half of the 2020/21 campaign, eyebrows were raised when Arsenal signed Martin Odegaard permanently from Real Madrid the following summer. But for £34million, it has turned out to be perhaps one of the biggest bargains during the Edu era.

The midfielder really has come into his own in north London, showing why he was so highly regarded as a 16-year-old with a series of eye-catching performances and earning the captain's armband in the process.

Declan Rice

This list can't be completed without the biggest and most expensive transfer in Arsenal's history. £105million the Gunners paid West Ham United to secure the services of Declan Rice in July 2023 and it's a deal Edu needed to get done.

Prior to this signing, there were concerns that the Brazilian couldn't get big deals over the line or land Mikel Arteta's first-choice targets.

Well, this was certainly a great response and pipping Man City to the signing of Rice was an additional bonus for Edu.

Academy sales

Player sales has been another source of criticism for Edu amongst the fanbase with the feeling that he should have done more to get better value for those who have been moved on.

Having said that, the Brazilian does deserve credit for raising over £100m by selling academy graduates such as Alex Iwobi, Joe Willock, Folarin Balogun, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah.

In this day and age where Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) have become more prominent, those sales would have gone down as pure profit in Arsenal's financial accounts.

Honourable mentions

The £50m spent on Ben White seemed steep and unnecessary at the time but the fact the price-tag rarely gets mentioned is proof it was a great deal, Gabriel Martinelli has gone from a relative unknown to a mainstay in Arsenal's team, Kai Havertz is proving doubters wrong and pivoting to Leandro Trossard after missing out on Mykhailo Mudryk was a shrewd piece of business.

Furthermore, ensuring contract renewals for the likes of Bukayo Saka, Saliba and Odegaard represented a huge shift in mentality as fans had become accustomed to seeing their best players run down their deals and leave for a rival.