Graham Potter sends Arsenal clear message amid hunt for Edu successor

Edu’s unanticipated exit from Arsenal comes at an inconvenient time for the Gunners.

Of course, it would have been worse if the sporting director had resigned on the eve or in the midst of a transfer window but club chiefs still face a race against time to find a successor.

There are less than two months to find a replacement ahead of the January transfer window amid a time when Arsenal are currently looking less convincing on the pitch. Edu had worked with Mikel Arteta throughout his tenure and his departure will come as a real blow.

The likes of Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice were all brought in under his watch and there is no guarantee whoever comes next will be as clinical in the market. But time is of the essence.

The day-to-day requirements of a professional club manager mean, for the large part, gone are the days of them scouting players in person aside from when they come up against their side. A recruitment team and, more pertinently, a confidant is needed.

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter has explained the importance of having an aide to tackle recruitment matters, having had one by his side for most of his managerial career.

“I’ve always had somebody within my staff that's been focused on recruitmen,t which is quite unusual,” he admitted to the Planet Premier League podcast.

“But certainly for the last 12 years I’ve had someone working closely with me from recruitment, so he does all that thinking, he does all those conversations with the recruitment team. Because otherwise, what’s the alternative?

“In the middle of the January transfer window when your Christmas period is [at its] busiest and the recruitment team go ‘Hey Graham, here’s a list of three or four players. Give me your opinion on this.’

“All of a sudden you are like ‘how much work can I actually do on this and how valuable is my opinion, really? Because how much time am I able to spend on this decision?'”

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Potter added how it was crucial to have the right person in this role who can be trusted and does a thorough job.

He added: “I’ve been fortunate that I’ve had somebody that knows me, knows the environment, knows how I want to play, so therefore he can have the conversation with the recruitment team.

“It’s enabling you to go ‘OK, we need to execute this decision, we need to make a call on Player A or Player B, have we weighed everything up? Have we spoken to everyone in the right way?

“Have we brought all the things together? And boom, which is the best way to go here?”