Following their worst Premier League season ever, Mikel Arteta is out of his job as Arsenal manager. However, the cracks in the club’s management are well below the surface.
Arsenal is under pressure from Mikel Arteta after their terrible start to the Premier League campaign. However, the problems continue within the Gunners hierarchy.
Arsenal appointed Edu to be their first technical director in order to aid future recruitment. However, the movie has not gone according to plan.
Arsenal finished fifth last year, before Edu joined. However, they have managed back-to-back eighth-place finishes. Arteta’s inability to make a positive difference on the pitch was just the beginning of their problems.
Even though Edu was specifically hired to lead the Gunners’ recruitment campaign, he still doesn’t like some of Arsenal’s business practices.
Arsenal was the largest spending side in England this season, but is bottom of the Premier League table at zero points. It is their worst start to a top-flight campaign ever in their 118-year history.
£149million was spent during the recent window, which takes their total expenditure to £365m since Edu joined the club, without an awful lot to show for it.
Arsenal fans have additional reasons to be concerned. The Athletic has claimed that Edu didn’t even want to sign Aaron Ramsdale this summer for £30m, but the club went ahead anyway.
This fee was quite a shock for a young goalkeeper who had been relegated twice. However, the 23-year-old is highly rated with a long career ahead.
Arteta drove the interest in Ramsdale, and when Sheffield United put the price tag on the showstoppers, Edu suggested an alternate.
The Brazilian and his whole team of scouts thought that there were cheaper options who could do a good job at Arsenal and proposed moving for Barcelona’s backup keeper Neto with the Catalan club in financial difficulties.
It raises the question: If Edu is being hired to manage Arsenal’s recruitment but is letting players in that he does not want, then why are we employing the Brazilian?
Edu’s attitude has changed slightly in this window, as six of the ten Brazilian new signings during his first two windows were either Brazilians or came from Edu’s homeland. However, none of their signings in this window follow this trend.
With Edu loosening his grip, and perhaps lacking faith or confidence, there have been calls for Arsene Wenger to re-join the club as a director of football, but it seems the Frenchman is now just a fan, as he told BILD: “I’m 71. This club has been the best year of my life.
“Today the club is in good shape. They had two tough games, the team has potential and I hope they can come back. At the moment I’m just a fan.”
Wenger was the club’s most successful manager. However, he suffered a difficult end to his Arsenal career. Wenger was called out by fans and banners of disapproval.
Arsenal has struggled since Wenger’s departure and is now playing without European football this season for the first time in 26 years.
Arsenal fans have learned the hard lesson that you should be careful about what you wish to get.
