Arsenal’s sporting director Edu is set to make a surprise exit from the club.
Edu has been a key ally for Mikel Arteta in helping him build a Premier League title-challenging squad.
The former Arsenal midfielder – a member of the Invincibles squad of 2003/2004 – is considered as one of the top sporting directors in world football right now.
The Brazilian returned to the club as technical director in 2019 and alongside Arteta has built the club back into a Premier League force, while they also won the FA Cup in 2020.
Promoted to become their first ever sporting director in 2022, Edu has played a key role in their recruitment of players who have become crucial members of Arteta’s team, including Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and William Saliba.
The 46-year-old also offloaded a number of players on big wages, such as Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
First reported by The Mail, it is currently unclear about the reasons for his departure although there has been significant change behind the scenes at the Emirates over the past 12 months.
Vinai Venkatesham departed as chief executive in the summer, with Richard Garlick taking on the role of managing director.
James King was recently announced as Garlick’s replacement as director of football operations.
Edu’s departure comes following Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Saturday.
It is understood to be his decision to exit the role.
The Gunners face Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and Arteta will be quizzed on the matter when he conducts his press conference on Tuesday.
Edu was pictured alongside Arteta when the club announced he had signed a new long-term contract in September.
Arteta said then of the cohesion at the club: “I feel extremely proud, very excited and am looking forward to what is coming next. I’m proud to be where I am and have the relationships that I have with everyone at the club.
“I feel extremely lucky to work every single day with good people and the ambition we have here. I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together.
“Together with the players and everyone at the club, we are looking forward to the coming years, with our supporters, who have emotionally transformed the club and the team. Our supporters have transformed individuals and we are different now. You can tell that we are different and for me, that is down to them. We look forward to continuing the journey together.”
Upon announcing the new deal for Arteta, Edu said: “We are really happy that Mikel has signed a new long-term contract. It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club and an important part of what we’re all working towards.
“Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values. We have a strong belief in what we are doing and what we want to achieve together. Mikel’s new contract gives us stability and clear direction as we aim for new heights.”
Now, less than two months, Edu is on making an exit from the club.
He has been linked with a role working across Evangelos Marinakis’ group of clubs.
The Greek businessman owns Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave.
talkSPORT broke the news to his former Arsenal teammate David Seaman.
He said: “That’s the first time I’ve heard that and I hope it’s not true. I see Edu when I go in at Arsenal once a week. He’s a great influence at the club, he’s someone you want to keep.
“He’s an ex-double winning teammate of mine and he’s someone you want to keep on, so I really hope it’s not true.”
