Mikel Arteta intervened to prevent Arsenal chief Edu from committing major transfer blunder

Posted by

Mikel Arteta reportedly had to intervene as Arsenal chief Edu was working on a transfer deal for Emerson Royal in the summer.

The Gunners manager is said to have overruled Edu and the recruitment team as they recommended signing Emerson from Barcelona, while it was also clear he’d be going to Tottenham instead if a move to the Emirates Stadium didn’t work out, according to the Guardian.

Arsenal will have little reason to regret this, however, with the young Brazilian full-back looking far from convincing at Spurs so far, while Arsenal opted to sign Takehiro Tomiyasu instead.

Clearly, Arteta’s judgement was right, with Tomiyasu impressing since his move to north London, so fans will surely be relieved that their manager made this big call.

Emerson Royal in action for Tottenham
Takehiro Tomiyasu in action for Arsenal

It is perhaps a bit of a worry, however, that Arsenal’s recruitment team clearly got this one so wrong, with a weaker manager perhaps unlikely to have been able to ignore their recommendation.

It’ll be important in future for Arsenal to improve in this department, but it’s also a decent reminder to ensure Arteta is also involved as much as possible.

More Stories Edu Emerson Royal Mikel Arteta Takehiro Tomiyasu