Arsenal director Edu has opened up about his work in the transfer market this summer, revealing that he walked away from talks with an unnamed Borussia Dortmund player.
The Brazilian insists he only wants the right characters at Arsenal, and he spoke to The Athletic about a player who seemed more interested in his contract and his wages, leading the Gunners chief to decide the move wouldn’t be right for the club.
Edu also admits in the video below that talks with players and their families are important in order to work out whether they’ll be the right fit for Arsenal, and that means sometimes rejecting potential signings…
? “There’s still things to do. The transfer window is open.”
Edu Gaspar on the summer transfer window for Arsenal.?
— Connor Humm (@TikiTakaConnor) July 25, 2022
Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports News
“Face to face — I go there, I meet the player, if I have to travel to Germany, anywhere. I want to see the player, the agent, the family, put everyone together and say, ‘Guys, listen to me and what I want to say’,” Edu told The Athletic.
“And then I sell what we are doing, our project. Because it works both ways, doesn’t it? I want to show them, but I want to see as well if they want to enjoy because if I smell something wrong (then) thank you very much, I go (and don’t sign them).
“I faced an experience like this, for a player in Dortmund. I started to talk to them, engage the player, talk to the family, but always, ‘Yeah, but what about my contract?’.
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“I said, ‘Listen, I want to understand first if you engage with this, if you like this. If you like it, I can talk, but not the opposite side’. ‘Ah no, let’s talk about the money…’ No, no, no, no. And one day, I said to the agent: ‘Guys, thank you very much, it’s not what I want to do’. Boom.”
Arsenal fans will be pleased to see the fine work Edu is doing at the Emirates Stadium, with the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko looking like real winners after their experienced at Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta’s side narrowly missed out on a place in the top four last term, but the squad now looks stronger thanks to Edu’s fine work in the transfer market.