Arsenal sporting director Edu won an award this week as he was recognised as the best in his role in European football at the moment, and Fabrizio Romano has explained why he thinks it’s thoroughly deserved.
The Gunners have been completely transformed since Edu came in, with the Brazilian doing some great work in the transfer market, both in terms of bringing in gems like Martin Odegaard on the cheap, and with helping the club become more ambitious and able to sign an established world class player like Declan Rice ahead of their rivals.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano made it clear how highly he rates Edu for the work he does behind the scenes at the Emirates Stadium, and suggested it’s more than just his work on transfers and new contracts that makes him so important.
Romano also says the Arsenal players love Edu, who visits the training ground regularly, while it seems the former midfielder was also key in terms of backing manager Mikel Arteta through difficult moments, which has clearly proven to be the right decision.
“Edu’s award is absolutely deserved, in my opinion,” Romano said.
“He’s probably underrated but he’s done an excellent job at Arsenal. Extending contracts of top players like Saka, Saliba, Martinelli, Odegaard and many others; signing super stars like Declan Rice with perfect strategy; players love him and the daily contact at the ground.
“Also, he protected Arteta in difficult moments at the beginning. Arsenal are a fantastic football club now after a difficult few years at the end of the Arsene Wenger era. It’s now a wonderful project and Edu deserves a good part of the credit for that.”