“This will be a loss to the club” - Ex-Arsenal star explains challenge Mikel Arteta faces following ‘shock’ Edu exit from Gunners director role

Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has made his feelings known after reports of the club's sporting director, Edu Gaspar, leaving broke through. The football pundit has admitted that Edu leaving would be a 'loss to the club'.

Edu played for Arsenal between 2001 and 2005 and was part of the club's invincibles team that won the Premier League in 2004. He rejoined the Gunners in July 2019 in an administrative role as a technical director.

He was responsible for the hiring of Spaniard Mikel Arteta, under whom the Gunners are enjoying a steady revival. In November 2022, the 46-year-old Brazilian was promoted to sporting director, a role he currently serves at the Emirates Stadium.

Edu is credited with the successful signings of club captain Martin Odegaard and dynamic midfielder Declan Rice, who have elevated the club and made them title contenders. Martin Keown admitted that Edu's decision to leave Arsenal would be a big loss to the club, but one he believed they would be able to withstand.

Speaking on talkSPORT, Keown said:

"He [Mikel Arteta] is a really good man. This will be a loss to the club, there’s no doubt about that. I imagine they’re going to get the best man in class to now step in, if this is true, this story. It’s a sad time to see him go, but I think he goes with the blessing of everybody."

Keown expressed his shock at the former Arsenal defender leaving the club saying that he can't imagine what role could be better than being the sporting director at the London club.

It is reported that Edu is set to accept an offer from Evangelos Marinakis to join his group of clubs as a top recruiter. The Greek owns Premier League club Nottingham Forest and Greek giants Olympiacos alongside Portuguese side Rio Ave.

"There is huge stability at Arsenal" - Keown

Martin Keown, who played with Edu during his second spell at the club, however, was positive about the Gunners' future despite his former teammate's exit. Speaking to talkSPORT, the 58-year-old defender said that he was impressed with the backroom staff at Arsenal and pointed at the stability at the club that would help them continue to grow.

"There is huge stability there already with Tim Lewis on the board. Richard Garlick now is someone that really impresses me and, of course, the manager," he said.

The former England international spoke about the culture the outgoing sporting director brought to Arsenal, which has led to the club's turnaround in fortunes.

"But he’s [Edu] helped to bring a stability to the club, change, the culture’s changed back to what we would have seen in the past. It will affect the players because he’s at the training ground every day," admitted Keown. "There’s a working relationship. The players do have a great deal of respect for him. It’d be hard not to like him.

"I think in the main the signings have been good. The club’s started to turn around. The DNA of the signings now has become very physical, hasn’t it? Less technical. And the club is definitely on the way back. It’s a shock. But of course it can never be about one person," he added.

Arsenal are currently going through a rough patch on the field, failing to win either of their last three Premier League matches. They have dropped to fifth in the table with 18 points in 10 matches despite a good start.