Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar leaves the club and is set to join Evangelos Marinakis’ club network

Written by Oliver Nehila 

Arsenal Football Club has now confirmed that Edu Gaspar has decided to resign from his position as sporting director. Edu is about to start a new challenge with Greek businessman Evangelos Marinakis, as reported earlier today.

Owner of Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos, and Rio Ave is rumoured to give Edu responsibility for leading his multi-club group in the role of a Chief Executive Officer. Marinakis reportedly offered Edu a significant pay rise as well.

According to The Athletic, Edu has already agreed to the proposal; however, he still has not signed the contract.

Edu became Arsenal's first-ever technical director in the summer of 2019 and three years later got promoted to sporting director. The Brazilian was crucial in bringing Mikel Arteta and his following transformation of the club.

Edu played a fundamental part in Arsenal's rebuild and recruitment of young crop of players like Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice, and co. Edu worked very closely with Arteta, discussed potential transfer targets and outgoings, and participated in negotiations.

Last November, Edu won the Best European Director Award at Golden Boy 2023 organised by Italian media outlet Tuttosport for his work at Arsenal.

My thoughts on the situation:

Personally, I have always viewed Edu as an integral part of our progression. His relationship with Arteta seemed very strong, and I expected a lot of activity in the upcoming transfer windows, especially after the departures of home-grown players and stabilising the club's finances.

Even though we missed out on some of our targets in the past few years, Edu's involvement in the arrivals of Odegaard or Gabriel for more than a decent fee and convincing Rice and Riccardo Calafiori to join our project when they had other offers on the table is definitely worth noticing.

His departure will now leave a big hole in the club, and I am very curious about who will be his replacement. According to The Telegraph, Arteta will have a major say on Edu's replacement.

In my opinion, the club needs an experienced sporting director with a good reputation, talent identification, and personality. There's a long list of names, but my favourites would be someone like Ralf Rangnick or Michael Zorc.