Edu has had a handful of misses in the transfer market, but when he gets it right, it leaves Arsenal’s rivals green with envy.
As sporting director of the club, the Brazilian has worked closely in tandem with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to build a squad capable of challenging for the Premier League title.
However, Arteta has now lost his right-hand man as Arsenal confirmed his resignation on Monday.
talkSPORT understands Edu is set to join forces with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and will be tasked with overseeing the Greek billionaire’s network of clubs.
It is also understood Edu’s decision took Arsenal by surprise and the club had hoped he would stay until the summer, but that will not be the case.
Instead, the 46-year-old will take his expertise to Marinakis’ group, which includes Forest, Greek heavyweights Olympiakos and Portuguese outfit Rio Ave.
Edu has whiffed on a handful signings since joining in 2019, most notably a £72million move for Nicolas Pepe and the addition of David Luiz.
However, the former midfielder has shown he has an eye for talent and it’s certainly shown on the field, with a considerable amount of Arsenal’s best first-team players signed under his watch.
But who was the Brazilian’s best bit of business?
Former Tottenham striker Darren Bent felt there was only one answer as he ranked Edu’s top five signings on talkSPORT Drive, along with a handful of honourable mentions.
Bent ranked the £27m move for William Saliba as Edu’s finest bit of work in the market.
Saliba was signed in July 2019 but was loaned out to Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille for his first three seasons before making his Premier League debut in August 2022.
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The Frenchman quickly established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the English top flight and was named in the Premier League Team of the Year twice.
Bent named Gunners skipper Martin Odegaard as Edu’s second-best signing, although he noted ‘some people might have Odegaard one and Saliba two’.
Odegaard first moved to the Emirates Stadium on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021 before making the switch permanent in August of that year for £35m.
The Norwegian has since made over 150 appearances for Arsenal, scoring 35 goals and registering 25 assists.
In third place is Saliba’s partner at centre-back, Gabriel.
The Brazilian joined from Lille for just £27m in September 2020 and has formed one of the most formidable defensive partnerships in Europe alongside Saliba.
Bent’s love-in for Edu’s defensive signings continued when he named right-back Ben White, who joined for £50m from Brighton, as the the fourth-best arrival.
“The reason I’ve gone Ben White is because he was brought in as a centre-back, but he has been unbelievable as a right-back,” Bent said.
Darren Bent’s top 5 Arsenal signings by Edu
- William Saliba
- Martin Odegaard
- Ben White
- Gabriel
- Declan Rice
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“When he’s been asked to step in and play at centre-half, he’s been fantastic.”
Rounding out the top five is club-record £105m star Declan Rice, who moved to Arsenal from West Ham United in July last year.
“For $105m, I expect there to be some level of performance.”
Included in Bent’s list of honourable mentions were Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Aaron Ramsdale and even Riccardo Calafiori, who only joined Arsenal in July.
With Edu now gone, Arteta will soon have a new sporting director to work alongside.
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For Bent, a self-confessed Arsenal fan, the Brazilian’s exit is ‘massive’ given the ‘integral’ role he played at the club.
“The fact he’s going, that’s a big, big blow because that’s one of Arteta’s right-hand men,” Bent said.
“You need that character that shares your vision where even if he doesn’t agree with you, he tells you. He doesn’t just go, ‘You want it, we’ll do it’. He’ll give him reasons why we shouldn’t do it.
“But the fact Edu’s leaving to go to the Marinakis group, that’s the surprising part. The fact he’s leaving is a blow. A big, big blow.”
