Edu's Arsenal Transfer Hits and Misses: A £794m Investment Analysis

Arsenal are facing the departure of their talented sporting director Edu, who has been instrumental in securing some of their top signings in the last five years.

The former Gunners player rejoined the club in 2019 as technical director before becoming their first ever sporting director in November 2022.

The 46-year-old is now set to join Evangelos Marinakis’ group of clubs which including Nottingham Forest.

It is devastating blow for Arsenal and Mikel Arteta as Edu has helped build the side that came close to winning the Premier League title over the last seasons, signing some of the best players in the world.

That said, he was also responsible for several high profile flops that set back the Arsenal project. With that in mind, Metro takes a look at the best and worst signings Edu has made:

Since Edu joined the backroom staff at the Emirates five years ago, Arsenal have spent approximately £794million on 36 new signings.

They twice broke their transfer record fee, with Declan Rice’s £100m move from West Ham in the summer of 2023 topping the bill.

In the same period, the Gunners sold £281 worth of players, the most expensive of which was Emile Smith Rowe’s move to Fulham last summer which could rise to £34m after add-ons.

Though Gabriel Martinelli actually moved to the Emirates a week before Edu began his role as technical director, it is said he was crucial to convincing his fellow Brazilian of the Gunners project.

The young forward from Ituano has struggled of late but he has an impressive 70 goal contributions in 189 appearances with his best years still ahead of him. A steal at just £6m.

William Saliba also signed from Saint-Etienne in Edu’s first summer for £27m but didn’t make his Arsenal debut until three years later.

It was worth the wait, with the France star arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League right now and a vital player Mikel Arteta can’t live without.

Martin Odegaard‘s six-month loan spell from Real Madrid was solid yet unspectacular and Edu explored other options before re-signing the attacking midfielder for £30m.

Now club captain, the Norwegian is the glue that holds the Gunners together and it’s no surprise that their recent drop in form has coincided with his spell in the treatment room.

Honourable mentions: Gabriel Magalhaes, Ben White, Leandro Trossard, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, David Raya

After trying and failing all of summer 2019 to sign Wilfried Zaha, Arsenal decided to break their transfer record on another Ivory Coast winger: Nicolas Pepe.

The £72m gamble didn’t pay off and after just 16 league goals in three seasons, they let him go on a free. It should be noted that Edu had his doubts over Pepe but was said to be vetoed by then-Head of Football Raul Sanllehi.

It seemed like Edu had pulled off a major coup by poaching experienced winger Willian from rivals Chelsea on a free in 2020, but it was not to be, scoring just once in 37 games.

His three-year contract – worth £30m – was terminated just one year in and the Brazilian later labelled his spell at the club as the ‘worst time’ of his career.

Albert Sambi Lokonga arrived from Anderlecht in 2021 with much promise and a £17m price tag, but while still contracted to Arsenal, his future in north London appears non-existent.

Now on his third loan away from the club, a decent spell at Luton last season proved there is a player there, but otherwise the midfielder’s performances have been very forgettable.

Dishonourable mentions: David Luiz, Pablo Mari, Runar Alex Runarsson, Nuno Tavares

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.