A week of instability both on and off the pitch. At least that’s what it can be seen as, that is.
While results for the Arsenal have been anything but ideal in recent weeks, off the pitch the news of Edu’s departure from his sporting director role has also been a main headline.
A change of the hierachy that is cause for concern to some people, and a natural turnover to others. The reality painted, is that Edu wants a project where he has more of a hands on approach, but with how shaky things have been on the pitch at times, it’s easy to think of the worst behind the scenes.
Still, with Edu departing, that is now an invincible out of the building. A lot of clubs take pride in having a modern-day connection to their strongest achievements of yesteryear. Arsenal are no strangers to that ourselves, with players as recent as Jack Wilshere and Per Mertesacker taking on roles at the club, while the likes of Steve Bould, Pat Rice and of course our current manager also having hundreds of Arsenal games under their belt.
What I ask is, is there any former Gunners you’d like to see involved at the club again? Anybody who you think could have a positive influence, whether in the structure of the club and the mood, or simply coaching in general.
Back to the present, and Stamford Bridge awaits for a war-weary Arsenal side. A blunt display in our last Premier League outing, followed by a much-improved, though-still-goalless display against Inter leaves Arsenal in a position of needing something to click to force home a notable result before the international break.
Mikel Arteta isn’t a stranger to facing Chelsea after a tough run of form. Many saw the 3-1 win at home in December 2020 as a major moment in Arteta retaining his job, while a 4-2 win at the Bridge in 2022 halted a three-match losing streak (ahem), and a 3-1 win in May 2023 ended a four-match winless run. Arteta will be hoping that the recent months’ combination of injuries, notable match-turning decisions and a tough fixture list can start to wean away on Sunday. With Martin Ødegaard back, and a kinder schedule as we enter the busy festive period, a win away at Chelsea without anymore noteworthy disciplinary moments or cheap penalty giveaways would be a nice change of pace and something to regain some momentum with.
Will Arsenal be able to channel recent results against the blues into more good fortune on Sunday? With memories at the Bridge as recent as Nketiah and Gabriel and as timeless as Kanu and Winterburn and many more, let’s hope so. Maybe a first goal for the club for Timber? A memorable Ethan moment off the bench? Either way, let’s hope those three points are in the hands of those in red come 6:30pm Sunday.
The most important factor in a club these days is the togetherness of the holy trinity.
Not, I am not talking about the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am talking about a football clubs Manager, Director of Football and Owner.
Whilst Edu has his criticis, mainly from fans who could not run a bath and have never negotiated for a house, he has been key in Arsenal’s revival. And perhaps even more important then his individual influence has been the way he has worked with Mikel Arteta and Josh Kroenke.
The 3 have pulled us out of the doldrums. Reinvigorated a club that felt it was on life support. And the most important factor in this has been the togetherness of the Senior Leadership Team.
Since the departure of Raul Sanllehi, Edu, Arteta and Kroenke Jr have worked together on all football matters, with finally Vinai Venkatesham and now Richard Garlick dealing with the commercial arm of the team.
Everyone knew their roles. there was no ego. No back stabbing. No self promoting. And the clarity of direction in the board room led to a clarity of direction on the football pitch.
Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool and Aston Villa are probably the 4 best run clubs in England right now. They are the ones whose leadership teams are pulling as one. Zero infighting.
Meanwhile Tottenham’s boardroom is in crisis. Manchester United’s in clueless. Chelsea’s is at civil war. And Newcastle and West Ham have individuals self-promoting themselves. Like those well run clubs rise to the top, those with issues often falter.
Whilst Edu’s skills as a sporting director might be replaceable, the relationship he has with both Kroenke and Arteta is unique and not easily replicable.
The Greek owner reportedly had high hopes for Edu, with rumours circulating that he would install the Brazilian as a sort-of CEO specialising in international football across all his endeavours.
Ultimately, Edu is an employee. And everyone who has worked for a company would have seen a senior colleague leave for a role on the next step of the ladder. Even if that ladder is at a smaller organization.
Whilst joining Nottingham Forest will be a step down in organization size, the job role Marinakis has him penciled in for is a more senior run. He would be running the entire football operation across multiple countries on behalf of Marinakis rather than just as a sporting director at Arsenal.
With the multi-club model becoming more and more popular, this is a step that could eventually see Edu return back up the table to the likes of a Manchester City or Chelsea overseeing their owners multi-club structure.
And I would imagine the new job comes with a huge payrise…
Shunned by Arsenal?
Arsenal appointed Richard Garlick as new Director of Football Operations back in January. It is a role that I am sure Edu had put his hat in for…
Being shunned for a job is not a good feeling, and can lead you looking for jobs elsewhere. Is this potentially what has happened to Edu?
He felt he was ready to take the next step up in his career. We told him there was a better candidate. Edu began looking for a new job. Again, if you think of this as normal work life, it is something that everyone will probably go through at some point.
Having had discussions with Marinakis over the summer (not illegal to have conversations with a potential new employer), he might have hit Arsenal with an ultimatum – pay me more and promote me or I am off. And if this is true, then Arsenal have shown him the door.
Garlick influence
When Edu came in, Arsenal were lacking “football men” in the boardroom. The majority of those running the club were more focused on finances and commercial deals than the pitch. Edu changed that.
I held a variety of positions, including Legal Director, Club Secretary, Sporting and Technical Director and Director of Football Administration. I was appointed to the Board of Directors in 2010.
Responsible for all football administration matters at WBA and led on negotiations with players, intermediaries, clubs, head coaches and senior football staff.
The feeling at the club could now be that with a football man at the helm, we no longer need Edu.
Previously the man at the top of the tree (Vinai, Ivan), were business first. Meanwhile Garlick has all the skills of Edu and more!
We may well see Garlick absorb Edu’s roles into his own job, and then offset some of the commercial minded roles to Juliet Slott., the clubs Chief Commercial Officer.
That would see us focused on the football from the very top, rather than commercial first then football.
This does not mean garlic has pushed Edu out. More than the leadership structure has been potentially reviewed and a decision made that you do not need two people (Edu and Garlick) with a similar skill set capable of fulfilling a similar role.
Other runners and riders…
I have seen some mention Marc Overmars, but he is currently on a year long ban from all football activities. I am not sure if we would want to touch him.
If we are looking for a more junior person to take over some of Edu’s lesser responsibilities, then we might see Per Mertesacker promoted from Academy Manager. That way we would keep that strong link between Arteta and the board through the Big German!
Keenos
Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas presents?
Our Arsenal ceramic coasters and bottle openers make a fantastic gift set! #Arsenal#AFC#NEWARS
Winning the league ain’t easy. And defeat to Newcastle has made it that little bit harder.
I always think during a campaign there are litmus tests. Decent sides who you need to get a result at away. This season they are the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
The trio are not title challengers, but will probably the best of the rest. And anyone that goes away to all three and wins will probably lift the Premier League title. We have 2 wins and a loss in the games.
It was always a tough start to the season.
10 games in and we have been away to Manchester City, Newcastle, Villa and Spurs. Our 11th game is away to Chelsea. Liverpool aside, that will be our 5 toughest away days done and we have only played a dozen games.
Our second defeat of the season leaves us 7 points off top. To some, that is already an impossible gap to close and our title chances are being written off.
Personally, I do not think we are out of the title race. We have had a very tough start and we are more than capable of winning 10 on the spin.
To mount a title challenge season in, season out is not an easy thing to do.
During our peak period under Arsene Wenger (1997/98-2004/05), we did not challenge for the title every season, even if we finished second in the league.
In 1999/2000, we finished 18 points behind Manchester United. The season after it was 10. In both of these years it never felt like we were in the title race despite finishing second. Likewise in 2004/05, once our unbeaten run was ended it felt like Chelsea ran away with it. Again we finished 2nd but we never really challenged.
Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp were a force to be reckoned with. They were Manchester City’s closest challengers for so long. But the my didn’t not challenge for the title every season.
2018/19 was the first year they Liverpool challenged under Klopp, finishing second with a mammoth 97 points. The year after they won’t the league! But then in 2020/21 they failed to mount a challenge, finishing 3rd and 17 points behind.
They challenged once again in 2021/22, finishing 2nd and a single point behind. And then after that they fell away with a 5th place finish (22 points behind) and 3rd place finish (9 points behind).
In the 8 full seasons under Klopp, I would say Liverpool only put up a proper title challenge in 4 of them (18/19, 19/20, 20/21 & 23/24).
Our title challenge this season might be over following the defeat to Newcastle. And if that is the case I will be disappointed. But not challenging for the title every year does turn you into a poor team, or make you a poor manager.
Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t challenge for the title every year. Neither did Wenger or Klopp. Even Pep Guardiola with City has not challenged year in, year out.
We can not keep questioning Mikel Arteta and claiming we are in some sort of crisis everytime we have a result that does not go our way.
She Wore A Yellow Ribbon 