Tag Archives: Arsenal

What is the impact of Edu’s Arsenal departure

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Impact of Edu departure

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.

Off to Forest?

In the summer, Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis spoke about how he wanted to poach Edu.

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.

Richard Garlick is a football man.

He spent over 8 years at West Brom before becoming the Premier League’s Director of Football. Garlick’s LinkedIn profile outlines his history in the game:

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

Martinelli injury, Humbled Haaland and Guardiola departing

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Martinelli injury

With 2 goals and 2 assists in the last 3 games, it felt like Martinelli was finally regaining his confidence and returning to form, so it is frustrating to read that he hobbled off in training yesterday for Brazil.

It is not yet clear if it was a pre-caution, or a sign of a bigger issue. What we do know is Gabi was feeling discomfort in his right calf, and he had the area strapped during training. He has since had an MRI scan.

I would be surprised if he plays against Peru, and a longer absence will be frustrating for Mikel Arteta having also seen Bukayo Saka pick up a hamstring injury for England.

What I would say is in Gabriel Jesus, Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard, with have 3 options who can all play outwide against Bournemouth this weekend.

If either Martinelli or Saka is not fully fit, we need to look long term and give them a week off. Following Bournemouth is Shakhtar at home followed by Liverpool away.

Without being arrogant, we should overcome Bournemouth with a front 3 of Sterling, Havertz and Jesus. Saka and Martinelli can then focus on getting fit for Liverpool.

Humbled Haaland

In Martin Odegaards absence, Erling Haaland has been wearing the captains armband.

Following last nights 5-1 defeat to Austria, the stand in captain refused to answer media questions, highlighting that great goal scorers do not necessarily make great leaders.

Players should always be angry and upset when they lose, but a captain should also be aware of his obligation to face up to defeat. Not to run away, hide and cry. Haaland is clearly not leadership material.

I have always thought that Haaland comes across is arrogant. As aloof. That everyone else is below him. And this might be what has helped him become the greatest goal scorer of his generation.

Maybe he needs to take his own advice and stay a bit more humble. Realise that defeats are part of the game. That you can not expect to win every game. And that when you do not get a positive result, you can not just throw your toys out of your pram, abuse others and hide away from your obligatins.

Guardiola departing

At the risk of becoming a Manchester City blog for the day, I want to talk about Roy Keane saying England should “go for” Pep Guardiola.

I get where Roy is coming from. England should go out for the best. But it also shows the Irishman is grasping for headlines in the same way as his pal Greame Souness. it is very clickbait of Roy to say England should go for Pep.

What I did not realise, however, is that Pep’s Manchester City contract is expiring at the end of the season, and Pep has been very coy about his future saing recently “I’ve not decided anything, everything can happen. So I don’t know. Let’s see on my future. I still need to reflect and decide what I want to do.”

Considering Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, and Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander Arnold are in the last season of their contract, the English football could look very different in 12 months. And a host of departures could leave the door open for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.

Arteta has build a young squad that should stay together for the next 5 or 6 years. But we now just need to win the trophies to keep the players happy. Pep departing could put City into disarray. We are perfectly positioned to take advantage of any drop off in City’s performances over the next half a decade.

Keenos

Souness: Wenger a lucky man, not a football man

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What a bitter, bitter man Graeme Souness is.

In a podcast with Simon jordan and Troy Deeney, he has sated that Arsene Wenger was not a football man, just a lucky man.

He goes on to claim that he inherited the “best back 4 in the world”, a “22 year old Dennis Berkgamp and Ian Wright” and got lucky that he managed in a time when “French football produced its greatest ever group of players”.

What a load of rubbish!

Now I get these days that the media these days is all about “creating viral moments”.

Driven by the rise of AFTV and the like, the likes of TalkSPORT now rely on their presenters making outlandish statements or going on rants that can then be clipped for social media in the hope it goes viral. In turn that leads to an increase in revenue.

And podcasts are like this on steroids.

The podcasting world is crammed with idiots fighting for airtime. With podcasters trying to say anything and everything in an attempt to go viral on social media. And this is why a gambling company would put Souness, Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney in a room together.

The Up Front podcast is not about providing an informative look on football by those who have spent decades in the game. It is all about creating viral moments that lead viewers to setting up a betting account.

Souness clearly has a grudge against Wenger. And this comes out later in his rant when he explains that Wenger was the “only manager that ever” came into his office after game and how after a game, he would go to Wenger’s office and Arsene would “never be there”. Jordan is probably spot on when he says “maybe he didn’t like you”.

As for the statement, I always laugh at the back 5 statement.

Yes, Seaman, Dixon, Adams, Keown and Winterburn were a fantastic defence, but Wenger made them better. But each one of those has spoken about Wenger and what he did for his careers. They all credit Wenger and his new fitness regime with letting them pay on so long.

As for his comments about Bergkamp and Wright….

The Dutchmen was 26 when he joined us. He had struggled for consistent form since leaving Ajax for Inter Milan at 24. In 1997, under Arsene Wenger and aged 28, he was named the 3rd greatest football on earth by FIFA.

Meanwhile, Ian Wright was on the decline. He lasted one season under Wenger as a starter before losing his spot to a teenage Nicolas Anelka. Was that lucky?

Wenger built an invincible team. His back four contained a Cameroonian midfielder signed from a mid-table Spanish team and an Ivorian midfielder/winger who had never played centre back, signed for £150k.

In midfield it was a Frenchman who was sitting on Milan’s bench, an unknown Brazilian playing in Brazil, a Swedish fella with red hair and a soft Frenchman who every pundit said di not have the heart to make an impact in the Premier League.

Up top was a former wonderkid winger who was found sitting on the bench at Juventus, An ageing Bergkamp. A Kanu. A player no one else would touch due to heart and knee issues.

Souness is attempting to re-write history with his slander.

I would rather listen to what Ray Parlour, Lee Dixon, Thierry Henry et al say on Wenger (Adams has become bitter in his later years due to being snubbed for a job. What he says these days is very different to what he wrote in his 1998 autobiography Addicted).

Souness is clearly a very unhappy man. Or is just peddling extreme views at the request of a betting company to get clips going viral. And if it is the later I guess I have fed the beast with this blog!

A final thought.

Arsene Wenger signed George Weah. He was discovered playing for Tonnerre Yaoundé in Cameroon. He would go on to win the Ballon D’or.

Greame Souness signed Ali Dia. He had never played a professional game of football before. He was signed following someone calling Souness and telling him Dia was Weah’s cousin. It is considered the worst transfer in Premier League history.

Keenos