Edu Gaspar

[db10_therza]

I don't even know who you are these days

@Nacho has just discovered a new angle to launch stealth attacks at Mikel from behind Edu’s bbq is all.

It’s like why he’s all lovey dovey about Jorginho. Give it a week till George comes out with the old “Mikel is the most amazingest coach I’ve ever worked with in all of my past lives” and he’ll change his tune…

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I don't know what people expect from a DOF. He's probably outperformed most others at clubs around the same level as Arsenal in the past few years.

I'd love an example of a DOF that is performing well if Edu is performing badly.

 

[Macho]

@Nacho has just discovered a new angle to launch stealth attacks at Mikel from behind Edu’s bbq is all.

You give me too much credit. Show me an Arteta attack from myself in the last few pages and I will apolgise to Arsenal-Mania.

You're acting like I never slag off Edu, I'm just saying wait and see. I think Arteta has him comfortably beat on talent ID, but you guys can't prove Edu has done a bad job.*

*since they implemented young hungry players strategy.

 

[Goonerist]

We're going to have to be making big name signings on a fairly regular basis for the foreseeable so I think this stuff around Edu being able to complete big deals is a valid concern.

I think with the intensity demanded of players by the likes of Klopp, Arteta, Pep these days you've got to cycle through players pretty quickly. I don't think you'll be having too many of the current crop being mainstays for 7-8 years. Burnout, fatigue etc will take its toll. I don't expect too many of the current lads to be getting testimonials here.

Plus another issue (which I think Arteta with his sort of mentality will be decent with but will put additional pressure on Edu) is if we finish 1st this season or next, that's not job done. You can't rest on your laurels, you have to be cutthroat and continually reinvigorate the squad with fresh blood and improvements to maintain that position and it's not easy to recruit the quality of players that a top, top side needs to improve.


Hitting the top is great but that's only the start, you've got to maintain it and you're not going to do that through just academy graduates or £20-30m signings. You have to be bringing in elite talent on a fairly regular basis and that costs big money and will put pressure on Edu.

Honestly, it's harsh because he has done some decent stuff and is maybe overly maligned at times but I'd bin Edu off now. Get someone with a track record and pedigree in place for the summer when we're after Rice or whoever.

But let’s be a bit honest and rational here.
We are not Man United, City, Chelsea..
We have a budget.
Lets go through Edu’s so called failure..
Vlahovic - We were willing to pay the £50 million but he did not want to join us. Wantes to stay on Italy.

Locatelli- He did not want to join us, wanted to stay in Italy.

Raphinha - Leeds wanted £60 million. We had about £50 million. H wanted to go to Barcelona. Even on that transfer Chelsea came in and slappes £70 million on the table but Raphinha was not interested a bit. Endee up getting his dream move to Barcelona.

Lisandro Martinez. We came in first and quick, put £30 million on the table for a player that was worth about that. We came back and made a good £45 million offer. Man United from out of nowhere came in and slapped £56 million on the table and that was that. Lisandro working with his former manager (Ten Hag) was the clincher.

Mudryk - A £35 million range kind of player. We come in on £45 million, we went as far as £70 million. Chelsea hear about it, they slap £80 million the table with a 8 year contract.

We turn to Caicedo, a £35-£40 million player. chelsea tried with £55 million but were rejectes. We came in with £60 million. Gets rejected. Tried again with £70 million, rejectee again even if the player wanted to join.

And we still have people wanting Declan Rice -£80+ million.

Now let’s see how much altogether we would have spent to get all those players we we gave into the overinflated asking prices.

Vlahovic - £50 million.
Raphinha - £60 million.
Lisandro -£56 million.
Mudryk - £80 million.
Caicedo -£80 million
Rice -£80 million
Locatelli -£34 million
Etc..

We went in for Jesus for £45 million and even many of us thought we were overpaying for a City reject with a year left on his contract. But if Chelsea or United had come in, slapped £65 million on the table for him and we pulled put, we would be here saying how “Edu failed in securing yet another first choice target.

We lost out on Lisandro and went in straight for Zinchecko for about £35 million. But if Chelsea had come in, inflated the price by bidding £50 million and we pulled out, we would have added Zinchecko as another embarrassing failed Edu target.

When we wanted Partey, White, Ødegaard, Ramsdale etc we paid what we thought was fair and was in our budget range. It all worked out as we did not have any of the big money boys competing with us for those players. But if Chelsea, City, United etc had come in for any of those players, there is no way we would have signed them for the prices we paid. Those prices would have been inflated to near double of what we paid and they would not have ended up at Arsenal.

Just think about it, Arsenal spending £80 million on Caicedo and £80 million on Mudryk in the same Window plus £80 million for Rice in the summer? I absolutely don’t ever see that in my life time as an Arsenal fan.

I just think we need to calm down some times and not let our emotions cloud our logical and rational thinking / judgement. We have never competed with Man United ever, never with City since 2008 and Chelsea since 2004..
We just always hope to be going for players that are not on Barcelona, Madrid, City, Chelsea or United wish lists as we will alway 90% of the time come second.

 

[Blood on the Tracks]

Can someone name me a deal where you think 'Wow Edu really did a good job there' because I can't.

I'm not talking about the quality of player but getting a deal over the line that looked hard to pull off from the outset.

Edu's got no pedigree to speak of, that's not really his fault and his track record with getting deals, particularly big ones over the line here hasn't exactly been stellar. Is it that wrong or unfair to want a proven commodity with the track record to back it up?

Realistically how confident would members on here be with Edu going up against his Chelsea counterpart for Rice in the summer or god forbid going up against Real Madrid for Bellingham.

Bellingham would be a long shot admittedly Edu or not but these of the calibre of players we need to be signing to push on. If Edu isn't good at getting big deals signed sealed and delivered then I don't think it's heresy to want him replaced.

 

[Trilly]

Fine. He’s 1 for 4. Happy?

I wouldn't even give him the Jesus transfer tbh.

It's not like we're saying Edu is awful at his job. Just pretty average, maybe even decent. But 'decent' isn't enough to compete in the PL.

 

[Trilly]

I didn't know Trilly got triggered by disliking his posts.

I don't. I just wanted to understand the guys point.

 

[db10_therza]

You give me too much credit. Show me an Arteta attack from myself in the last few pages and I will apolgise to Arsenal-Mania.

I mean… this is literally from the last page…

Why is it Arteta is seen as whatever and some of you have so much vim for the director

To be fair you have evolved your game to the extent that now instead of lobbing grenades you just open the door and encourage someone else to. This kind of adaptability is why you’re my favourite poster on AM.

As for the rest of the post, I actually think we’re all in ageeement here : WAIT FOR THE SUMMER

Some of us are glass half empty and some are half full but that’s all there is to it really.

 

[El Duderino]

Can someone name me a deal where you think 'Wow Edu really did a good job there' because I can't.

I'm not talking about the quality of player but getting a deal over the line that looked hard to pull off from the outset.

Edu's got no pedigree to speak of, that's not really his fault and his track record with getting deals, particularly big ones over the line here hasn't exactly been stellar. Is it that wrong or unfair to want a proven commodity with the track record to back it up?

Realistically how confident would members on here be with Edu going up against his Chelsea counterpart for Rice in the summer or god forbid going up against Real Madrid for Bellingham.

Bellingham would be a long shot admittedly Edu or not but these of the calibre of players we need to be signing to push on. If Edu isn't good at getting big deals signed sealed and delivered then I don't think it's heresy to want him replaced.

People get so triggered by a whiff of critiscm. All that @db10_therza @Trilly and us are saying is that the jury is out on Edu and that, so far, everytime he starts chasing the big name of the window, he's come empty handed.

It's a valid concern and something we see as a challange for him this summer.

But, as usual, it's either/or with Arsenal-Mania, so all they read is that we're saying Edu eats his steaks well done and that he's a horrible human being.

 

[Macho]

Can someone name me a deal where you think 'Wow Edu really did a good job there' because I can't.

I'm not talking about the quality of player but getting a deal over the line that looked hard to pull off from the outset.

Name an example? because I'd just point you to Jesus who had a couple of suitors and Ødegaard - the loan a number of clubs wanted him and the permanent deal was a bargain.

Tomiyasu Sp**s wanted him and there is no City connection for you to credit the whole signing to Arteta in this instance, or Brazilian connection there.

Furthermore, what's wrong with identifying lesser known targets, securing them and performing like Ben White? That's what Arsenal has always done why has Mudryk and Caceido changed this for some of you?

 

[drippin]

I think Arteta has him comfortably beat on talent ID, but you guys can't prove Edu has done a bad job.*

*since they implemented young hungry players strategy.

Is there some evidence that Arteta has been better at talent ID than Edu? Athletic saying something maybe, or some other source?

Because my impression is that they work as a team. So I would really love to see some proof on these matters.

 

[El Duderino]

I don't. I just wanted to understand the guys point.

Discuss instead of using that clown emoji, @Rygura. Fvcking puzzy.

@Oh_Snap and @Rygura

Instead of sending me dislikes like a bunch of cowards you should visit me so the three of us can go to the pub. I can ask some girls to join us if you wish. You guys do like puzzy, right?

 

[Macho]

I mean… this is literally from the last page…



To be fair you have evolved your game to the extent that now instead of lobbing grenades you just open the door and encourage someone else to. This kind of adaptability is why you’re my favourite poster on AM.

As for the rest of the post, I actually think we’re all in ageeement here : WAIT FOR THE SUMMER

Some of us are glass half empty and some are half full but that’s all there is to it really.

You call that an attack? Why can you guys not credit both Arteta and Edu is a fair enough question not an insult it's clearly a collaborative effort.

 

[Trilly]

A club not in Europe or in the Europa at best probably has to sign nobodies for a while. It's not excuses it's just context. 1st place for 6 months I guess expectations grew, but the budget did not.

That's fine. But that's what he did, and that's easier than signing somebodies. Remember this all goes back to the point of: I'm not sure he has it in him to be an elite DoF or wtf he is.

Excuses or factors? January was never a good window to begin with but throw in a very recent world cup bumping up the prices into the mix and a wildcard named Boehly it really was unprecedented.

Who really killed it this Jan? Arsenal and Chelsea were the busiest clubs.

I said the excuses were valid. If that converts it into a factor then cool. Not sure what what the point of this paragraph was really but I guess you were on a roll!

Arsenal's best work in the transfer market is usually done in the summer. Signing hype names isn't a proper criteria just a preference. If the player works, they work but lets see.

Wow we do our best work in Summer? Like pretty much every other club? Damn, that's crazy. I've marked June in my calendar! Also don't tarnish my argument by reducing it to being about hyped names.

 

[El Duderino]

Is there some evidence that Arteta has been better at talent ID than Edu? Athletic saying something maybe, or some other source?

Because my impression is that they work as a team. So I would really love to see some proof on these matters.

Edu wanted Neto over Ramsdale, Arteta pushed for White over someone else, iirc. Manager also blocked the Arthur loan, apparently.

Think those were in the Athletic, difficult to find now, but it was not from ITKs, but reporters.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I'd love an example of a DOF that is performing well if Edu is performing badly.

Just one name?

 

[Macho]

Is there some evidence that Arteta has been better at talent ID than Edu? Athletic saying something maybe, or some other source?

Because my impression is that they work as a team. So I would really love to see some proof on these matters.

Sure.

Spoiler: Arteta, Edu and Garlic dynamic from summer 2021.

---

Strategy

Arsenal’s new direction is perfectly clear: They have made six summer signings, all aged 23 or under. There has been a clear attempt to refresh and rejuvenate the squad.

If any confirmation of Arsenal’s thinking was required, it came in the form of a leaked all-staff communication from chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

“Our approach for this window was framed by fully recognising that we are not where we want to be on the pitch — finishing eighth last season, with no European football for the first time in many years. This is well below the standards each of us all have, and of course that our fans rightly demand of us, which is to be competing for the biggest trophies in the game.

“Whilst we would love to jump from where we are to where we want to be in an instant, we need to be realistic that the gap is too large to do that. As such, our activity this window has been focused on youth.

“Our strategy is to fill our squad with some of Europe’s most exciting young talent, with players from both our academy and further afield, that can grow and develop together under Mikel to take us where we want to get to.

“Whilst this will not be overnight, we can make positive progress, and it gives us the best route to future success in a sustainable way.”


On a recent Sky broadcast, pundit Gary Neville said he was unsure what Arsenal’s recruitment strategy was. Fortunately for Neville, Venkatesham has provided a concise distillation.

This appears to be indicative of a club learning from its mistakes. Just last summer, they handed three-year contracts to Willian and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, both the wrong side of 30. So far, neither deal has provided anything like value — in fact, Willian’s contract was terminated by mutual consent shortly before the transfer deadline.

There were several imperatives behind Arsenal’s strategic switch: most obviously, a need to rebalance the age profile of the squad.

However, there were also financial motives at play. Arsenal have been touted as spending more than £150 million in transfer fees this summer. While it’s true the owners have made funds available to support the team, most of those deals include performance-related add-ons and staggered payments.

Perhaps more importantly, these deals have helped Arsenal recalibrate their wage structure. In 2019, Josh Kroenke admitted Arsenal had “a Champions League wage bill on a Europa League budget”. For the time being, they are in neither competition. Arsenal can’t, in their position, continue to dole out the extravagant salaries afforded to the likes of Aubameyang. Arsenal are also conscious of the regulations regarding Financial Fair Play that exist in both the Premier League and UEFA competitions, in which they hope to participate.

Without exception, the new arrivals will receive affordable salaries. It’s important to contextualise these purchases, and the fees paid for them, accordingly. Ben White may have had commanded a higher transfer fee than Raphael Varane, but is understood to earn less than a third of his wage. The Athletic understands White earns around £80,000 per week with bonuses, white Varane’s salary at United is at least £300,000 per week.


That means over the next four years, including a baseline fee of £34 million, Varane could cost Manchester United a gross total of £100 million. By that stage he will be 32, without significant resale value.

In the same period, White would cost Arsenal closer to £67 million. Furthermore, he will be 27 at that time, and ought to still have considerable value on the transfer market.

Players on lower salaries are, as Arsenal have discovered to their cost, typically easier to sell. Arsenal have bought players whose transfer value stands a good chance of increasing over the coming seasons. In the cases where the deal doesn’t work out, they hope they will be protected against being lumbered with unwanted, immovable players on prohibitively high wages.

Arsenal accept they have paid a premium for the English pair of White and Aaron Ramsdale. In both instances, it was manager Arteta who urged the club to complete the deals. They believe, however, that English premium works both ways: when they come to leave Arsenal, their homegrown status should protect their value somewhat.

Arsenal also believe they have not simply acquired “kids”. These six players all have considerable experience. Martin Ødegaard is the captain of Norway, Albert Sambi Lokonga captained Anderlecht. Takehiro Tomiyasu has already won 23 caps for Japan. Even Nuno Tavares has already payed 35 games in the Portuguese Primeira Liga. There is no goalkeeper in Europe aged 23 or under who has played more top-flight football in the past two years than Ramsdale. Arsenal hope the team will feel their impact sooner rather than later.

This is not, however, a strategy of Arteta’s design. It is something the club’s hierarchy have arrived at together. Strategic conversations between the technical director, the wider executive, the board (including trusted Kroenke advisor Tim Lewis), and ownership saw the club take this course. The manager was of course a voice at the table, but this was not one man’s plan. This is a club decision. Arsenal gave consideration to laying out their strategy publicly at the start of the summer but ultimately decided to let their actions do the talking.

---

Talent identification

The initial list of transfer targets that formed the basis for Arsenal’s summer businesses was actually pulled together in advance of the 2021 January transfer window. Names have been added or dropped off since then, but that was when the blueprint for this strategy was first laid out.


Arteta’s promotion from head coach to manager has created some confusion among outsiders over what the hierarchy of decision-making is. While every deal is different, the basic internal process for recruitment is as follows:

Firstly, Arteta and technical director Edu draw up a list of requirements. Arsenal’s “scouting” team then draw up lists of potential targets. While the club dispensed with the vast majority of their scouts in the redundancies of 2020, they retained some staff who effectively took up the mantle: Jason Ayto is the club’s player recruitment co-ordinator, Mark Curtis is first-team scout, and Tolly Coburn is in charge of analytics strategy and application. Ben Knapper, the club’s loan manager, also forms part of this team, which loosely became known as the “Football Intelligence” department.

The idea was to integrate a number of previously separate departments, reporting directly into Edu, streamlining information regarding squad-planning, scouting assessments, development pathways and loans. Arsenal have subsequently begun adding new scouts back into this team. Edu and Ayto interviewed successful candidates including ex-Fulham senior scout James Ellis, former Manchester United and City scout Romain Poirot, and the former Manchester United and Inter scout Toni Lima.

While previously there was tension between the traditional scouting department and “Stat DNA” (now known as Arsenal Data Analytics), the “Football Intelligence” team contains a number of former analysts who are more comfortable with using video and data in assessing players and producing reports. The intention is to see data become integrated in the process — for it to be a complement rather than a contradiction. Any potential signing goes through a data-based “check”. In most cases this summer, a consensus was found.

Arteta and his coaching staff both filter and feed into the lists produced by the recruitment team. Both of Arteta’s assistants, Steve Round and Albert Stuivenberg, have a voice in these discussions. They also contribute to building up knowledge of the player, discreetly speaking to coaching staff from other clubs to determine information about their background and character. That was of particular importance to Arteta this summer: he was clear he wanted players with the right personality for his project.

With the list of targets finalised, it falls to Arteta and Edu to decide upon what action to take. The case of Ødegaard was one of absolute consensus — he had figured prominently on those initial lists from the winter of 2020, and his loan spell had convinced everyone of his quality and strength of character.

The additions of Lokonga and Nuno Tavares, meanwhile, were heavily influenced by Edu’s scouting department — Arteta even went so far as to thank the recruitment team for pointing him in Tavares’ direction. It is, for the most part, a very collaborative process.


However, the indications this summer are that Arteta has ultimately wielded the most influence. While White and Tomiyasu were both approved by all departments, it was Arteta’s testimony that convinced the hierarchy to proceed with the deals. In the case of Ramsdale, the coaching department had perhaps the greatest input, partly because goalkeepers are considered such a specialist area. When Sheffield United dug in with their demands, Edu and his team advocated for cheaper alternatives, including Barcelona’s Neto. In the end, Arteta’s conviction in Ramsdale is what won out, and the clubs met in the middle. If a collaborative process drew up the list of targets, it seems it was Arteta’s single-mindedness that drove through the deals he most wanted.

With authority, comes responsibility. Arteta is aware that as manager he will be judged by the quality of his talent identification.

---

 

[db10_therza]

That's fine. But that's what he did, and that's easier than signing somebodies. Remember this all goes back to the point of: I'm not sure he has it in him to be an elite DoF or wtf he is.


I said the excuses were valid. If that converts it into a factor then cool. Not sure what what the point of this paragraph was really but I guess you were on a roll!

Wow we do our best work in Summer? Like pretty much every other club? Damn, that's crazy. I've marked June in my calendar! Also don't tarnish my argument by reducing it to being about hyped names.

Damn. My guy @Trilly of Arabia una…

 

[Macho]

Spoiler: Part 2

The deals

Perhaps the most significant difference in Arsenal’s approach to deal-making since the previous transfer window has been the addition of Richard Garlick. Although he has no input on the technical decisions on recruitment, he provides considerable support on contractual matters. The former director of football at the Premier League joined as Arsenal’s new director of football operations in May and was almost immediately thrown into the cut and thrust of negotiations. Within a matter of days of the Premier League season ending, talks for White, Lokonga and Ramsdale were underway.

Garlick initially led the charge on all those deals. In the cases of White and Ramsdale, there was a clear logic to putting him front and centre — in his Premier League role, Garlick had developed relationships with many English clubs. He has a particularly strong connection with Brighton technical director Dan Ashworth on account of their time together at West Brom.

Arsenal and Garlick hoped to get deals done early — this was always going to be a busy window, and there was a desire to start ticking items off their considerable “to do” list. For Garlick, there was the added pressure of being the new man at the club, and wanting to deliver.

It was not easy to move fast, however. With Arsenal having to delicately manage their expenditure, and Garlick new in the job, almost every new bid or revised contract offer had to be approved at a board meeting. Whereas the Arsène Wenger and Ivan Gazidis regime were granted considerable latitude in negotiations, this summer the board were kept abreast of every development. In the midst of the transfer window, the Arsenal hierarchy convened between one to three times a week to consider their next move. Arteta attended many of these summits to receive updates and voice his opinion. Towards the end of the window, Josh Kroenke travelled to London to be around for the deals and was in attendance at the training ground on the day Arsenal signed Martin Ødegaard and Ramsdale.

In the end, it took five formal bids to land White. The Ramsdale negotiations were particularly protracted as Sheffield United’s owners had appointed intermediaries to act for them in the sale: only near the end of the process did Arsenal deal directly with the key decision-makers. In the case of White and Ramsdale, Arsenal faced the difficulty of balancing their desire to get the deals done quickly, with the fact they were effectively bidding against themselves.

Edu did his share of the talking too. When negotiations with Anderlecht over Lokonga reached a critical point, it was the technical director who stepped in. He led talks with Benfica for Nuno Tavares, and was heavily involved in the deadline day deal for Tomiyasu. The Brazilian also liaised with Barcelona over a possible swap deal for Hector Bellerin, spearheaded Arsenal’s interest in Inter striker Lautaro Martinez, and made contact regarding a possible deal for Jules Kounde. It was a “horses for courses” approach: Arsenal leant on the varying contacts and language skills of Edu and Garlick to navigate the market accordingly.

Unsurprisingly given the travel restrictions, most deals were done digitally — via phone calls, Zoom meetings, and WhatsApp. Edu’s family holidays have generated significant publicity, understandably so given the optics, but he was still able to join the necessary calls. Face-to-face meetings were held with Brighton and Sheffield United, with Edu and Garlick both in attendance.

Once fees were agreed, it was Arteta who was charged with making phone calls to players, informing them of his plans and persuading them to join Arsenal. In some cases he spoke with players multiple times, explaining how he saw them fitting into his tactical system.



https://cdn.theathletic.com/app/uploads/2021/08/26005823/Ødegaard.jpg



Under Edu’s instruction, it was Garlick who brokered the player contracts. This summer Arsenal have fully dispensed with the inclusion of image rights in new player deals — only one remaining senior player has those, and it is a contract granted by a previous regime. Arsenal have also inserted an optional extra year on the deals of each of their summer signings, granting the club more flexibility and agency in their squad planning. It is worth pointing out that Arsenal also reached new long-term agreements with Kieran Tierney and Emile Smith Rowe this summer — two hugely important players in their own right.

An unsung hero of the club, the long-serving player liaison officer Paul Irwin, also played a key role in the logistics of each transfer, ensuring signings navigated the necessary COVID-19 restrictions, and organising travel and accommodation.

The deal to sign Ødegaard was one where Arsenal were prepared to wait — and they had to. The player’s priority was to remain with Real Madrid, but when he was excluded from the squad at the outset of the Spanish season, Real’s intentions became clear. Unable to shift other saleable assets, Madrid decided to sell the Norwegian to raise funds for their ill-fated bid for Kylian Mbappe. When Ødegaard saw the writing on the wall, he was more than happy to rejoin Arsenal. Ultimately Kia Joorabchian helped broker the transfer, representing Real Madrid as an intermediary.

When it came to right-back, Arsenal laboured to find a player of the correct profile and was available at a reasonable fee. Tomiyasu is someone they had expressed interest in earlier in the window and returned to in the final 72 hours. Arsenal always hoped to add a right-back, and after the team’s poor start to the season, that need became all the more pressing.

The Athletic isn't gospel but I choose to believe this. I will bookmark this as I have a feeling I will need this a lot.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

Also none of the 4/5 sides behind us really improved significantly this window, they must have diabolical DOFs