Arsenal will take time to appoint Edu successor as ‘power struggle’ denied | OneFootball

Arsenal won’t rush to appoint a successor to Edu Gaspar following the Brazilian’s departure this week, according to a report.

Jorginho signing his new contract with Mikel Arteta and Edu (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar officially resigned from his position on Monday, with the club confirming the news later in the day.

Edu has agreed to take up a role working with the group of teams controlled by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.

Josh Kroenke said in a statement that Arsenal’s succession plan will reflect their continued ambition to win major trophies, but it seems that plan may not be fully in place for a while yet.

Josh Kroenke looks on during the “Football Meets Football” Youth Clinic at the LA Rams NFL training camp on the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) campus on July 26, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Arsenal FC will play Manchester United FC in an exhibition match at SoFi Stadium on Saturday as part of the Rivals in Red USA 2024 Tour. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking to NBC, David Ornstein revealed that Edu’s departure was “a shock” to everybody at Arsenal, with many at the club not knowing it was coming until it broke in the media.

After receiving an “extremely lucrative offer”, Edu opted to depart. Not only for the financial incentive, but also the opportunity to work in a multi-club model.

“Arsenal will set about a search for a replacement,” Ornstein confirmed. “They will do so over time. It will be deep, it will be methodical, they will consider a lot of candidates – maybe more so from outside the club, when you look at the stature of Edu.

“But we’re not expecting an announcement anytime soon, because they will have to take their time over this.”

Declan Rice signing for Arsenal alongside Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar (Photo via Arsenal.com)

Meanwhile, Dharmesh Sheth of Sky Sports has denied any reports of a ‘power struggle’ leading to Edu’s exit.

“It is a blow for Arsenal, we understand that they’re disappointed at the news,” Sheth began. “But I’m told that talk of any kind of internal power struggle is totally untrue. This is entirely Edu’s decision to move.”

It seems the decision was purely down to the sporting director’s ambitions to move into a new role, with a nice salary boost to go along with it.