Ian Wright has shared that Edu and Mikel Arteta told him that agents are now ‘liking what Arsenal are doing’ after the Brazilian was initially getting flak for his work at the club, as he told Wrighty’s House Podcast.
The Highbury legend added that agents can now see the direction the club are heading down, so those agents now want to ‘put their players in Arsenal’.
Edu is in charge of running Arsenal’s transfer ship, and in truth, he has had a mixed time of it, from one of their worst buys in Willian to the success story of Gabriel.
South American football expert, Tim Vickery, shared that back in Edu’s home country of Brazil, he has had ‘extremely mixed views’ for the work he has done in north London, as some feel he is ‘too close to certain agents’.
Nonetheless, this is what Wright had to say about speaking to, both Edu and Arsenal’s man in the dugout and what they told him.
“I remember going to the training ground,” said Wright. “I had a meeting with Edu and Mikel. We were just talking about the way Arsenal are now building with the young players and the excitement of what’s going on with a young manager.
“Remember how much (flak) Edu was taking because he has come from Brazil, doesn’t even know this job, then you look at the windows they have been involved in and the players they have brought in.
“How the team got themselves somewhere, but they just couldn’t quite see it off. They are ready. What they said to me was that agents and people out there are looking at Arsenal and liking what they are doing.
“I believe if we did get into the Champions League, then we would have signed an even higher calibre of players. What they are saying is that Edu doesn’t have to go to people and try to convince them by saying ‘Arsenal are going to do this and Arsenal are going to do that’.
“They can see it now, so agents want to put their players in Arsenal now because they know it’s a progressive, big club and it’s on its way back. Your player can come here and make a massive difference, so they have people banging on the door.”
SUMMER GOING WELL FOR ARSENAL SO FAR…
After failing to secure Champions League football last season, the Gunners were always going to be on the back foot regarding transfers.
But, so far, they have managed to do a solid job in bringing in that sought-after number nine in Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, whilst Fabio Vieira also arrived from Porto.
It doesn’t seem as though they are going to stop there because Youri Tielemans is still being talked about, with the Leicester City midfielder having one-year left on his contract.
Then there is Ajax defender, Lisandro Martinez, who isn’t just a target for the Gunners, but Manchester United, who will also be playing Europa League football next season.
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