Edu to Forest, just as we were noting their figures were misleading | Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team

In the upcoming season, we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Herbert Chapman joining Arsenal. To mark this occasion, we’ll be publishing a series of articles exploring how Arsenal successfully brought him on board and the impacts he made during his time with the club. You can keep up with the series here.

As we were putting together this morning's article about Nottingham Forest's rise into the top four, none of us had any idea that Edu was about to depart from Arsenal and head north—at least to the East Midlands.

The individual leading this endeavor is Evangelos Marinakis, who is known as the owner of Nottingham Forest. Some people refer to him as larger than life, and others say he seems even bigger than his tailored outfits. At the moment, he is embroiled in a legal battle, facing serious allegations that he has been involved in a criminal organization of which he is said to be the leader. He has vehemently denied these accusations. The charges against him include match-fixing, extortion, fraud, and arson, with strong evidence suggesting he may also have deep connections to international heroin trafficking.

He’s a person with a keen interest in the fascinating shipping industry. It's important to clarify that there's nothing inherently wrong with shipping; however, this field sometimes comes up in discussions about unusual matters. For example, during investigations into Russian funds, it was revealed that some of that money was tied to their vessels. That said, I want to emphasize that we have no reason to suspect any wrongdoing.

Edu's departure is definitely surprising, especially since there haven’t been any hints or rumors about it before now. We often see photos of Edu and Arteta deep in conversation, usually with their hands covering their mouths to prevent speculation about their discussions.

It's kind of amusing, especially since just yesterday we were talking about how Forest has made such progress. This makes us think that the figures might not tell the whole story. But of course, Edu has a much better understanding of the situation than we do.

However, Edu will need to fulfill his notice period, and he isn't the only managerial assistant available. There's bound to be someone else who can handle the situation effectively.

While I can't say for certain if it's been officially acknowledged, I've always had the feeling that Edu was the key figure who brought Martinelli to Arsenal, especially after Manchester United's indecision about whether or not to sign the young talent. That said, it's important to remember that no one is irreplaceable.

Edu became the technical director just four years back, but it feels like he has been part of the organization for a much longer time. Reports suggest that he played a key role in hiring Arteta.

He’s the one who successfully signed players such as Martin Ødegaard, Ben White, Gabriel Magalhães, Gabriel Jesus, and Declan Rice for the team.

There's always been a significant issue in Edu's past that has shadowed his efforts to reshape Arsenal's team. At one point, he attempted to join the club using a fake passport. As a Brazilian, he didn’t have the same automatic residency rights that would come with a Portuguese passport. At the time, Edu's agent was reportedly linked to this deception, though we lack any independent verification of these claims.

At the same time, some of the newspapers’ coverage of Edu's exit is ridiculous. They're putting the blame on him for not bringing in a center forward, which is absurd considering that Arsenal scored 91 goals last season—more than they have in any season since 1953.

The Guardian is now criticizing him for not having “real backups for Ødegaard or Bukayo Saka,” which is ridiculous. If there was a player available who could effectively serve as a backup for either of them, do you really think they would choose to join Arsenal just to sit on the bench? This kind of argument is quite a stretch.

One advantage that the Marinakis group of clubs possesses, which Arsenal lacks, is the ability to acquire players and allow them to gain experience at various teams before ultimately transitioning them to the Premier League. This is achieved without the concern of losing a player to another club that might offer a lucrative deal right away.

Just like with the Marinakis group, players have the flexibility to transfer between Nottingham Forest, Olympiakos, and Rio Ave, and it's likely that there are more clubs coming into play soon.

For Edu's benefit, we can only wish he understands that Forest's current league standing is largely due to the limited number of matches they've had against the stronger teams. Last season, they narrowly avoided relegation by just one spot, and there’s no certainty that, as the schedule balances out, they won’t start to drop in the rankings.

Best of luck, Edu! I really hope everything goes well for you. You've been an invaluable part of the team so far, but I have no doubt that Mikel has a clear idea of who he wants to bring in as your replacement.