Martin Keown can't 'fathom' why Edu quit 'perfect' Arsenal job - 'I would never walk away from that'
Published 06/11/2024 at 20:23 GMT
TNT Sports pundit Martin Keown believes Edu is walking away from unfinished business at Arsenal. The former Gunners midfielder has announced his decision to stand down as the club's Sporting Director after five years in the role. The timing stunned ex-Gunners defender Keown and fellow TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand, who claimed the job at Arsenal is "incomplete".
'It feels hollow' - Keown finds 'terrible' timing of Edu Arsenal departure 'hard to fathom'
Video credit: TNT Sports
TNT Sports pundit Martin Keown admitted he was stunned by Edu's decision to leave Arsenal.
The former Brazil international has spent the last five years as the Gunners' sporting director but he cited wanting to "pursue a different challenge" as his reason for quitting the Emirates Stadium.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League clash with Inter Milan, Keown said he is mystified by the news.
"It's hard to fathom out," he said on TNT Sports. "Certainly, I would never walk away from that job. It has to be the perfect job in football.
"I hope it's not money that he's left for. He was loved at the club. He was doing an amazing job. It feels hollow, really.
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"I don't want to be virtuous or righteous; I left the club many years ago for £50 a week, and that was on a point of principle.
"But he's done an amazing job there. It's a partnership with the manager, Arteta.
"It's a really big loss and it's a terrible moment of the season, so it's hard for me to fathom out why he's gone at this stage."
Edu spent the early part of his playing career with Arsenal, joining the club in 2001 from Brazilian outfit Corinthians.
He spent the next four years at Highbury, amassing 127 appearances and scoring 15 goals across all competitions.
The midfielder also helped Arsene Wenger's side lift a number of trophies, including their most recent Premier League crown in 2004.
In the two decades since then, the Gunners have rarely looked like finishing top of the pile.
However, that has all changed since Edu returned to the club, as he attempted to overhaul a team that badly needed a makeover.
It was Edu who pushed for Arteta to be given the reins following Unai Emery's departure in November 2019, and the double act have since overseen a rejuvenation of Arsenal's fortunes.
They came within a whisker of winning the Premier League last season, while also appearing in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2016/17.
Keown, who played alongside the Brazilian towards the end of his own career, added: "If I'm in that role, you've got to grab me, kicking and screaming, out of it! There's no way I walk away from it.
"If they talk about projects, which I don't like, they're at the end. They're almost reaching the summit. There's something big about to happen.
"The timing, I can't work out. Maybe it's pressure. Maybe we're being a bit too tough on him. Maybe there are other opportunities; he wanted to move his family back to Brazil.
"But I can't help feeling it's a disappointment, a massive disappointment for the Arsenal fans."
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'I loved working with him' - Arteta hails Edu after Arsenal exit
Video credit: TNT Sports
'Unfinished business'
TNT Sports pundit Rio Ferdinand was also left puzzled by Edu's departure.
The Gunners have only lifted one trophy since he joined the club: the FA Cup in 2019/20.
A bad run of form, including a 1-0 loss to Newcastle at the weekend, means they have slipped to fifth place in the Premier League table, seven points behind leaders Liverpool.
Even so, Ferdinand cannot believe Edu has jumped ship before winning more silverware with the club.
"Do you not think it's unfinished business? It feels really like that," he said. "The job is incomplete, almost.
"Whenever I've met him, he's really impressed me in the role he's taken up. He's very, very decisive in his thoughts and his decision making. He communicates really well.
"You can see he just walked into that role and suited it perfectly. It does feel like there's a bit of unfinished business.
"Him and Mikel Arteta came there and they've grown this club back to a place where you go 'actually, they're a team who can now challenge'.
"And it's just not finished. I didn't expect him to walk away in that sense."
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