Mikel Arteta is ‘frustrated with the Arsenal hierarchy’ after Edu’s exit from the club created a January ‘nightmare’ which has made ‘a hard job even harder’.
The Gunners failed to bring in any new signings in January despite Arteta being keen to add a forward to his ranks to cope with the long-term injuries to Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus, but a £40m bid for Ollie Watkins fell short of Aston Villa’s valuation and that was that.
Kai Havertz has since been ruled out for the season with a hamstring injury to further limit Arteta’s options in attack, and former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown believes the exit of sporting director Edu in November played a significant role in their “nightmare” window.
Edu is currently on gardening leave ahead of taking up a new role with Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Brown reckons Arteta has every right to be “angry” with the Arsenal bosses, who he believes “could have done more to support him” in the winter window.
“Arteta will be angry at the lack of signings,” he told Football Insider.
“I think something in the background which has never really been explored is why Edu left when he did.
“I know he’s gone with Forest’s chairman and he’s going to be working across his clubs.
“But if you were the top man at Arsenal and you were a major part of building a team who are going to compete for titles, would you want to walk away?
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“I don’t doubt he’s been offered a lot of money, but I’m not so sure about that decision.
“Either way, it had a bigger impact on the transfer window than perhaps many at Arsenal expected.
“It’s been a bit of a nightmare for them.
“They’ve now been caught short with the injuries they’ve suffered because there’s a serious lack of depth in attacking areas.
“It’s a hard job, trying to win the Premier League and compete in Europe, but it’s been made even harder for Arteta by the lack of players available.
“So I’m not surprised he’s frustrated at the hierarchy who probably could have done more to support him.”
Arsenal are currently second in the Premier League, eight points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, and host West Ham at the Emirates on Saturday before their trip to take on third-placed Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
