Football

Edu reveals what he must bring back to Arsenal to help Gunners become top team again


Gunners legend Edu insists Arsenal must bring back a winning mentality throughout the whole club.

Former Arsenal midfielder Edu has been brought back as the club’s first ever technical director to help try and rebuild the foundations and get them back to winning trophies.

Edu was a member of the all-conquering Invincibles title-winning team as a player but now returns with a brief to oversee all aspects of the club from youth set-up to first team and identifying and keeping top talent.

It will be a tough task as Arsenal are about to start a third consecutive season in the Europa League, they have struggled to make big signings so far this summer and the fans are getting restless.

But ex-Brazil star Edu said it is not just the players but the whole club who must improve after a steady decline in the past few seasons which has seen them go from title challengers to also-rans.

Edu is back at Arsenal for the coming season

“To work with a strong mentality, you don’t do it like that [instantly],” said Edu. “You build a good mentality. When you talk about mentality, it’s not only the players. The club has to have the same mentality of the players.

“We have to have the same mentality, and the mentality of Arsenal, we always had to have winning in front of us. That’s football. That’s the real world. When you’re talking about good jobs, doing other things, without results I’m not sure [it works].

“It’s unfair maybe, but the reality is like that. We have to fight very hard for results and we have to understand the real world, where you live and where you are right now. So we are at Arsenal, we are a big club, and we have to understand the situation.

“Winning… fight for winning, and how do you do that? We have to prepare ourselves. How? By working hard, by giving everything, giving us [a chance] to be better and better, and working really hard to be where the club wants to be.”

Edu wants to see a winning mentality across the current Arsenal squad

The Arsenal team wearing the 2004-2005 Arsenal home kit
Edu (second left) was part of a team of perennial winners at Arsenal

Edu, who is taking a watching brief in this window and will start his role in earnest after the transfer deadline, admits that Arsenal will face a tough task winning over some of the sceptical fans as they have yet to make any major signings.

He said: “We have to understand the fans, we have to understand that. That’s important. But they have to understand us as well. Because we have a philosophy. The club is changing a lot, so I see before I signed up for technical director, I saw the many changes now Arsene (Wenger) left.

“The structure of the club changes a lot. So that’s a process, sometimes we need time. I understand that time is going against us but we have to be aware to that. But in the end, we’re going to give to them some good things I am sure. I am sure.

“Because since I started to talk with Vinai (Venkatesham) and Raul (Sanllehi) about that job, I felt the energy of the club. I felt the very positive things around it.

Edu insists he can see the positive vibes around Arsenal at the moment

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“That’s why I really believe and that’s why I am here as well, because I feel we will do good things in the future. Not the future-future, but nearly there!”

Edu also believes they can get back into the top four next season. He added: “I’m not saying dream, but focused to be fighting for the Champions League again. Of course that’s our target.

“To make the squad even stronger and I want to see the fans enjoying, as before, the club even more. I know how they live the club, how they love the club and we have to give them something back so they can enjoy again.”





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