Edu's Arsenal transfer plan justified as Stan Kroenke makes £208m investment for Mikel Arteta
Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar has pulled off several transfer masterstrokes in recent times that has allowed the club’s young stars to grow.
Mikel Arteta’s side led a surprising title challenge last season after looking to be a work in progress during the first part of the Spaniard’s tenure. At the heart of that team was a core of youthful players that have taken on leadership roles, in the absence of more established figures.
It was a major sign of the building blocks that were put in place by Edu coming to fruition, with the club’s experienced pros making way to allow Arsenal to build a youthful side over the last two years. Martin Odegaard, 23, inherited the captaincy last summer, following the departures of experienced duo Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, and will be supported by the likes of Gabriel Jesus and Declan Rice in his leadership role.
Meanwhile, Willian cancelling his contract, back in August 2021, is another example of how Gabriel Martinelli was given the chance to find his feet on the left wing. This process has been hailed by NBC Sports analyst Danny Higginbotham, who believes that Arsenal’s starlets all feel part of a collective, which will help push them to compete for major honours.
“I think another thing that stands out as well, we talk about the players that have come in. We look at the last year and a half, two years and the players that have left the club. I think a lot of the players that have left the club, they've allowed the young players to really blossom,” Higginbotham explained.
“Because, I think, at certain times, the younger players would’ve thought ‘oh, you know what, I’m not gonna have my say here, I’m not gonna have this responsibility, I’m not gonna lead on the
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