Arsenal technical director Edu can learn lessons from Manchester City by making ruthless decisions in the transfer market to help continue the Gunners' development.
Mikel Arteta's side currently sit top of the Premier League and are likely to do so heading into the international break later this month following the latest fixture postponements. Arsenal enjoyed a perfect start to the new season before suffering their first defeat against Manchester United, before bouncing back with a win against FC Zurich to start their Europa League campaign.
Alex Grimaldo was touted to join the Gunners during the summer transfer window, but a move for the Benfica star never materialised after the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City. Zinchenko has the ability to play in central midfield as well as left-back and given injury concerns for Thomas Partey and Mohamed Elneny, the Ukraine international could be drafted in alongside Granit Xhaka at some point in the coming weeks.
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Arteta has shown throughout the start of the season that his preferred defensive line involves Zinchenko operating as left-back, joining William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White ahead of Aaron Ramsdale in goal. Kieran Tierney proved to be a solid deputy to the 25-year-old, but his performances were not deemed good enough to see him start ahead of the returning Zinchenko against United.
Arsenal have shown they can be ruthless in the past with the signing of Ramsdale as the English goalkeeper replaced Bernd Leno as the no.1 'keeper at the Emirates Stadium. It could be time for Edu to repeat this trick once again with a potential deal to sign Grimaldo in the January transfer window.
According to Tuttomercatoweb, the Gunners remain interested in signing the Benfica left-back, who is also a target for Juventus as they look to replace Alex Sandro. A pursuit for Grimaldo could hint at a possible position change for summer signing Zinchenko or lead to Tierney being moved on from the club.
The Scotland international has struggled with injuries throughout his time at the Emirates Stadium and Arteta may not see him as a reliable option in his squad. The decision to sign Ramsdale and eventually move on Leno has proved to be a successful one, with the latter failing to show what Arsenal had missed out on during the win over Fulham.
Grimaldo has plenty of Champions League experience and has already registered three goal contributions in just 10 appearances this season. The 26-year-old also has a solid injury record, having only missed five games in the last two years compared to Tierney's absence of 29 games in the same period of time.
If Arsenal are to close the gap to City and Co, some ruthless decisions need to be made to ensure Arteta has a reliable squad that can perform for the entire season. Moving Tierney on may not be a popular choice, but the Gunners could sign a quality replacement in Grimaldo if Edu looks to pursue a deal for the Spaniard.
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