Arsenal’s sales department has been struggling to match the expectations of the clubs around them. Chelsea and Liverpool have greatly benefited from the huge sums paid for surplus players that have enabled them to invest heavily in the market.
Arsenal meanwhile have been serial contract cancellers of late. Players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos were amongst a number of the squad allowed to leave for nothing.
Edu, the club’s technical director, has been brought into focus by much of the fan base and now faces a pivotal summer transfer window for buys and sales. Fail and his reputation might drop further in the minds of the supporters.
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One of the biggest challenges that Edu has regarding saving the sales reputation of the club is the public interviews of Arsenal players having a knock-on impact on their value. Hector Bellerin spoke out about his desire to return to Betis. This is sure to strengthen to Spanish side’s position over a potential deal and lead to a loss in sale price for the Gunners.
“I have made my position clear to both clubs. Now we have two months to get the best deal for all three parties. I have always said, I made an effort to come here, and I am willing to make every effort to keep it going because it is my home and I am happy,” Bellerin said.
“It is also true that I had very nice moments in London, in England. Arsenal has given a lot, the opportunity to be a professional. If I leave, it will be difficult, but hopefully, everything goes as we want.”
Bellerin would return to Arsenal with Takehiro Tomiyasu and Cedric Soares to contend with. Furthermore, youngster Brooke Norton-Cuffy has impressed Mikel Arteta, football.london understands, creating further competition for the Spaniard.
The most likely outcome is a return to Betis. Arsenal now need to work out a deal which benefits them, which could be made all the more difficult after Bellerin’s public admittance.
This is not the first time that a player has come out and spoken publicly about their desire to leave Arsenal. Lucas Torreira spoke openly about his desire to join Boca Juniors on loan.
Speaking to ESPN (via Mirror ), he said: “I want to go to Boca Juniors now. I am 25 years old, and I know it’s a club that plays for great targets.
“I’d like to make the fans happy… but I know it’s not easy. Boca should reach an agreement with Arsenal for a one-year loan.”
Torreira ended up leaving for Fiorentina where he has just finished a loan that included an option to buy. However, his agent has since come out to say that the Italian side wanted to reduce the terms making a potential permanent move now tricky.
A problem that may have flown under the radar is becoming more frequent and it is an issue that might take some time to fix. Edu is the man tasked, in combination with his colleagues and manager Mikel Arteta, to try mitigate further damage in potential player sales negotiations.
