Arsenal trio put on notice by two-word ominous Edu transfer comment

Arsenal sporting director Edu warned the Gunners’ senior stars that if they are on high wages and not performing – “You’re dead.”

At times throughout last season Gabriel Jesus, Thomas Partey and Oleksandr Zinchenko all fit that criteria, with doubts lingering over their long-term future in north London.

Since Edu teamed up with Mikel Arteta, the Gunners have seen major changes, including high-profile exits like Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and recently, Emile Smith Rowe.

Edu laid down the law about Arsenal’s future in a revealing chat with Men in Blazers. He outlined a strict three-step plan governing player transfers, underscoring tough decisions that may not always sit well with fans but are believed to be essential for the club’s progress.

“Sometimes you have to make decisions that are not popular and popular,” Edu candidly stated. “You have to be very strong in your ideas, what you believe, what is good for the club, what is good for the future of the club and everything.”

Highlighting the three critical elements he focuses on within football, Edu spoke of the importance of squad balance, positions, age, and group dynamics. His comments signal a continued desire for structural evolution at Arsenal as they prepare for another transfer window.

“First of all, we have to see the age of the player, and then you have to see the salary of the player and the third you have to see the performance of the player. So if you have an over 26, 27-years-old you need attention.

“If his salary is high, you need attention and if he’s not performing, you’re dead. Let’s come back, if you have a player 27-years-old, 28-years-old, big salary, but he’s performing you can accept.

“What you cannot accept is if you have those three elements and one of them went over 28 you start to be uncomfortable, it’s better for you to move on because maybe this player is blocking someone younger as an asset to help you. So, when I came into Arsenal, when I see all the squads with all my respect, almost everyone was almost 26, 27, biggest salaries not performing.

“If you have those three elements, which club in the world want to come here and buy one of our players, no one. So how you deal with that situation when you have those situations in your hands, you have to be strong and sometimes you have to make decisions.

“So, or you go strong and try to make those decisions to let those players go or your project is going to take instead of three, four years it will take seven, eight, nine. Then unpopular decisions start to come, because most of the players watch, they have those elements sometimes in the club they have a fan base, they have the media which love the players but for the club it’s not healthy to keep those players in that situation.”

The three elements that Edu refers to have completely transformed the Arsenal team since they took over. Ozil, Aubameyang, Sead Kolasinac, Shkodran Mustafi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, David Luiz, Hector Bellerin, Alexandre Lacazette, Pablo Mari, Willian and Cedric Soares have all departed – the last three were signings made by Edu and Arteta themselves – demonstrating their willingness for self-criticism.

This also potentially offers insight into the current squad and which players might be under scrutiny this summer or at least in the upcoming season. Partey (30), Jesus (27) and Zinchenko (27) have all faced criticism for their performances.

All are over 26 years old and command substantial wages. They embody the three elements Edu has been discussing; if they don’t improve, they may soon find themselves heading for the exit.