Edu, his Arsenal past and his Nottingham Forest present

Nottingham Forest saw it as a landmark appointment when Edu joined as global head of football for owner Evangelos Marinakis’ multi-club stable in July, but just a few months later, he finds himself in the spotlight following a chaotic start to their latest Premier League season.

The 47-year-old, a member of Arsenal’s 2003-04 title-winning ‘Invincibles’ side in his playing days, was credited with helping to turn around the north London club’s fortunes in the transfer market during his time as their sporting director, alongside manager Mikel Arteta, until his departure in November 2024.

During his first six months in Nottingham however, the Brazilian has, for a variety of reasons, endured more of a turbulent time.

Forest and Arsenal are preparing to face each other at the City Ground on Saturday. And ahead of that game, some at Forest, who like all of those spoken to for this piece did so under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, admit Edu finds himself under scrutiny at the club — as any senior executive in football would be when their team have gone from finishing seventh and qualifying for Europe in one season to fighting relegation under their third manager of the next one.

Edu was held in high regard by Arsenal staff, including Arteta. He was at the heart of their rebuilding project and had a great affinity with the club. So far, his time working within the Marinakis football empire — which also includes Greek club Olympiacos and Rio Ave in Portugal — has been much more challenging.

Here, The Athletic looks at why Edu’s time at Arsenal was seen as a success, how it is seen now, and what his role has been during a difficult season to date for Forest.

His time at Arsenal and his legacy

Edu played an important role in Arsenal’s transformation back into title contenders, helping to build the foundations of the squad which now sits at the top of the Premier League and Champions League tables.

Initially appointed as technical director in the summer of 2019, he later stepped up to become their first sporting director — a role which saw his responsibilities expand to oversight of the youth academy and women’s team.

His partnership with Arteta was the engine room of Arsenal’s progress.

Edu led the process to appoint the Spaniard in late 2019 after the sacking of Unai Emery, filtering the initial candidates and attending every major interview. Arteta in turn has been emphatic in his praise of Edu.

“From day one we’ve been together, and I’m very grateful personally for everything he’s done for me and the amazing work he’s done for the football club,” he told a press conference shortly after Edu’s 2024 departure.

Edu, centre, during his time as sporting director at ArsenalJustin Setterfield/Getty Images

“We had this special chemistry working together. I’m very blessed that he’s been part of my life in such a beautiful place, managing this incredible club. He’s been a massive part of that.”

Edu overhauled the recruitment department, dispensing with much of the previous scouting team and introducing a streamlined group built to his specifications.

Key members of the current squad such as Jurrien Timber, Gabriel, Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were signed when Edu was leading recruitment. He also initially led the discussions over the additions of Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, although the latter deal wasn’t completed until after he’d left the club.

There were mistakes in the market, too. Signings such as Willian and Fabio Vieira proved costly failures. Some within football would say they felt that Edu sometimes leaned too much on well-established relationships with agents and player advisors; others would argue he was merely leveraging those relationships to Arsenal’s advantage.

The overall direction of travel, however, was positive. Arsenal went from a team without European football of any kind as recently as the 2021-22 season to again being one capable of competing for both the Premier League and Champions League titles.

Arteta felt supported by Edu, something he said publicly. They had a good rapport, looked for similar attributes in players and made for an effective team. Edu dealt with Arteta’s representatives in talks over the new contract the manager signed in September 2024, which turned out to be the Brazilian’s last major piece of business for Arsenal.

Within a couple of months, he had decided to leave. His choice was informed by a variety of factors. The coaching staff had become increasingly influential over transfers and Edu sometimes felt squeezed between the manager and the board. The grinding minutiae of navigating budgets and financial regulation had begun to take a toll.

What’s more, the opportunity to work with his friend Marinakis held appeal: he liked the idea of a broad, international role with a wider remit. Arsenal had no immediate plans to set up a similar network of clubs. For a man with Edu’s ambition, working across a wider group of teams felt like a step up from being sporting director for just one.

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Edu is still held in high regard by staff at Arsenal. His return to the Emirates Stadium directors’ box, when Forest visited in September, was met with a very warm welcome.

His replacement Andrea Berta embarked on an unprecedented summer of spending in 2025 and has been lauded by supporters as a difference-maker in Arsenal’s recruitment. There is no doubting the Italian has given Arteta the squad depth he demanded, even if the jury remains out on certain high-profile signings, such as €73.5million (£63.7m/$85.3m at the current rates) striker Viktor Gyokeres.

While it’s true Berta has shown himself to be a swift and efficient negotiator, he has certainly benefited from the fact that Arsenal decided to push the boat out in terms of expenditure last summer. Edu had to navigate the delicate pandemic era, which placed considerable limitations on spending. Berta has also had a very specific focus on first-team recruitment, as that is what Arsenal felt was required at this point in their trajectory. Edu’s responsibilities were somewhat wider.

Berta may have applied the finishing touches to a squad Arteta and Edu spent years reshaping in tandem. If Arsenal’s current campaign ends in glory, the latter’s role in bringing them to that point will not be forgotten.

James McNicholas

His position at Forest and the future

At Forest, Edu is known for always being impeccably dressed, whether he is at the training ground or sitting in the directors’ box. But the Brazilian is increasingly facing doubts over whether he can deliver the substance to go with that sense of style, in the same way as he had done in his previous job in north London.

When Edu came on board in July, the Forest hierarchy were entitled to see his appointment as a statement of intent. He had built a strong reputation at Arsenal and was joining a club fresh from a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League and looking forward to their first crack at European football since the 1990s.

Forest said they were ‘proud’ to confirm his arrival but, before the end of August, the mood had already changed. One key figure at the club was not impressed by Edu’s early impact.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo had secured Forest’s return to European competition after 30 years and was crucial in increasing the club’s level of ambition. But as The Athletic detailed in August, Nuno’s relationship with Edu started badly and the Portuguese left before he had even had the opportunity to lead Forest into a Europa League game.

That was the spark for the start of a series of remarkable events — and the appointment of two further managers at the City Ground in less than three months.

Nuno had only signed a new contract on June 20, two and a half weeks before Edu was confirmed as the global head of football for Marinakis’ mult-club empire.

But the former Wolves head coach was uncomfortable with the new structure.

During Forest’s training camp in his native Portugal in July, people close to Nuno said he was unhappy with the speed of their recruitment, with only two of the eventual 13 summer additions — striker Igor Jesus and defender Jair Cunha — joining them on that trip. He was also keen on a reunion with Fulham forward Adama Traore, who he’d worked with at Wolves. As The Athletic reported in September, Nuno felt Traore’s pace and power could fill the void created by the July sale of fellow winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle.

Forest did not sign Traore, though. Edu instead brought in Omari Hutchinson, the Ipswich Town winger, with Forest investing a club-record fee of £37.5million ($50.2m at the current rate) in the then 21-year-old. Nuno — whose public reaction to the situation also played a key role in his departure — consigned Hutchinson to a place on the bench, before his tenure was brought to an end just three games into the new season.

Ange Postecoglou then arrived as his short-lived replacement, which was largely a Marinakis-driven idea. But global technical director George Syrianos drove the appointment of Sean Dyche, with Edu having also played a role in the search for Postecoglou’s successor.

In terms of transfers since Edu’s appointment, loan signings Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal) and Douglas Luiz (Juventus) have not yet flourished.

Both players have seen their impact influenced by injury, with Zinchenko only making four Premier League starts so far and being replaced in Forest’s Europa League squad by a fit-again Ola Aina in the past few days after his fellow full-back had been out injured since September. Douglas Luiz has played more regularly — and impressed at times — but the terms of his loan agreement state Forest must sign him permanently for around £20million if he makes a certain number of appearances for them. The club may have to make a decision on whether they want to trigger that clause.

Edu, Syrianos, head of recruitment Pedro Ferreira and Dyche, along with his coaching staff, have all had an influence on Forest’s winter transfer window plans, as has Marinakis. One issue is looking for a striker to fill the void left by Arnaud Kalimuendo, who has been allowed to join Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt on loan, five months (and zero Premier League starts or goals) after he was signed for £26million from French club Rennes.

In what seems to be a crucial month, the Forest hierarchy have sought Dyche’s opinions on potential transfers, even if his position will become more precarious if results do not improve. Forest have lost five of the past six games in all competitions and are 17th in the Premier League, albeit seven points clear of third-bottom West Ham.

Dyche said on Thursday: “You speak to the powers that be and say, ‘What do you think? What are the scouts saying? What are the situations we want to change? What are the ones we do not want to change?’

“We (as a club) are very open. There are very good lines of communication and an open awareness about the players we are looking at. We have nothing but open communication with the owner, with Edu, with George and myself. That is important, I think.”

Those who work within the Marinakis football empire say it is a constantly challenging, demanding environment. Fiercely-high standards are expected of everyone, from the kit man to the boardroom.

And with Forest battling to make progress in the Europa League and also keep clear of the Premier League’s bottom three, the pressure is now on for Edu — and the rest of the club’s power structure — to turn the season around.

Paul Taylor